Wichita St. @ Houston preview
Fertitta Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2020 ) Wichita St. 43, Houston 76
The No. 11 Houston Cougars reached a finish line of sorts last Sunday at SMU, capping an arduous stretch of five games over two weeks that featured three consecutive games on the road.
That the Cougars played well, recording a 74-60 victory, provided a positive finish to a week that included their first setback of the season and the loss of sophomore guard Caleb Mills, the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. Mills opted to transfer.
Houston (8-1, 3-1 AAC) will host Wichita State on Wednesday, the first in a six-game stretch that includes five home games.
The Cougars are seeking to build on the momentum of their win at SMU and get a pair of freshmen -- Tramon Mark and J'Wan Roberts -- going with their rotation impacted by the loss of Mills. But the win at SMU was a boost.
"The thing I like about our team, through my lens, is we can continue to get better," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "A lot of things we can improve on. The things you try to improve on as the season goes on are the things you can control. There are some things you can't control. We work on the stuff that we can get better at."
As the only undefeated team in conference play, Wichita State (6-2, 2-0 American) has discovered a rhythm. The Shockers have won five consecutive games including an impressive 83-79 nonconference victory at Ole Miss on Jan. 2 that moved them to 3-0 in true road games.
Wichita State snapped the Rebels' six-game home winning streak, as Ole Miss had allowed just 56.9 points per game prior to the Shockers' breakout.
"The key is to have a great attitude. Even when we get down, they stay together," Shockers interim coach Isaac Brown said. "None of those guys point fingers or anything. We got good leadership on the bench. Our leaders, even for the guys that are not playing, they're constantly telling those guys to clap it up.
"Everybody just wants to win the game. And at the end in the locker room, you can just tell the excitement, even from the guys that didn't play at all, everybody is excited just about getting the win."
Wichita State, shooting just 33.3 percent from 3-point range this season, found its collective stroke at Ole Miss by making 9 of 20 from beyond the arc. Tyson Etienne (22 of 59) and Dexter Dennis (11 of 34) are the only Shockers to have made at least 10 3-point attempts this season, but the results against the Rebels offered a glimpse of the Shockers' potential when they are shooting well from the outside.
Against the Cougars' stifling defense, success from behind the arc could prove critical.
"When you can make 3-point shots, it just allows you to spread the floor," Brown said. "When we can stretch the floor like that, it just gives our guards like (Craig) Porter and Alterique Gilbert more room to work. So that helps a lot with our spacing.
"The 3-ball is a weapon, so if your team can make double figure 3s, you've got a great chance of winning that game."
--Field Level Media