Houston Cougars trounced by TCU 80-35
Posted: December 1, 2011 -- 11:21 p.m. CT.
HOUSTON, TX (Hofheinz Pavilion) -- "I'm sorry. I take full responsibility for where we're at," said Todd Buchanan, head coach of the Houston Cougars. "It is on me. It is solely on me. For those (fans) that are here and for those that continue to come, I love you; and, I appreciate your support. Please hang in there with us because, I promise you, with every fiber in my soul and in my heart, I will make this right."
Coach Buchanan said those words after his team was trounced by the TCU Horned Frogs 80-35 in front of an announced crowd of 636 fans.
The stats from the game are hideous; however, the lack of effort and passion were worse. The Cougars, playing with 7 healthy players, made only 9 of 47 field goal attempts in the ball game. The Cougars (0-7) missed 16 straight field goals before sophomore Mae Woods scored at the 7:58 mark of the second half. In the final 3:30 of the game, the Cougars made 3 of their final 7 shots, to boost their shooting numbers to an Antarctic-like 4 for 25 in the second half.
Senior guard Roxana Button dealt with double-teams all night; and, Button led the Coogs with a team-high 10 points.
"I want to speak intelligently right now and not out of frustration. My heart breaks for my staff right now. My heart breaks for Roxana Button right now. It's very difficult.
Buchanan continued speaking from his heart.
"It's very difficult to see it. To go through it. I'm embarrassed quite frankly. I don't care if we have seven (healthy) kids. We were just dismantled."
Buchanan compared Thursday night's awful loss to the thumping his team received last season to the Georgetown Hoyas (77-37) when Houston's Courtney Taylor did not play due to injury.
"The only time I can possibly think that I was more disappointed in one of my basketballs from attitude to not responding to not having any kind of fight was how I felt after the Georgetown game."
Buchanan refused to use the injuries and his team's inexperience as excuses for his team's poor performance.
"That's never going to be me," Buchanan added. "That's never going to be my demeanor and that's never going to be what I'm about and what we're trying to build here as far as making excuses."
Buchanan is uncertain how his team will respond from this shellacking.
"It depends on where they want to go. Right now, I just don't see it," a frustrated Buchanan said. "I don't see it in their eyes. I don't see it in their heart. I see a very low and unenthusiastic and uninterested basketball team. Therefore, as the head coach, and along with my staff, I've got a huge job to find out where we are.
"It's no different for me. We roll up our sleeves and go to work every day. Some of them don't understand that. I've done a very, very bad job of getting them to understand; but, we'll continue to fight."
The Cougars head to San Antonio, Sunday, December 4, to play the UTSA Roadrunners. Tip is set for 2 p.m.
