Long scoring droughts have plagued Houston this season, especially in its losses. Thursday night, in a de facto home NCAA Tournament game, it felt like the Cougars were in a 40-minute shooting slump as their season came to an end at the hands of Illinois in the Sweet 16.
“Sometimes it’s not your night on the offensive end. We were getting good shots, shots that we expect to make,” Kingston Flemings said. “They were better than us tonight, and that’s all it takes in March Madness. You’re better one night, and you win.”
Flemings compared the helpless feeling of not being able to buy a bucket to his final high school game. In that game, Brennan shot just 27 percent from the field in a loss to Bellaire in the UIL Class 6A Division 1 state semifinals.
The consensus in the UH postgame locker room was that it wasn’t the quality of shots that killed them, but rather their inability to knock them down. Outside of JoJo Tugler hitting three of his four shots, UH’s remaining four starters combined to go 16-for-49 (32.7%) from the field. The bench wasn’t any better, contributing just nine points on 11 shot attempts, all courtesy of Chase McCarty.
Emmanuel Sharp, who played 144th and final game in a UH uniform on Thursday night, called the way the Cougars lost “disappointing.”
Let’s take a look at the numbers that defined the game:
0 – The Cougars failed to score a single fastbreak point. Illinois thrives in condensing the game to the halfcourt, and it enforced its will on UH all night.
2 – That’s how many free throws UH shot. The Coogs did not get to the line until 3:27 left in the game. It was UH’s fewest attempts since the Oklahoma State game in 2018.
4 – In the last five seasons, four of UH’s NCAA Tournament runs have ended in Texas. The only one that didn’t end in Texas was the year that the Final Four was in Houston.
7 – UH only had a combined seven layup and dunk attempts. The Cougars’ guards looked timid all night as Illinois’ size appeared to deter them from even attempting to get to the rim. Illinois had 16 attempts at the rim.
10 – Number of free throw attempts Illinois has given up in three NCAA Tournament games. The Illini gave up two to Penn, six to VCU, and two to Houston. Illinois’ Kylen Boswell attempted 10 in the UH game alone (17 total in the Dance).
12 – Illinois had a dozen offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points. While it might not seem like a huge number, the Illini’s ability to secure extra possessions prevented the Cougars from getting out in transition and generating high-percentage looks.
17 – After cutting the deficit to one point early in the second half, Illinois broke things open with a 17-0 run. The Cougars went 6:46 without a bucket until Milos Uzan hit a 3 to end the scoring drought. It was the first time UH has allowed a 17-0 run or larger in (at least) eight seasons.
32 – UH took 64 shots on the night, and 32 of them came from beyond the arc.
89 – The number of seconds UH led. The Cougars make their money on wearing their opponent down until their will breaks, but it’s hard to do that when you are trailing the majority of the game.
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