Preview: Cincinnati at Houston
Cincinnati (17-11, 7-10) will travel to Houston (24-4, 16-1) on Saturday to take on the fourth ranked team in the country.
The Cougars wrapped up the Big 12 regular season title Monday night with a 69-61 road win over Texas Tech, who also happened to be the only team to defeat Kelvin Sampson's Cougars.
"I think they've won more games in the last four years than anybody in college basketball, so that speaks for itself," Miller said when questioned about the game prep. "Second Big 12 title (in two years in the league) speaks for itself. We know how hard the league is. We just have to have a great prep and go down there and compete. I think it's that simple."
After starting league play 2-7, UC has won 5 of their last 7 games, including their last two with home wins over TCU and Baylor. The Bearcats most recent stretch has the team playing with more confidence.
"Over the last 3 weeks or so, they reset. They hit the reset button in a really healthy way and they've always been working, but they're working with more intention," Miller explained. "They're playing with more confidence. They're playing more connected on both ends. I think that looks like they're playing harder, I don't know if I would say that because I don't think we weren't not playing hard, but it's more life in their play collectively and I think that started with a mindset shift and we have to continue to do that and build on that. "
Houston enters Saturday ranked No. 3 in both the NCAA Net Ratings, as well as Kenpom's rankings. Houston has been elite at both ends of the court this season, ranking 8th in offensive adjusted efficiency and third in defensive adjusted efficiency.
"(Defensively), they're physical, they throw a lot of bodies at the ball, their hands are very active, and there's a lot of familiar faces , right, so it's guys that have been doing it there for a long time that understand their principles and their rotations," Miller said when describing what makes Houston so difficult to attack in the half court.
"They have a very principle based defense. It's very consistent over a long period of time but it's not just the principles, it's the way they bring them to life with their activity."
How good has Houston been defensively? The Cougars rank No. 8 in effective field goal percentage, No. 15 in turnover percentage, No. 3 in 2-point percentage, No. 5 in block percentage, and No. 11 in non-steal turnover percentage.
In short, Houston's activity creates both forced and unforced errors for the opposition and is primary key to them being an elite team this season in college basketball.
While Houston has been one of the best teams in the country at the defensive end over the past five years, this year's team has gone to another level with their ability to shoot the ball.
Offensively, Houston ranks second in 3-point percentage (40.2).
"One of the things that makes this Houston team so dynamic is the three-point shooting," Miller explained. "Between Cryer, Uzan, and (Sharp), they're one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country and for all the things they've done well over the last handful of years, they haven't been able to shoot the ball, they haven't been in that kind of category in three-point shooting, so I think those three make them a little different in terms of their offensive attack because of the way they shoot the ball and how consistent it's been over the course of the year."
It isn't just Houston's three-point shooting that has made them difficult for teams to handle. Offensively, Houston rebounds 37% of their misses, which ranks No. 12 nationally. Their activity around the rim with Joseph Tugler and J'Wan Roberts and their ability to create second and third chances off misses has allowed them to consistently put pressure on teams around the rim at both ends of the court.
"(Tugler) was such an impactful guy a year ago and when he went down, I thought that affected their team," Miller said. "He's got, not just great length, but timing and that timing affects shot blocking, his rim protection, and certainly affects all of his reboundimg on both offense and defense. He's got a great knack for the ball."
While it may seem like an insurmountable task for Cincinnati to go on the road and knock off one of the elite programs in college basketball on their home court, Wes Miller is confident his team will be ready and are prepared for what's ahead of them on Saturday.
"These guys on our team, at this point, have played a number of big games against really, really good opponents and in really tough environments and we're going to have to rely on that experience and wisdom."
Tipoff is set for 4:30. Houston is currently a 13.5 point favorite with the over/under set at 124.5.
Houston players to know:
6'1" Gr. G LJ Cryer (14.6 pts, 2.2 reb, 2.0 ast, 40.9 FG%, 41.5 3P%, 91.5 FT%)
6'3" Jr G Emmanual Sharp (11.9 pts, 2.9 reb, 43.4 FG%, 43.1 3P%, 90.4 FT%)
6'4" Jr G Milos Uzan (11.1 pts, 3.2 reb, 4.6 ast, 46.5 FG%, 42.9 3P%, 71.8 FT%)
6'8" Soph F Joseph Tugler (5.8 pts, 5.7 reb, 53.2 FG%, 33 3P%, 54 FT%)
6'8" Gr. F J'Wan Roberts (11.4 pts, 6.4 reb, 1.8 ast, 51.8 FG%, 64 FT%)
6'3" Gr. G Mylik Wilson (6 .0 pts, 3.5 reb, 46.6 FG%, 44 3P%, 78.3 FT%)
6'6" R-Soph G Terrance Arceneaux (7.8 pts, 3.2 reb, 47.1 FG%, 37.9 3P%, 73.2 FT%)
6'8" Sr F Ja'Vier Francis (5.0 pts, 4.2 reb, 55.8 FG%, 71.7 FT%)
Wes Miller Previews Houston:
Final Thoughts:
Saturday is a massive opportunity for Wes Miller and Cincinnati. The Bearcats are back in the bubble conversation and would receive a huge boost to their resume if they can figure out a way to escape Houston with a win.
Kelvin Sampson has won 12 consecutive games against the Bearcats, going back to the 2020 season. UC has not beaten the Cougars since Feb 1st, 2020, when Jarron Cumberland (17 pts) and Trevon Scott (16 pts, 11 rbs) helped erase a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Houston 64-62.
UC has allowed only nine free-throw attempts the last two games. Cincinnati has allowed the fewest foul shots in the league in Big 12 play and is 13th nationally with 13.6 fouls per game. The Bearcats will have to find a way to keep Houston off the foul line and continue to play aggressive without fouling. UC currently ranks 25th in Kenpom defensively.
UC is 11-2 this season when reaching 70 points, with their only two losses coming to Texas Tech and Iowa State. Find a way to get to 70 points and the Bearcats will atleast have a chance at the end.