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.
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While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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