The Bearcats are looking to make a splash here at Dickies as they look to dethrone the Houston Cougars as the Cougars look to make it back to the AAC Championship game for the fifth straight year. The Bearcats are riding a huge 30-point win over Temple, while the Cougars just snuck by East Carolina in the opening round yesterday, behind a dominant second half performance from Marcus Sasser.
The Last time these two teams faced it went down to the wire as the Bearcats fell 75-69 to Houston back on January 28th at the Fertitta Center. The Bearcats know what is at stake today as a win puts them back in the AAC Championship game with a chance to go dancing for the first time since 2019. The Cougars on the other hand are the number one team in all of college basketball, as they are currently riding a 12-game winning streak dating back to January 25th.
Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars wasted no time here this afternoon as the Bearcats quickly found themselves in a 9-2 hole to start, forcing Wes Miller to call an early timeout following a Marcus Sasser layup in transition off the turnover. Cougars forward J’Wan Roberts was making an early presence for the Cougars this afternoon as he had six of the Cougars first 11 points. Houston was looking to opened things up early, following a 7-0 run, as they lead the Bearcats 11-2 with 15:55 remaining in the first half. A different start from the Cougars compared to what we saw in their matchup vs East Carolina yesterday. The Cougars were just dominating the paint early as 14 of their first 17 points came inside, as they continued to establish their presence inside early. This was something Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars didn’t do yesterday vs East Carolina. The Cougars started this one 8-of-12 from the field as they led the Bearcats 17-7 with 11:57 remaining in the first half, behind seven early points from Jarace Walker.
The Cougars would hold the Bearcats scoreless for 5:21 seconds in the first half before Ody Oguama knocked down two free throws in hopes of sparking some momentum on offense. Houston was doing a fantastic job at getting downhill and attack early on offense, allowing Walker and Roberts to get going inside. The Bearcats would then respond and cut the Cougars lead to single digits following a Dan Skillings made three-point jumper. The Bearcats would shoot just 29% from the field in the first 12 minutes, while the Cougars were shooting at a 53% clip as Houston lead 20-12 with 7:55 remaining in the first half.
Houston guard Marcus Sasser appeared to injure his groin after falling awkwardly and was helped off the court. A devastating blow for the Cougars if Sasser couldn’t return to this one, coming off a season where he won AAC Player of the Year honors, that would be a huge blow for the Cougars. The Bearcats had every opportunity to make this a close game, but they just couldn’t convert in those situations after getting the Cougars in early foul trouble. Tramon Mark and J’Won Roberts both picked up their second fouls around the 10-minute mark, but the Bearcats just went 4-of-11 from the line in the first 17 minutes. A huge difference maker early as the Bearcats trailed No. 1 Houston 34-20 following an and-1 from Arcenauax.
The Cougars dominated the first half, despite losing Marcus Sasser due to a groin strain early in the first half. Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars took a 38-23 heading into halftime after causing complete havoc in the paint through the first 20 minutes. The Cougars would outscore the Bearcats 26-2 in the paint during the first half as Jarace Walker and J’Wan Roberts were getting anything they wanted inside. The Bearcats tried to switch things up inside, but found themselves in early foul trouble as Ezikpe, Oguama, both were forced to play with two and three fouls respectfully. However, the Bearcats had the opportunity to cut the lead to single digits, but they shot just seven for fifteen from the foul line, a huge difference maker here in the first half. The Cougars finished the first half shooting 50% from the field, while the Bearcats shot just 26% from the field, as Houston’s length and physicality was causing all kinds of trouble for the Bearcats this afternoon.
