Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The No. 1 Houston Cougars (17-1, 5-0 AAC) will travel to New Orleans, LA to take on the Tulane Green Wave (12-5, 5-1 AAC) at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin. The Cougars have won eight consecutive games, including five consecutive conference games. Tulane has won five straight games, including five consecutive AAC matchups.
The Houston Cougars have been unstoppable this season, losing just one game to No. 8 Alabama earlier in the season. Since the loss, Houston has been untouchable, winning eight consecutive games while dominating in the AAC. They enter this matchup looking to keep their perfect conference record while continuing to prove that the loss against Alabama was just an off game and they are still the team to beat. In their most recent game, they earned an 83-77 victory over the South Florida Bulls where Marcus Sasser led with a huge 31-point performance. As a team, the Cougars shot 42.4% from the field, 40.7% from beyond the arc, and 68.8% from the free-throw line while earning 30 rebounds, nine assists, nine steals, and four blocks while turning the ball over seven times. They allowed the Bulls to shoot 48.9% from the field and 47.6% from beyond the arc.
.@m_sasser0 tie s his career high with 28!??#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/07Yf4lGXqh
— Houston Men's Hoops ?? ?? (@UHCougarMBK) January 12, 2023
This season, the Cougars are averaging 75.9 points per game (94th) while shooting 46.6% from the field, 71.8% from free throw range, and 34.8% from beyond the arc. In addition, they are earning 39.8 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 8.8 steals, and 5.1 blocks while turning the ball over 9.9 times per game. They have an assist/turnover ratio of 1.45 (20th). On defense, they are surrendering 52.9 points per game, giving them the best defense in college basketball. Sasser is the scoring leader, averaging 16.6 points per game while also contributing 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. J'Wan Roberts leads on the boards, averaging 7.2 rebounds while also earning 9.5 points. Jarace Walker is the second-leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points while contributing 6.1 rebounds.