Houston's defense stifles Kansas State in 74-52 win

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POSTED: January 27, 2024 -- 11:33 p.m. CT

HOUSTON, TX -- Fertitta Center

The Houston Cougars maintained their top spot in the NET rankings with a dominating 74-52 home win over the Kansas State Wildcats Saturday afternoon.

After the game, K-State Head Coach Jerome Tang said of Houston's defense as "they may be the best defensive I've ever seen".

Houston (18-2 overall, 5-2 in Big 12) led the entire ball game.

Houston point guard Jamal Shead scored a jumper in the paint 59 seconds into the game. Then, Emanuel Sharp hit a pull up three 55 seconds later. Next, redshirt-senior forward J'Wan Roberts scored a jump hook in the paint. Houston led K-State 7-0 2 plus minutes into the game.

Coach Tang called a 30-second timeout.

After the timeout, Houston scored 4 more points for an 11-0 lead. K-State's Cam Carter ended the Wildcats' scoring drought with a turnaround jumper at the 14:12 mark of the first half.

Thirteen seconds later, Houston freshman big man JoJo Tugler got a dunk.

K-State scored 5 in a row to get within 6 (13-7); however, Houston responded with an 8-2 run to increase its lead to 12 (21-9) with 9:39 to go in the opening half.

Houston led by as much as 17 before ending the half with the last 3 free throws to lead by 20 (41-21) at halftime.In the opening 20 minutes, Houston scored 1.281 points per possession compared to K-State's 0.677 points per possession.

K-State pulled within 14 twice early in the second half. Each time, Jamal Shead had answer. First, Shead split K-State's double-team at the top of the key and scored a pull up jumper in the paint. Next, after calling for another high screen-and-roll with J'Wan Roberts, Shead hit a pull up 3-pointer.

The Coogs' lead did not get below 17 the rest of ball game. Houston led by as much as 29 as the Coogs' cruised to the 74-52 victory.

Houston finished the game scoring 1.156 points per possession while limiting K-State to 0.813 points per possession.

Shead scored a game-high 17 points to lead Houston. J'Wan Roberts was next with 14 points and Damian Dunn scored 13 points off Houston's bench. Ja'Vier Francis led Houston with 8 rebounds.

Houston out-rebounded K-State 38-28 and only committed 8 turnovers. The Wildcats turned over the ball 18 times. Houston outscored K-State 25-11 in points off turnovers.

"Our holy trinity doesn't change: Defend, Rebound, Take Care of the Ball," Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson said after the game. "Those three things give us a chance to win."

NEXT: Houston's next game is Monday, January 29, in Austin, against the Texas Longhorns. Tip is set for 8 pm CT on ESPN.

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