Houston meets Kansas State this morning in ESPN’s first game of the day. The Cougars are a 15-point favorite, but Kansas State can play. They have an excellent coach in Jerome Tang, and despite losing their best player after an altercation the same weekend UH was in Manhattan for football, he’s guided them to a 4-2 start in the conference.
“The pressure to hold serve is immense,” Kellen Sampson said on Thursday. And it’s true: UH has to win all their home games in the conference and then pick some off on the road to have a shot at the Big 12 title.
the daily #176 | 1/27/2024 | Archives
KSU Personnel (* Indicates probable starters)
*#24 Arthur Kaluma 6’7″ Jr. – 15ppg, 8rpg (Creighton)
- Head of the snake;
- Long/athletic forward;
- Three-level scorer;
- Best when attacking the basket;
- Moost consistent three-point shooter (40.7%);
- Tough in the paint;
- Great shot-fake:
*#2- Tylor Perry 5’11” 5th year – 15ppg, 3rpg, 5apg (North Texas)
- Small/really good point guard;
- Excellent distributor (5.2 apg – 42nd nationally);
- Three-level scorer;
- Strong at attacking the basket;
- Elite free-throw shooter; (ranked #16 nationally in FT% at 91.67%);
- Three-point shooter (77% of his shot attempts are from 3pt. #14 in the nation in 3pt attempts with 160):
*#5 Cam Carter 6’3″ Jr. – 16ppg, 5rpg (Mississippi State)
- KSU’s Leading scorer;
- Athletic/three-level scoring guard;
- Solid three-point shooter;
- Plays above the rim when he has the opportunity:
*#13 Will McNair Jr. 6’11” 5th year – 8ppg, 5rpg (New Mexico State/Mississippi State)
- Big body/post player;
- Solid post moves; Nice left-handed hook;
- Really good shot blocker;
- Loves to rim-run;
- Good in the pick and roll;
*#1 David N’Guessan 6’9″ Sr. – 8ppg, 8rpg (Virginia Tech)
- Extremely athletic/long forward;
- Capable, but not a great three-point shooter;
- Solid around the basket (he’s 53/75 at the rim – 71% of his shot attempts);
- Really good offensive rebounder; (ranked #39 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game with 3.21 per game):
#4- Dai Dai Ames 6’1″ Fr. – 5ppg, 1rpg
- LEFTY;
- Back-up point guard;
- Really good at getting to the basket:
#20 Jerrell Colbert 6’10” RS So. – 3ppg, 2rpg
- LONG/athletic forward;
- Solid around the basket;
- Not a threat outside of the lane on offense;
- Good shot blocker;
- Not bad in the pick and roll:
#8 R.J. Jones 6’3″ Fr. – 3ppg, 1rpg
- Back-up shooting guard;
- Solid shooter:
#3 Dorian Finister 6’4″ RS Fr. – 3ppg, 2rpg
- Athletic back-up guard;
- Not a great shooter:
Keys to Victory
- Slow down at least two of their three-headed monster. Their top 3 guys (Carter, Kaluma, and Perry) average 46 points, 14.5 boards, and 10 assists combined per game). Houston will need to take away one of the three and slow down at least one of the other two. They have decent scoring threats around those three, but they definitely lead the way!
- Keep the boards clean. Kansas State is not a great rebounding team. The Coogs are. UH needs to be aggressive on both ends rebounding. They beat BYU because of four HUGE “dagger threes.” They should have opportunities to do that again on Saturday.
- Attack mode on offense. KSU doesn’t defend extremely well. The Coog guards should look to continue attacking the paint, looking to score first and kick out to open shooters second. They should also be able to feed the post and allow J’wan to make some plays inside.
- Limit their runs. The Wildcats have been known to get behind in games but always seem to fight back. Perry has been a “second half” scorer for them. His ability to make threes has kept them in games. If the Coogs can get a lead on them, it is imperative to keep the foot on the gas and not allow them to catch up.
- Don’t overlook K-State. The Coogs have two massive games next week vs Texas and Kansas. It would be easy to overlook the Wildcats. Knowing Coach Sampson led teams, this will not be an issue. Kansas State has a very dangerous team. UH needs to take care of business in this home game. I think they will do just that!
