The (1-0) Towson Tigers will visit the Fertitta Center for a Saturday matinee against the (1-0) Houston Cougars. In their last match-up in 2023 at the “Charleston Classic,” Houston won 65-49. Fresh off his 800th career win and 300th win at Houston, Coach Kelvin Sampson wants to see progress from the opener. UH dominated the glass on both ends (+13)vs. Lehigh and shared the ball at a high level with 14 assists, to Lehigh’s five. Turnovers will be something the Coogs look to improve on, as they had an uncharacteristic 14 in the opener. Towson is much better than Lehigh from what I’ve seen. This will be a great opportunity for some of the vets to step up when it’s their time and show what they are capable of.

Towson Tigers

I was impressed with some things I saw on film from Towson. Tyler Tejada is a talented athlete. He is the reigning CAA “Player of the Year” and also my head of the snake for this game. He is a high-level, three-level player. He has great positional size and will likely be a professional basketball player next year. Kudos to him for finishing his career where he started it. He is joined by high-level scoring point guard Dylan Williamson, who is very crafty and a solid scorer in the paint.

The Towson big men play their role well. None are extraordinary scorers, but they all play hard and rebound on both ends of the court. They will be challenged with the athleticism and skill that Jojo and Chris bring. I would expect UH to go with the pick-and-roll early and often, as the Towson bigs are a little slow to recover to the roller. It could be a big assist day for Kingston and will open up shot opportunities for Milos, Emanuel, and the other guards.

This will be a good early in the season test for the Coogs. Towson is talented enough to win the CAA and is a potential NCAA Tournament team. The Coogs will need to keep Tejada and Williamson out of the paint and off the free-throw line. I expect the Coogs to handle business at home and keep improving game by game.

Towson Offense Notes

• The Tigers run several sets out of the “Horns” offense (A guy on each elbow of the free-throw line).
• They will run in transition when they can. Tejada is an excellent rim-runner.
• The only “true” post player they have is Mor Seck, and they don’t really look for him much on the offensive end.
• Towson has a lot of guys who try to go one-on-one to score. That is usually not a good recipe for success against. Houston. They are not an overwhelming outside shooting team. They only attempted 11 three-point shots in their first game (3-11).
• They have several guys who are good at getting into the paint and trying to draw a foul. That worked out well for Lehigh and should be a point of emphasis for the Coogs to defend without fouling in the paint.

Tigers Defense Notes

• In their first game, they played one possession of a 2-3 zone, in which they gave up and open three, and never played zone again.
• They played 70 possessions of half-court, man-to-man defense. I would expect them to do the same on Saturday.
• Towson tends to hedge on pick-and-rolls to push the ball handler farther out. Whoever Caleb Embeya is guarding may be able to get some scoring opportunities, as he is slow to recover from the hedge.
• The Houston play where Eman passes to Jojo at the slot, then fakes the hand-off and curls into the paint for the drop pass should be there. I’d run it first play of the game or to start the second half.

Towson Personnel

(*Indicates who started their first game)

*#15 – Tyler Tejada – 6’9″ – JR – Guard/Forward – 24ppg, 4rpg, 3apg, 2spg.

• Reigning, defending, undisputed CAA “Player of the Year”;
• Head of the Snake;
• Tall/athletic/three-level scoring guard-forward; He’s by far their “g2g aka go-to-guy”;
• Had 6 points and six rebounds vs the Coogs in 2023;
• Runs the floor hard; They like to look for him in transition;
• Patient on offense; Loves to drive going left and is savvy at drawing fouls;
• Outstanding finisher in the paint, whether pulling up or getting all the way to the rim;

*#4 – Dylan Williamson – 6’1 – RS JR – Guard – 14ppg, 1rpg, 5apg.

• Scoring point guard;
• Had zero points and 4 assists vs the Coogs in 2023;
• Nice floater in the paint;
• Quick shot release; Very good outside shooter;

*#13 – Chike Ndefo – 6’7″ – RS FR – Guard/Forward – 4ppg, 5rpg.

• Athletic forward; Good motor;
• Crashes the boards hard on both ends;
• Best when scoring right around the basket;

*#23 – Caleb Embeya – 6’9″ – SO – Forward – 2ppg, 6rpg.

• Tall athletic forward;
• Solid post moves, but struggles to finish over length;
• Plays a little lazy on defense; I’d look to expose him early and often.

*#1 – Tyler Schmidt – 6’3″ – GR SR – Guard – (Olivet Nazarene, Valparaiso) – 2ppg, 1rpg.

• Shooting guard; Sneaky athletic!;
• Averaged 10ppg and shot 38% from beyond the arc last year at Valpo;
• Good cutter on offense;

#21 – Jack Doumbia Jr. – 6’6″ – GR SR – Guard – (Tallahassee CC, Norfolk St, Wright State) – 13ppg, 7rpg.

• Our first world traveler of the year!; I suspect he may start this game over Schmidt;
• Really athletic combo-guard; Runs the point when Williamson comes out;
• LOVES to go one-on-one and create his own shot;
• Likes to drive right for the dribble pull-up jumper; Likes to drive left when getting to the rim;
• Not a major outside shooting threat; 4-13 (31% 3pt) at Wright State last year.

#24 – Jaquan Womack – 6’6″ – FR – Guard/Forward – 6ppg, 2rpg.

• Tall/athletic big body guard-forward;
• Likes the mid-range jumper; Strong in the paint;
• Capable outside shooter;
• Makes some freshman mistakes, but I like how hard he plays.

#41 – Mor Seck – 7’0″ – SR – Center – (Hawaii, Fresno State) – 2ppg, 6rpg.

• Very tall center;
• Solid rebounder on both ends of the court; Must put a body on him;
• Tough rim protector; Affects a lot of missed shots in the paint;
• A little uncomfortable when he catches the ball; He will likely panic if MONSTER happens quick enough.

#3 – Tyler Coleman – 6’7″ – RS SR – Forward – 0ppg, 0rpg, 1TOpg.

• Tall athletic forward; Defensive specialist;
• Has played around 27 games per year, but has never averaged over 1ppg;
• Was the first guy off the bench; Had an immediate turnover and didn’t go back in.

#12 – Abdou Samb – 6’8″ – RS FR – Forward – 0ppg, 0rpg, 3 fouls per game.

• Tall forward; Super long wing-span;
• Played three minutes in their first game and had three fouls; He and Ced may need to battle…

Keys to Victory

1. Defend the paint without fouling. Towson LOVES to go one-on-one and get to the paint to score/draw fouls. The Coogs reached too much vs Lehigh. They will need to play with their arms up and not get cheap fouls in the paint.
2. Know where Tejada and Williamson are at all times. The combo averaged 32ppg last season. It will be important to take one of them away in this one.
3. Pick and Roll often. The Tigers like to hedge ball screens, but are a little slow recovering to the roller. I’d go Kingston and Chris or Jojo in the pick and roll game and have Eman and Milos spot up in the corners for open shot opportunities.
4. Defensive transition. Towson will run on offense when they can and look for easy scoring chances. The Coogs will need to communicate when getting back on defense and identify their man quickly.
5. Bench Opportunities. Coach Sampson is still figuring out his rotations. Games like this are crucial for guys coming off the bench to find their role and run with it. Between the Mississippi State (exhibition) and Lehigh game, the Coogs have scored 136 points. Of those 136 points, only 13 have come from the bench. That is something that will need to improve and should as time goes on. But I know Coach Sampson will be looking for someone to stand out in this game.