Cougars are upset on the road at Wichita State.
Second-half scoring woes seal fate in battle atop conference standings
In the COVID-19 era, the University of Houston have been spared watching fans storm the court.
The latest moment came Thursday night, as Wichita State upset the sixth-ranked Cougars 68-63 at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
The Shockers (13-4, 9-2) took over sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference, percentage points ahead of the Cougars (17-3, 11-3).
Much like this week’s temperatures, the Cougars’ shooting turned frigid at times. A 12-point first-half lead quickly evaporated.
And now, likely any shot at a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament has disappeared in the dark.
Behind lights-out 3-point shooting, Wichita State beat its highest-ranked opponent at home since knocking off No. 2 Louisville 84-78 on Feb. 25, 1967.
Wichita State made 10 3pointers against the nation’s top 3-point defense. Perhaps more disappointing to UH coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars were “out-scrapped” and outrebounded for one of the few times this season, 35-33.
“We’ve been a good rebounding team here for a long time,” Sampson said after the Cougars lost for just the second time in the last 12 games. “I just thought that team was tougher than us on the boards. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that in seven years, espe
cially the last six years. Very rarely. That team was tougher than we were on the boards, and that’s certainly disappointing.”
Wichita State made 9of-13 3s to begin the game, erasing a 12-point lead before halftime — with UH starters DeJon Jarreau and Justin Gorham on the bench in foul trouble — and seized command with an 11-0 run to begin the second half.
During the momentumshifting, eight-minute stretch, the Shockers made seven 3s, highlighted by back-to-back shots by Gilbert to cap a 28-6 run. Wichita State entered the game ranked 250th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (32.2).
It brought back memories of another road loss to East Carolina, which made 11 3-pointers in an 82-73 upset over then-No. 5 Houston on Feb. 3.
“In the games we’ve lost, teams have shot the ball well from the 3-point line,” said Sampson, whose team entered the game holding opponents to 25.5-percent from 3-point range. “That’s an area we’ve guarded well this whole year.
“I thought we had most of those shots contested. They hit tough shots.”
Before the game, Sampson said Wichita State presented the challenge of the toughest backcourt the Cougars would face this season. Tyson Etienne (16), Alterique Gilbert (16) and Dexter Dennis (12) combined for 44 points and seven 3s.
Down 62-54 with less than three minutes left, the Cougars rallied to within two points on a pair of layups by Gorham and two free throws by Jarreau with 54 seconds left.
Gilbert followed with a layup, pushing the Shockers’ lead to 64-60, only for Quentin Grimes to bank a 3pointer to trim the lead to 64-63 with 21 seconds remaining.
After Etienne missed the front end of a bonus free throw with 18 seconds left, the Cougars had a chance to win the game. But Jarreau’s cross-court pass to Grimes was intercepted by Dennis, who took off on a fast break and was fouled. Gorham was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul, and Dennis made both free throws for a 66-63 lead.
Etienne added two free throws with 10 seconds as the Shockers celebrated arguably their biggest win since joining the AAC.
“There is absolutely no reason he should’ve passed the ball,” Sampson said. “The cross-court pass was mind-boggling.”
Another head-scratcher: UH was 5-of-11 from the freethrow line, including two misses by Grimes with 1:18 that would’ve pulled the Cougars within 62-60.
“You can shoot a million (free throws) a day,” Sampson said. “Unless you are tough enough to step up and make it when it counts, it doesn’t matter.”
One bright spot for the Cougars was the season debut of forward Fabian White Jr., nine months after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. White had three points one rebound and one assist in nine minutes.
Jarreau finished with 16 points, Grimes had 13 and Gorham chipped in 10 for the Cougars.