Utah @ Houston preview
Fertitta Center
Last Meeting ( Nov 17, 2023 ) Houston 76, Utah 66
After running roughshod over the nine opponents that enabled Houston to carry a lengthy winning streak into Orlando on Saturday, the seventh-ranked Cougars needed all 40 minutes to extend their run of success.
The Cougars (14-3, 6-0 Big 12) eked out a 69-68 comeback victory over UCF when forward J'Wan Roberts scored with 1.1 seconds left, erasing a double-digit deficit and pushing the winning streak to 10 games with Utah (11-6, 3-3) set to visit on Wednesday.
The game with the Utes was rescheduled from Tuesday night because of the threat of severe weather in the Houston area. Forecasts have the area receiving up to six inches of snow and freezing temperatures. The men's game, at 5 p.m. Central time, will follow a Big 12 women's contest between Texas Tech and host Houston set for 1 p.m.
The Cougars have a 32-game homecourt winning streak, the longest such streak in the nation, with the 10-game overall streak tying for third in the country.
Houston had a plus-24.7 scoring margin during the nine games before its white-knuckle finish at UCF. The Cougars found a path to victory despite a poor shooting performance and a double-digit deficit in the first half. Houston provided yet another reminder that winning ugly is always an option, particularly given the quality of its defense and the tenacity of its rebounding.
"The name of the game is ... figure out how to win," said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team rose from No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday. "I'd rather win the game than look good."
The winning streak and rankings climb have created additional distance between the present-day Cougars and the squad that dropped two games at the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas in late November. That brief malaise stymied the preseason chatter that designated Houston as a Final Four favorite.
The Cougars appear to be back on track. Houston has hit a stride reflective of a championship contender, and in the process erased the memory of its early-season, nonconference woes.
"We were still trying to figure out who we were," Sampson said. "I think when you get past mid-January, you know who your team is. This group has a championship DNA to them."
Utah earned a rousing 73-72 home victory over rival BYU on Saturday in Salt Lake City for the Utes' third consecutive triumph following a four-game skid that included an 0-3 start in conference play.
The win streak has lifted the Utes into the middle of the Big 12 standings, with Houston holding a one-game lead over both second-ranked Iowa State and Arizona. That represents quite the turnaround, one derived from the Utes' maturation and willingness to accept coaching.
"These guys are growing up," Utes coach Craig Smith said. "There are a lot of guys that haven't won at a very high level, and they're starting to figure out how to win.
"And that can be hard to do because there's selflessness that goes into it, there's sacrifice that goes into it. There's a level of physical and mental toughness that is a big part of this thing, specifically mental toughness and understanding what we're trying to do."
Against Houston, the Utes will need more of the same from Ezra Ausar, who paired a season-high 26 points with six rebounds against BYU, and Lawson Lovering, who added 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Ausar and Lovering are second and third in scoring for Utah, averaging 11.2 and 10.6 points, respectively. Gabe Madsen had eight points on 2-of-12 shooting against BYU and averages a team-best 15.8 points per game.
--Field Level Media