GETTING INSIDE
Teams that cannot match up with the athletic Cougars will continue to get pounded, as the Citadel did, 81-58, and TCU did, 105-81, recently.
But the Cougars will continue to lose to more athletic teams that can control the boards, as Mississippi State did in a recent 70-64 victory. The Cougars allowed the Bulldogs to grab 59 rebounds to their 39, a disparity that wiped out the fact Houston had forced its opponent into 19 turnovers.
“Our guys left everything they had on the floor and played their best defensive game,” Houston coach Tom Penders said. “It was a matter of us simply not making our free throws down the stretch.”
Given that Houston allows opponents 76.4 points per game, there was improvement. But missing 6-of-9 free throws in the second half proved costly.
Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer at 27.4 points per game, missed 6-of-11 free throws, but collected 28 points and 12 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
“Aubrey didn’t play his best game,” Penders said. “He normally makes his free throws and is a clutch player.”
Also normal is being out-rebounded by opponents. Houston’s minus-10.2 rebounding margin is last in C-USA. They paid for the disparity against Mississippi State, and they will pay against the better teams in C-USA.
NOTES, QUOTES
• Houston is 169-4 all-time when scoring 100 or more points.
• Coach Tom Penders is tied with E.A. Diddle of Western Kentucky for 17th place in NCAA Division I history with 1,061 games coached.
January At A Glance: The Cougars have a chance to make a fast start in the conference race, if they can handle Tulsa on Jan. 9 and Texas El Paso on Jan. 13 at home. They’ll start the month with road games at Texas-San Antonio and Iowa State. “We have to protect the home court,” guard Kelvin Lewis said.
Quote To Note: “We lead the country in fewest turnovers (90), and were second last year behind Notre Dame by a tenth of a turnover. We do a good job of taking care of the ball. No one has caused our turnovers this year except ourselves.” —Coach Tom Penders.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Season Recap: Houston is 7-3 and has scored 81 or more points in six of its seven victories and once scored 99 points in a loss. This is an offensive team first and that’s not going to change. Aubrey Coleman’s nation-leading average of 27.4 points per game is more than the sum of some teams’ top two scorers. Guard Kelvin Lewis’ 18.8 points per game would make him the high scorer on many C-USA teams. But opponents have a 421-315 rebounding advantage and with Houston often having four guards on the floor, this trend will continue.
Player Rotation: Usual Starters—G Aubrey Coleman, G Desmond Wade, G Kelvin Lewis, G Adam Brown, F Maurice McNeal. Key Subs—F Kirk Van Slyke, G Zamal Nixon, F Sean Coleman.
Game Review:
Mississippi State 70, Houston 64
Houston 81, the Citadel 58
Houston 105, TCU 81
Game Preview:
Vs. Louisiana Tech, Tuesday, Dec. 29
At Texas-San Antonio, Friday, Jan. 1
At Iowa State, Sunday, Jan. 3
At Rice, Wednesday, Jan. 6
Vs. Tulsa, Saturday, Jan. 9
In Focus: Defense has been an issue for the Cougars, but their trapping defense worked very well against TCU. “Certain people have to be on the floor for us to run that system,” coach Tom Penders said. “We have some great quickness on this team. They cover the floor and rotate very well. Some teams like to slow us down and use the shot clock. This trapping strategy works well against them.”
Roster Report:
• Senior guard Kelvin Lewis has made 46 consecutive starts, the longest streak among active Cougars.
• Kelvin Lewis is in 25th place in Houston history with 1,180 points.
• Guard Aubrey Coleman is tied with Tim Moore for eighth place in Houston history with six 30-point games.
