2 Key Takeaways From No. 7 Houston Cougars' Win Over Arizona State

Suffocation, separation. It's been a communal believe astatine Fertitta Center, wherever nan No. 7 Houston Cougars capitalized connected 12 first-half turnovers successful a 103-73 blowout triumph complete Arizona State connected Sunday evening.

Among nan double-figure starting five, who helped Houston scope nan period people for nan first clip successful programme history successful a Big 12 game, freshman defender Kingston Flemings mounted a team-leading 20 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.

Tagging down him successful nan frontcourt was freshman guardant Chris Cenac Jr., who astir cashed successful his 4th double-double by matching a season-high 18 points on pinch 8 boards.

From scoring 20 points successful nan first 5 minutes of nan crippled to seeing a 33-point lead turn down to 13 pinch clip moving out, Houston provided an capable cushion successful nan extremity to put a affirmative statement connected nan time of Dwight Davis' jersey retirement.

Davis' immortalization and nan second-half resoluteness are nan attraction of 2 cardinal takeaways that helped Houston move to 17-1 wide and 5-0 successful Big 12 play.

First-half separation proves important successful second

12 first-half Arizona State turnovers and a 55% shooting clip made Houston determine nan crippled successful 1 frame, arsenic a near-scare successful nan 2nd half was nary more.

The Cougars held a lead arsenic ample arsenic 66-33 2 minutes into nan 2nd half, but it was trim down to arsenic small arsenic 13 pinch 7 and a half minutes remaining, connected a 33-13 tally disconnected six turnovers.

But a precocious 7 points by Flemings helped substance a 24-7 tally successful nan last minutes to thief seal its first triumph pinch 100 points since its 100-95 overtime win complete Texas A&M connected March 24, 2024, successful nan 2023-24 NCAA tourney 2nd information successful Memphis.

Knowing a triumph successful a heavy Big 12 astatine each is typically difficult to travel by; separation done force miscues and bully scoring streaks eliminates immoderate overreactions of really nan triumph was secured. An statement tin beryllium made that Houston's champion violative glimpse gave promising signs of what came past play en way to a travel to nan nationalist title game.

Dwight Davis immortalized astatine Fertitta Center

If thing continues to exemplify coach Kelvin Sampson's push for recognizing and immortalizing nan names that shaped a historical program, it came by measurement of organizing for erstwhile AP All-American 2nd squad action and Houston guardant Dwight Davis' No. 42 jersey to beryllium retired connected a plaque among different program-defining legends.

In Davis' 3 seasons astatine Houston nether Hall of Fame coach Guy V. Lewis, 2 of them came successful averaging complete 20 points a game, including his double-double average of 11.7 rebounds per crippled successful 1970-71.

Following his five-year NBA profession arsenic nan 3rd wide prime successful nan 1972 draft, Davis took to advocating for expanding deserving younker hoops opportunities, which person had aggregate organization impacts.

In appreciation of Sampson's push amidst a crowd of commemorative newspapers held up successful nan stands, Davis coined a building for fans to retrieve him by successful homage of a Houston hip-hop trio.

"Damn, it feels bully to beryllium a Cougar," he said.