Boise St. @ Houston preview
Fertitta Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2014 ) Boise St. 75, Houston 73
The final score offered enough of an indication of just how well the 17th-ranked Houston Cougars played in their season-opener on Wednesday against Lamar at home, but there were some details within the margins that underscored the dominant effort.
The Cougars rolled to an 89-45 nonconference victory, doing so without American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Caleb Mills (ankle) and despite shooting just 41.7 percent. The Cougars did not have the usual preseason preparations to lean on in advance of their opener, but that didn't hinder Houston much at all.
"I thought our guys moved the ball well," said Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, who notched his 640th career win and coached his 200th game at Houston. "We shot poorly but we played good on offense because we got good shots. I'm not a fan, so I don't judge offense by whether the ball goes in or not. If you run your stuff and you move the ball you're going to get good shots."
Sampson pointed to the combined shooting of veteran guards DeJon Jarreau and Quentin Grimes, who finished 6 for 26, including only 2 of 11 on 3-point attempts. Sampson liked the quality of their shots and wants to see those same shots on Friday when the Cougars (1-0) host Boise State (0-0) in the first game of the Southwest Showcase in Houston's Fertitta Center.
Additionally, the Cougars showcased their usual might defensively and on the glass, limiting Lamar to 15 of 50 shooting attempts while posting a 49-34 rebounding edge with 19 offensive boards.
"That's kind of our holy trinity: defend, rebound, take care of the ball," Sampson said. "We held them to 30 percent, (finished) plus-15 on the boards and only had nine turnovers. We were pretty good in those three areas."
Boise State will open its season bolstered by the return of senior guard Derrick Alston Jr., a Houston native and the Mountain West preseason player of the year. Alston, a graduate of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, initially declared for the NBA draft but returned to the Broncos.
Last season, Alston paced the Broncos in scoring at 17.3 points per game.
"We were thrilled when he made that decision," Broncos coach Leon Rice said. "The thing about it is in that process you always want the best for the player. I knew that he and his family would make a decision that's best for them in the long run. Derrick is a guy that came here to get better and he's done a great job of that. He knows that in the next six months or so he can keep getting a lot better.
"That's why he came back and that's what I've seen during these months in the summer and the fall. I've seen a lot of growth since last year. That's why he came back and that's what I'm encouraged about and that's what I'm excited about to get him on the court with this new team."
--Field Level Media