COUGARS DEFEAT LONGWOOD
Top seed Houston has easy start to March Madness, pounds Longwood
Mar 23, 2024, 11:12 am
Cougars beat Longwood, 86-46. Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images.
LJ Cryer and Damian Dunn scored 17 points each as top-seeded Houston built a quick double-digit lead and pounded 16 seed Longwood 86-46 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
Coach Kelvin Sampson's Cougars (31-4) lived up to their reputation for smothering defense. They led 10-0 less than four minutes into the game and held the Lancers (21-14) to 16 points on 26.3% shooting in the first half.
“I thought our kids were sharp the first half,” Sampson said. “Our defense was really good. We watched film on Longwood, winning their tournament. ... We had a lot of respect for them, and we played accordingly.”
Emanuel Sharp added 13 points and Jamal Shead finished with 11 points and nine assists for Houston, which will face Texas A&M on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.
Johnathan Massie led Longwood, the Big South Conference tournament champion, with 10 points.
“It’s really hard to simulate that level of physicality and speed and just how hard they play,” Longwood coach Griff Aldrich said, adding that he thought his team “broke” in the first half.
Houston, ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25, was coming off a 69-41 loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, but the Cougars showed no lingering effects as they won their sixth straight first-round game in March Madness. They came in holding opponents to an average of 57 points per game and 38% shooting, and Longwood fell short of those totals.
Sampson said the difference after the Iowa State loss was the Cougars' ability to get rest. Houston is dealing with injuries that have cut into its rotation, and Sampson said his team was spent by the time it faced the Cyclones.
“We came in on Monday, worked on our defense. Worked on our defense on Tuesday. And we started working on Longwood on Wednesday,” Sampson said. “We just needed to tighten some things up. I could see us slipping.”
Houston was aggressive and double-teamed at opportune moments, forcing 14 turnovers in the first half alone. Only three Lancers scored before halftime as the Cougars led 43-16 at the break.
“They're just aggressive,” said Longwood senior guard Walyn Napper, who averages 14.6 points but was held to eight. “They earned my respect. That's the reason they are one of the best teams in the nation.”
Houston led by 41 midway through the second half, at which point Sampson began substituting. No Houston starter played more than 29 minutes.
“We don’t really look at favorites or the seeding,” Shead said. “They’re a good team, and they were here for a reason. So we looked at it like another game where we have to have the right approach or we could have lost.”
BIG PICTURE
Longwood: The Lancers didn't have the talent or athleticism to get good looks at the basket against Houston. They shot 34.1% overall and 23.1% from 3-point range.
Houston: The Cougars' defense turned this one into an early blowout. Houston also shot 58.5%, including 11 of 23 (47.8%) from beyond the arc.
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Miami (6-7) at Houston (8-5)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM Odds: Texans by 3.
Against the spread: Dolphins 5-8; Texans 5-6-2.
Series record: Texans lead 8-3.
Last meeting: Dolphins beat Texans 30-15, on Nov. 27, 2022, in Miami.
Last week: Dolphins beat Jets 32-26 in OT; Texans were off, beat Jaguars 23-20 on Dec. 1.
Dolphins offense: overall (19), rush (24), pass (14), scoring (23).
Dolphins defense: overall (9), rush (7), pass (11), scoring (T14).
Texans offense: overall (18), rush (16), pass (17), scoring (11).
Texans defense: overall (5), rush (10), pass (7), scoring (T12).
Turnover differential: Dolphins minus-2; Texans plus-10.
Dolphins player to watch
QB Tua Tagovailoa, who has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at throwing with anticipation and accuracy since he returned from a concussion in Week 8. Tagovailoa leads the NFL with a 73.8% completion rate and threw for 300 yards for the third straight game last week vs. the Jets. Tagovailoa is the first player in NFL history to have at least 40 pass attempts, multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions in three consecutive games within a single season.
Texans player to watch
QB C.J. Stroud has thrown for at least 225 yards in each of his six home games this season and is 11-4 in 15 starts in Houston, including the playoffs. He has thrown for 3,117 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.
Key matchup
Houston RB Joe Mixon vs. Miami’s run defense. Mixon ran for 101 yards in Houston’s previous game for his seventh 100-yard game this season. He ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game. This week he’ll face a run defense that ranks seventh in the NFL by holding teams to 105.6 yards a game.
Key injuries
Miami LT Terron Armstead is dealing with a knee injury that limited him to just five snaps last week. He did not practice Wednesday… LBs Bradley Chubb (knee) and Cameron Goode (knee) could make their season debut, depending on how this week of practice goes, coach Mike McDaniel said. … WRs Tyreek Hill (wrist) and Jaylen Waddle (hamstring), RB Raheem Mostert (hip), and LB Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) were among those limited in practice Wednesday. … Houston S Jalen Pitre is expected to miss a second straight game with a shoulder injury. … DE Denico Autry was limited in practice Wednesday because of a knee injury.
Series notes
Houston won the first seven meetings in this series. … Miami didn’t get its first win against the Texans until a 44-26 victory in 2015. … The Dolphins have won the past two meetings. … These teams first met in the season opener in 2003 when Houston got a 21-20 win on a late field goal.
Stats and stuff
Three of Miami’s final four games of the season are on the road. … K Jason Sanders needs 13 points Sunday to reach 800. He also needs one field goal to reach 177, which would give him the second-most field goals made in franchise history. … TE Jonnu Smith needs 100 yards receiving to reach 792 and set a franchise record for most yards receiving by a tight end in a single season. Smith had three catches for 44 yards, including the game-winning TD vs. the Jets last week after having no receptions during regulation. … Tagovailoa needs a completion rate of 70% or better on Sunday to reach eight consecutive games completing at least 70% of his passes. That would tie him with Joe Montana (1989) and Drew Brees (2017-18) for the longest streak in NFL history. … The Dolphins gave up a season-high 402 yards to the Jets last week. Aaron Rodgers burned Miami’s pass defense for 319 yards, and Miami’s secondary allowed a combined 223 yards by Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams. … Houston can clinch the AFC South title for the second straight year with a win and a loss by Indianapolis Sunday. … The Texans rank second in the NFL with 84 tackles for loss. … Their 42 sacks also rank second. … WR Nico Collins had eight receptions for 119 yards for his fourth 100-yard game this season in Houston’s previous game. He has had at least 75 yards receiving and a TD reception in each of his four home games this season. … TE Dalton Schultz had five receptions for 61 yards and a score in Week 13. He has had at least five catches in two of his past three games. … LB Azeez Al-Shaai will serve the first game of a three-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of QB Trevor Lawrence Sunday. … DE Danielle Hunter is one of two players in the NFL this season with at least 15 tackles for loss (15) and 10 sacks (10 1/2). It’s his sixth career season with at least 10 sacks. He has eight tackles for loss and five sacks combined in his past three games. … DE Will Anderson has had a sack in his past two home games. … LB Henry To’oTo’o has had at least five tackles in four straight games. … CB Derek Stingley had his third interception of the season in his previous game. … CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high eight tackles, including a tackle for loss in Week 13. … S Jimmie Ward has had an interception in his past two home games. He also had an interception in his previous game against Miami in 2022 while with San Francisco.
Fantasy tip
Collins has 456 yards receiving and four touchdown receptions in four home games this season.