CBB Game of the Week: No. 7 Houston vs. No. 12 Kansas

Two Big 12 conference heavyweights are slated to do battle this Saturday when the No. 7 ranked Houston Cougars travel to meet the No. 12 Kansas Jayhawks.

Houston comes into this matchup at 15-3 and first in the Big 12 with a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play.

Kansas stands at 14-4 and two games back from Houston at 5-2 in conference action.

The Cougars are riding an 11-game win streak that dates back to their non-conference game against Butler almost a month and a half ago.

Houston’s last win came earlier this week when they decimated the Utah Utes 70-36. Kelvin Sampson’s squad held Utah to just 30.2% from the floor and forced 26 turnovers.

On the other side, Kansas is on a two-game win streak after dropping a game to No. 3 Iowa State last week.

The Jayhawks last win came on the road against TCU 74-61. Big man Hunter Dickinson led the scoring with 16 points and Flory Bidunga dropped a 10 point, 10 rebound double-double.

Defense is going to be a huge part in this matchup. Both teams are elite defensively, with both teams having top 15 units in points allowed.

Houston is first in the nation, only giving up 53.9 points per game and Kansas is 15th, giving up 63.3 per game.

The Cougars defense is elite in lots of categories. They are first in opponent field goal percentage, 13th in opponent assists and 10th in the nation in blocks per game.

They get after you and play smothering defense.

On the offensive side, Kansas is better on the scoring end. The Jayhawks average 76.3 points per game but Houston is not far behind with 75.8.

Kansas is also a little more efficient from the floor, shooting 48.2%, compared to Houston who shoots 45.8% from the field.

Houston is elite in a couple categories though.

The first is three-point percentage, where the Cougars are shooting at a 39.9% clip. They also don’t turn the ball over. Houston leads the nation in turnovers with only 8.9 per game.

Houston has five players that play more than 20 minutes per game that shoot more than 35% from three.

Two of them are their guards, L.J. Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp.

Both players average 13.8 points per game but from three Cryer hits 42.1% of his threes and Sharp hits an incredible 45.8% of three-pointers.

This elite attack helps Houston maintain the best point differential in the country, at 21.8 points.

Not to be out-shadowed though, Kansas has some ballers as well.

No introduction is needed for Hunter Dickinson.

The 7 foot 2 graduate student was named to the Naismith Award watchlist in the preseason and is the leader of this Kansas squad. He averages 15.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

The main shooter for Kansas is guard Zeke Mayo, he averages 14.9 points per game and shoots a good 37.7% from three.

Kansas also has one of, if not the best home-court advantage in college basketball and that could be the difference in this one. If Kansas can make some shots early, they are more than equipped to handle Houston on defense.

However, if Houston can play their style of defense, then Bill Self’s team will have a pretty tough day.

Evan Pochas is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ejp5753@psu.edu.