Joel Blank: Could Houston pull off the MVP hat trick?

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Joel Blank: Could Houston pull off the MVP hat trick?
Could Houston have another MVP? Rob Carr (Bregman), Joe Scarnici (Harden), Bob Levey (Altuve)

The MVP award, regardless of the sport, is an enormous accomplishment. We've seen James Harden and Jose Altuve win big. We're hoping that Deshaun Watson will perform on that level, too. Joel Blank throws out another name that could give Houston yet another award.

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Houston beat Utah, 70-36. Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images.

Milos Uzan scored 14 points, L.J. Cryer added 13 points and No. 7 Houston routed Utah 70-36 on Wednesday night for its 11th straight win.

J’Wan Roberts had 11 points and Terrance Arceneaux scored 10 points for the Cougars (15-3, 7-0 Big 12). Houston won its 33rd consecutive home game, which is the longest active streak in the nation.

Houston shot 43% from the field and was 5 of 18 on 3-pointers.

Gabe Madsen scored eight points and Keanu Dawes added seven points and nine rebounds for Utah (11-7, 3-4), which had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Utes shot 30% from the field and were 5 of 17 on 3-pointers.

Takeaways

Utah: The Utes had issues with Houston’s defense throughout. Utah had issues shooting the ball as Houston double and triple-teamed on defense.

Houston: The Cougars were playing without second leading scorer Emanuel Sharp, who sat out with a boot on his right foot. Even without Sharp, Houston did not miss a beat and scored at will both inside and outside.

Key moment

Leading 8-5, Cryer made a jumper with 16 minutes remaining in the first half to spark an 18-0 run. Houston led 41-17 at the half.

Key stat

Houston forced Utah into 26 turnovers and converted them into 29 points. The Cougars held a 19-0 advantage in points off turnovers at the half. Houston finished with just five turnovers.

Up next

Houston travels to No. 12 Kansas on Saturday, and Utah hosts Baylor the same day.

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