Experience and toughness, toughness and experience. Houston has it. LSU is working on acquiring both.
In what was easily the game of the night going into and coming out of Wednesday, Houston trailed LSU by 15 points early in the second half, and it’s not an overstatement to say the Cougars appeared to be on the ropes. The Tigers were just finishing up a 17-2 run going back into the opening 20 minutes and in a rabid, hostile environment had been impressive, looking every bit the part of that lead. Houston appeared in danger of getting run off of its own court, and even sharpshooter Corey Davis picked up his fourth foul early in the second half.
Even as what the eyes saw might’ve suggested little chance of a comeback, though, it still frankly was little surprise when the Cougars battled and scraped their way back into the game-almost literally. Sure enough, Houston took care of that deficit with superior effort (and a supportive home crowd), took the lead down the stretch and went on to an 82-76 win to remain undefeated at 9-0.
Spurred on by a raucous home crowd at the Fertitta Center, nee Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston prevailed in an ultra-physical contest with 51 fouls called and plenty left on the table. The Cougars got dirty in the second half, limiting LSU to 26.9% shooting and owning the boards.
Coach Kelvin Sampson’s squads at previous stops like Washington State and Oklahoma were well-known for their toughness, and he’s gradually formed Houston into his kind of team. The fruits were seen last year in the form of a 27-8 record, a win in the NCAA Tournament and experience gained in the regular season battling teams like Cincinnati and Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference.
It showed in the second half, when junior Armoni Brooks scored all 13 of his points, and also joined teammate Brison Gresham as both grabbed seven rebounds each. (Gresham-a sophomore transfer from Massachusetts-came up just shy of a single-double with a working big man’s line of one point and eight rebounds).
The veteran shining most of all was Galen Robinson, a player not known for his offense kicking in 11 in the second half and 18 for the game, as well as six assists and five rebounds. Robinson is doing as much as almost any player in the country to keep the traditional point guard cool as someone who shoots little and passes a lot. When scoring was needed though with Davis sidelined much of the second half, Robinson picked up his game and showed what he really is as a classic point-a winner.
LSU is a young but mucho talented team, its ascent seemingly only a matter of time with coach Will Wade recruiting big and bringing a in a class ranked in the top five this year. The Tigers flashed all kinds of talent in taking a huge lead on the road, and still had chances to win the game in the final minutes. It just may take some battle scars before they can take another step. In that regard, this was an outstanding road test that should pay dividends down the line, if not very soon in Southeastern Conference play.
Side Dishes:
- Besides Houston and LSU tangling, the best game of the night was Louisville withstanding a tough Lipscomb team for a 72-68 home win. It’s clear the Cardinals are already taking on a Chris Mack team identity, with sticky, focused defense and an offense that plays from the post first. Jordan Nwora scored 22 and Louisville held a big rebounding advantage (49-35) and also limited the visitors to 35.4% shooting. That all of those advantages still were barely enough to win helps tell just how good Lipscomb is; the Bisons-who already won at SMU and TCU-are the real deal, a team with better balance than many might think and capable of beating good squads even when not at their best. Lipscomb continued to come back every time the Cardinals would stretch out the lead a bit, and was within two with a chance to tie or take the lead with less than a minute left.
- The most eye-opening performance of the night came from another team in Kentucky, as Murray State drubbed Southern Illinois 80-52. Ja Morant was spectacular again-23 points and 13 assists, and this one was over before halftime, with the Racers leading by 31 at the break. Murray State is once again a team to keep a real eye on and in particular is defending rabidly-holding teams to 35.6% shooting-while this was a flop by the Salukis, and not the first time this season they’ve played badly with a chance to make an impression of sorts (see: Massachusetts). It also continues a disappointing non-conference season for the Missouri Valley Conference, too, with experienced teams like SIU, Loyola (Ill.) and Illinois State coming up small too often in the bigger games on their schedules.
- Oregon edged San Diego at home, the final 65-55 score not indicative of how close this one was the previous 39 minutes. The Toreros led most of the first half and were still within five late before free throws added to the margin. Bol Bol was the difference with 20 points.
- Temple and Massachusetts resumed their legendary rivalry from when they were Atlantic 10 rivals, and it was a worthy addition to the series with the Owls rallied for a 65-63 win. Levan Alston Jr., a.k.a. ‘Shizz’, scored a career-best 31 points, and Temple continues to put together a solid non-conference resume. Tough break for the Minutemen in this game, as Rahsaan Holloway went down injured just over a minute in and did not return.
- Texas Tech is also 9-0 after blowing out Northwestern State 79-44. The Red Raiders’ early schedule has been horrendous.
- BYU ran by Portland State 85-66, with T.J. Haws scoring a career-best 30 and giving the Cougars something they’ve struggled mightily with this season: three-point shooting. Haws was 5-for-10 from deep; the rest of the team made 2 of 11, and Brigham Young is at just 30.2% from the arc this season.
- Boise State struggled to get by Alabama State, trailing at halftime in an eventual 67-57 win. The Broncos have some solid pieces but right now are not the finely tuned offensive team they typically play as. Before the game, it was announced that point guard Pat Dembley would serve a one-game suspension for “attitude detrimental to the team.”
- Stony Brook moved to 9-2 with a hard-earned 83-79 win over LIU. It’s the Seawolves’ best start since moving to NCAA Division I in 1999.
- Hartford handled Bryant easily 91-74, and a call to big George Blagojevic, who posted career highs with 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks.
- Miami (Fla.) will not have Deng Gak for the rest of the season, as the freshman is out for the year with a knee injury suffered in the Hurricanes’ loss to Yale on Dec. 1. The 6-10 forward had just made his first start in that game and played in all eight contests to that point, averaging 2.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His loss certainly doesn’t help a team that already had lost four in a row and was playing a tight rotation of just seven players, and Dewan Hernandez is still out while the school awaits an NCAA ruling on his eligibility.
- Some exciting news from Evansville, for anyone familiar with that program’s rich history. The Purple Aces are bringing the sleeves back. UE will introduce an orange sleeved alternate jersey on Saturday at home against Jacksonville State, and these are jerseys true to the Aces’ tradition, not the skintight compression jerseys that look like baby T-shirts that were a recent trend with pro teams. For a program that is rebuilding and its biggest distinguishing identity at this point is its rich tradition, the sleeves are a natural, and we hope to see more of them.
Today’s Menu: No way to get around the point, it’s a weak one.
- Of the 18 games on the slate, the best might be…Boston University at Dartmouth? It’s one of just two few matching two D-I teams with winning records, and the Terriers already have four road wins while the Big Green have been respectable out of the Ivy.
- The other is New Orleans at Tulsa, where the Privateers have a fighting chance at an upset. The Privateers took Louisiana-Lafayette to overtime and early on played Northwestern much more competitively than the 30-point final spread showed (it was a 12-point game with under 10 to play), and much as the Golden Hurricane picked up nice wins last week against Kansas State and Oklahoma State, the offense is very hit and miss.
- North Florida at Florida International is an in-state battle. FIU is off to a rather surprising 7-2 start even against a soft schedule, but got trucked by Arkansas by 32 last time out.
- Eastern Washington travels to face increasingly trendy San Francisco, an early-season darling in some computer rankings. Fifth straight year these two have played, and EWU won the first three before the Dons broke through last year.
Enjoy your Thursday.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
