Cougars cruise into much-needed break
Coach Kelvin Sampson could sense it. The University of Houston players could feel it. After a rugged stretch of three games in six days, the Cougars desperately needed a break.
“I do know the pulse of this team, and the thing this team really needs right now is rest,” Sampson said after the secondranked Cougars throttled Tulsa 80-42 on Wednesday night behind 25 points from star guard Marcus Sasser. “We’ve had a tough stretch, starting in New Orleans ( Jan. 17 against Tulane). It’s been nonstop.”
The Cougars (23-2, 11-1 AAC) enter their longest break of the season, an eight-day layoff before the next game on Feb. 16 at SMU. A “mental reset,” as redshirt freshman guard Emanuel Sharp described, awaits as the Cougars take a couple of days off from practice and gear up for a closing stretch that could include a deep NCAA Tournament run.
A 24-2 run in the first half against Tulsa got the break off to an early start, as the Cougars built a 41-point lead and allowed Sampson to play each starter fewer than 30 minutes.
The lopsided win was a change of pace for the Cougars, who had trailed at some point in each of their past six games, including 10-7 less than five minutes into Wednesday’s game.
That’s the last time Tulsa would lead, as Sasser went on a scoring binge with 12 consecutive points and the Cougars kept pouring on the points. After missing 9-of-13 shots to open the game, the Cougars shot nearly 60 percent to end the first half.
Sasser’s 3-pointer to open the second half gave him 22 points, four more than Tulsa’s entire roster.
No close game down the stretch. No need to worry about free throws.
Sasser was 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Sharp had 13 points off the bench, including three 3pointers, before he fouled out with 3:21 left. Tramon Mark added 9 points and eight rebounds.
Even UH president Renu Khator summed it up in a tweet: “What a great, no-stress win.”
Since Jan. 25, UH has gone to Orlando, Fla., for a game against UCF, played at home against Cincinnati, had a quick turnaround for consecutive road games at Wichita State and Temple and then Wednesday’s game.
UH won all five games to extend its lead to two games in the American Athletic Conference race.
Going back to the preseason, Sampson said the Cougars have conducted 84 practices and played two scrimmages and 25 regular-season games.
Six games remain in the regular season as the Cougars chase a fourth AAC regularseason title in five years. Then comes the likelihood of three games in as many days at the conference tournament.
A strong finish could land the Cougars one of the four coveted No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. UH is currently No. 1 in the NET rankings and KenPom, two metrics used by the tournament’s selection committee.
Before then, the Cougars will use the next few days to catch their breath.
“Just taking advantage of it, getting as much treatment, because we know what we are heading into,” said redshirt junior forward J’Wan Roberts, who had 6 points and 10 rebounds against Tulsa. “Every game is important. We’ll focus on one game at a time. Treatment one day at a time. Get our bodies right and get back sharp. We know the stretch we are about to go on.”
Down the stretch, Sampson said he has been looking to take the workload off his starters. Jamal Shead, who was in early foul trouble Wednesday, played almost 30 minutes, and Mark played 29 minutes. Sasser, Roberts and Jarace Walker all played between 21 and 26½ minutes.
That allowed Sampson to use his bench, with Sharp, Ja’Vier Francis and Terrance Arceneaux getting the majority of the minutes.
“It’s a good mental reset for us and for our bodies to take this break and breathe a little bit and prepare for this next stretch,” Sharp said. “Just gather ourselves after this tough stretch we just went through.”
Along with some much-needed rest, the Cougars will use the time to heal injuries. Arceneaux, a true freshman guard, left Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury.
“It’s unfortunate, but we also have a little window here coming up that gives him a chance to get back healthy,” Sampson said.