An awful showing from 3-point range ends in a difficult loss for the Houston Cougars in Oregon.
Cougars fall to Ducks in poor shooting night in Oregon
Nov 23, 2019, 9:32 am
An awful showing from 3-point range ends in a difficult loss for the Houston Cougars in Oregon.
Last season, the Houston Cougars picked up one of their most impressive victories in a win over the Oregon Ducks on their home floor in Houston. A year later, the No. 11 Ducks revenged their loss by playing both ends of the court at a high level.
Freshman guard Caleb Mills knocked down his first of two 3-point field goal attempts at the 6:53 mark in the first half. The basket was also the first made field goal from behind the arc for the Cougars, who missed their first six attempts inside the Matthew Knight Arena Friday night.
Following the 3 drained by Mills, the Cougars missed their next four 3-point field goal attempts to close out the half (1-11) in one of their worst shooting nights in school history, as the Cougars dropped a 78-66 loss to the Ducks. Mills, who was the only player to hit a 3-point field goal on the night, led the way for Houston with 21 points shooting 8-for-15-from the field, 2-for-6 from behind the arc.
If Houston would have adjusted their offense early in the game, perhaps the Cougars would have come out on the winning side of an eight-point loss. On shots coming from inside the mid-range, the Cougars shot 55.5% in comparison to the 10% from deep by the end of the final buzzer.
While Houston remained cold from the outside, the Ducks played a large factor in the Cougars' poor shooting night due to the intensity Oregon played on defense. Their defensive scheme allowed only one other player to reach double-digits in points, as junior forward Fabian White recording 12 points (6-for-10 FG) in the loss.
The only good stretch for the Cougars came with a little over five minutes left in the first half, when Houston went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-14 lead over the Ducks. Oregon responded to close out the half with an 18-5 run to take a 32-27 lead into the halftime break, and never led up.
In the win, Oregon's senior guard Anthony Mathis led the way for the Ducks with 18 points while shooting 5-for-9 from behind the arc. Mathis' backcourt mate, Payton Pritchard finished with 16 points and a game-high five assists on the night.
Following the loss, the Houston Cougars will look to bounce back on Tuesday, in a game against the Houston Baptist Wolves, inside the Fertitta Center in Houston.
QUICK TIP-INS:
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!