With 7:43 remaining in the first half on Saturday, No. 2 Houston held a 25-24 lead over No. 10 Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Then Houston put the clamps down. The Cougars reeled off 18 straight points and ended the half on a 21-4 run to take a 46-28 lead into the break. At that point, the game was effectively over, and Houston cruised to an 88-57 win to secure its seventh straight trip to the Sweet 16.
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Once it gets there, it’s very much a contender to advance to the Final Four and compete for the program’s first national title. The Cougars have cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, following up Thursday’s 78-47 first-round thrashing of Idaho with Saturday’s 31-point win.
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Houston advances with momentum and 1 unique edge
It’s not just the scoring margins that point to Houston’s strengths. It’s how the Cougars are building those margins. Houston’s profile is that of a championship contender — elite guard play, strong rebounding, Kelvin Sampson’s trademark smothering defense and NCAA tournament experience.
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Houston returns three starters from last season’s Final Four team in Emanuel Sharp, Joseph Tugler and Milos Uzan. It’s added arguably the most explosive guard in the country in Kingston Flemings, a third-team All-American and projected top-five pick in June’s NBA Draft.
Add to that profile a distinct advantage that no other Sweet 16 team will have. The South regional semifinals and finals will be played in Houston, less than three miles from the university’s campus. Reigning champion Florida is the No. 1 seed in the South, but it will be the road team if it advances to a regional final matchup against Houston.
Flustered Aggies no match for Houston
Houston’s dominance was on display Saturday as it controlled virtually every aspect of the game. The Aggies’ brand of fast-paced offense and lots of 3s stood little chance against Houston’s assertive defense.
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Houston frustrated Texas A&M on the boards to the point that Aggies coaches got whistled for a technical foul.
During a first-half sequence, Houston missed three 3-pointers on a single possession and secured an offensive rebound off each miss. Texas A&M ultimately fouled on the possession, sending Houston to the free-throw line.
The Texas A&M bench picked up a technical after the sequence, sending Houston to the line for two more free throws. The coaching staff gave referee Roger Ayers an earful, convinced that Houston fouled while securing its offensive rebounds.
Their pleas were to no avail as Houston secured a 46-29 advantage on the boards, including a 19-9 edge in offensive rebounds. Houston also took care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers on the day, one of them when it let the shot clock run out on its final possession.
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Houston limited Texas A&M’s high-octane offense to 35% shooting from the floor and 25% (6 of 24) from 3. It didn’t matter for Houston that it struggled itself from 3 (26%, 8 of 31) as it hoisted 16 more field-goal attempts than Texas A&M.
No single player dominated the box score for Houston. Sharp (18 points, 4 rebounds), Uzan (15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and freshman Chris Cenac Jr. (17 points, 9 rebounds) each scored in double figures. Houston neither needed nor got a big day from Flemings, who posted a modest 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
The competition, of course, projects to get considerably stiffer from here for Houston, which suffered a three-game losing streak against top-14 opponents Iowa State, Arizona and Kansas in February.
It will now need to prove that it can do this against higher-quality opponents. A Sweet 16 matchup against an explosive third-seeded Illinois team potentially awaits.
But Houston appears to be peaking at the right time and headed back home, two wins from a second straight trip to the Final Four.