Late in the second half, the Houston Cougars missed seven straight field goals en route to a loss against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa ends Cougars' six-game winning streak in Houston loss

Coty Davis
Jan 12, 2020, 6:00 am
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Freshman guard Marcus Sasser missed a potential game-winning 3-point field goal, as the University of Houston Men's Basketball team (12-4, 1-1) dropped a heartbreaking 63-61 loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (10-6, 2-1), Saturday afternoon, inside the Donald W Reynolds Center in Tulsa, OK. With the loss, the Cougars' six-game winning streak came to an end, as Houston dropped their first game in conference play.

With 4:43 left in the second half, the Cougars held a 60-54 lead before going cold at the worst possible time. In addition to turning the ball over three times, Houston missed seven straight shot attempts as the Golden Hurricane took advantage of the Cougars' mishaps.

Tulsa closed the game on a 9-1 run ignited by a two-hand slam from junior guard, Darien Jackson, who led the Golden Hurricane with a career-best 19 points (7-13 FG, 3-7 3PT) and three steals in the win.

In the first half, Tulsa jumped out to a 5-0 lead and lead 13-8 before the Cougars tied the score at 13 points a piece. After taking a 16-15 lead midway through the first half, Houston went into the halftime break up 37-34 over the Golden Hurricane.

Following a career performance in the win against Temple, freshman guard Caleb Mills registered 22 points for the Cougars. Junior guard DeJon Jarreau added in 16 points, while Sasser tallied 14 in the loss.

Up next, the Cougars will return home for a Texas showdown against their in-state rival, the SMU Mustangs, Wednesday night, inside the Fertitta Center in Houston. Tip-off is slated for 8 P.M. CT.

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Here’s why Houston Texans team strategy is becoming increasingly divisive

The Houston Texans approach to the offseason has caused quite a bit of controversy among Texans fans and media. Some really like what the team is doing in free agency, while others are underwhelmed.

But the argument that keeps getting thrown around is whether the Texans are ready to win this season, or if the team will have to suffer through another disappointing season. Most would agree the Texans roster has a number of holes, but how will that roster look after the NFL Draft and hopefully a new franchise QB is taking snaps for the team?

The great thing about the NFL is how fast teams can turn things around and start winning. When we looked at the teams coming off a bad season and drafting around the Texans in 2021, many of them showed a huge improvement the following season.

The Lions were 3-13-1 in 2021, last year? 9-8. The Jaguars went 3-14 in 2021. Last year they won the AFC South and notched a playoff win over the Chargers. Look at the New York Giants, they went 4-13 in 2021. They improved to 9-7-1 and also won a playoff game just one year later. And don't get us started on the Jets. They went 4-13 in 2021, improved to 7-10 with bad QB play, and now Aaron Rodgers wants to play there.

The point being, most of these teams hired new coaches in the last couple of years, added some talent through the draft and free agency and started winning. Why are Texans fans and media so convinced they're in for another season of losing? Why can't the Texans be the team that turns things around and competes for a division title? Especially if they land a franchise QB as expected.

The AFC South isn't a very tough division. In fact, the Texans beat the Jags, Colts, and Titans just this year. Shouldn't we expect them to take a step forward with better players and DeMeco Ryans leading the way?

Be sure to check out the video above as we break it all down!

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