Wichita St. @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Houston 65, Wichita St. 54

After a pair of losses by a combined four points, things won’t get easier for Wichita State on Sunday when it visits a 25th-ranked Houston squad that is 43-3 at home over the last three seasons. The Shockers lost on a buzzer-beating triple against Tulsa last week before Cincinnati guard Jarron Cumberland’s three-point play with 3.5 seconds remaining was the difference Thursday in an 80-79 setback to the Bearcats.

The Shockers had their best shooting performance during their American Athletic Conference schedule Thursday by hitting 48.5 percent of their shots, but they allowed Cincinnati to shoot 68.2 percent in the first half and 54.5 percent for the game - both opponent season-highs. “We all went out there and played hard,” Wichita State guard Jamarius Burton told reporters Thursday after posting 13 points and a team-best four assists. “We can learn from games like the past two. We were a few possessions behind and could have made another basket or gotten another stop. We can take this opportunity to learn.” The Cougars used a 24-4 first half run to catapult them to a 75-62 victory over Tulane Thursday, and they continue to bounce back after defeats as they avoided losing consecutive regular-season contests for the first time since the 2016-17 season. “This was a good win for us,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told the media after his team was outscored by five after halftime. “One thing about a young team in the second half of games is that there is evidently going to be some let-up, it doesn’t matter who it is. Young teams always let up and it’s something you have to keep working at.”

TIME: 3 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (17-5, 5-4 AAC): Center Jaime Echenique, the team’s only senior, set personal bests Thursday with nine made field goals and 19 attempts and finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks - all team highs. Sophomore Dexter Dennis posted 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long-range while freshman Grant Sherfield’s lone triple against the Bearcats almost served as the game-winner as it came with 16 seconds remaining to temporarily give the Shockers a two-point advantage. Entering the weekend, Wichita State owned the third-best field-goal percentage defense in the AAC at 39.1 (28th nationally) while its turnover margin of 3.2 was second in the league (26th nationally).

ABOUT HOUSTON (18-5, 8-2): Sophomore Nate Hinton scored 12 points Thursday while adding team highs of seven assists and 12 boards - eight more than any of his teammates - as the 6-5 guard sits third in the conference with 9.4 rebounds per game. “Nate Hinton came here as a guy who could rebound, and now he’s become a great rebounder,” Sampson told the media. “He’s good at it. He’s really good at it. He’s the best rebounding guard I’ve ever coached. I have had some really good rebounding guards.” Redshirt freshman Caleb Mills knocked down 7-of-10 shots off the bench en route to a team-high 18 points Thursday, while sophomore Quentin Grimes added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Houston G DeJon Jarreau will return Sunday after serving a one-game suspension he received for biting a Cincinnati player last Saturday.

2. Burton is two assists shy of 200 for his career and would become the sixth Shocker to reach the feat before the end of his sophomore season - joining a list that includes Fred VanVleet and Landry Shamet.

3. The Cougars earned a 65-54 victory over the Shockers on Jan. 18 in what was Wichita State’s first loss in 13 home games this season.

PREDICTION: Houston 85, Wichita State 78