The Coogs face Miami on Friday night. Photo by David Becker/Getty Images.
Let's examine how the UH Coogs stack up against UAB
After defeating Northern Kentucky and Auburn in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Houston’s run to the Final Four sees them matchup with Miami in the Sweet 16.
Although the Cougars are favored to win this game, the Hurricanes shouldn't be underestimated, as they have championship aspirations of their own.
Miami was ranked as high as number 12 during the regular season and made it to the ACC tournament semifinals before ultimately losing to Duke.
The Hurricanes have been successful this season thanks in large part due to their balanced and potent offense led by ACC Player of the Year Isiah Wong. The junior guard put the team on his back and scored a team-high 27 points in their win against Indiana on Sunday.
In addition to Wong, the Hurricanes have a plethora of other players who can shoot from all over the court as the team averages 54.1% of 2-point attempts, and 36.8% of 3-point attempts this season.
Miami is poised to make a deep tournament run, but might come up short against a defense that is one of the best in the county.
Houston ranks near the top in both defensive efficiency and points allowed this season. This is in large part due to head coach Kelvin Sampson instilling a defense first mentality into his players and getting maximum effort from them game after game.
J’Wan Roberts and Jarace Walker are excellent in the paint and the other three starters (Jamal Shead, Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark) are some of the best perimeter defenders in the nation.
Houston is one of the hardest teams to score on as they force teams to hold the ball longer and make their opponents take highly contested shots, which usually lead to misses or turnovers.
This was apparent in their victory over Northern Kentucky, as the Cougars held them to 27.5% shooting and 5-33 from 3-point range.
Houston's defense was a key reason as to why they were able to defeat Auburn as well. By slowing down the Tiger's offense in the second half and forcing them to shoot 5-16 from beyond the arc, the Cougars rallied to overcome a 10-point deficit and advance to the Sweet 16.
If Houston can play a similar level of defense against Miami, they should win this matchup with ease.
On the offensive side, the Cougars are led by Marcus Sasser, who seems to have healed from his injury. The senior guard dealt with a groin issue during the AAC tournament, which caused him to only play 14 minutes in their first round matchup against Northern Kentucky. Sasser responded by playing 31 minutes in the following game and scored 22 points in Houston’s aforementioned come from behind victory against Auburn.
On Thursday both Sasser and fellow guard Jamal Shead (knee injury) said they would be ready to play against Miami.
With both Sasser and Shead on the court at full strength, the Cougars look to have the upper hand against the Hurricanes.
As long Houston doesn’t overlook Miami, and can sustain their elite level of defense consistently, they should advance to the Elite 8 for the third straight year to play Xavier or face-off against their in-state rival UT.
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C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.
Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”
'Everything is on the table. We have to get it fixed' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on offensive line and if personnel changes are being contemplated @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/AwK0rqeU2z
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.
They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.
Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.
Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.
“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”
Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.
'I have all the faith in Tank' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans expressed confidence in Tank Dell ability to get back to making explosive plays again as he did as a rookie @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/bojBEx3lYo
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
What's working
The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.
Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.
What needs help
The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.
Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.
Stock up
RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.
Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.
“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”
Stock down
Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.
Injuries
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.
Key number
3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.
Next steps
The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.