Houston has a reputation as one of the top defensive teams in college basketball.
They aren’t too shabby at scoring, either.
Quentin Grimes and Marcus Sasser continued their hot shooting Saturday, combining for 30 points as the eighth-ranked Cougars won their sixth straight game, 68-51 over Temple in Philadelphia.
UH improved to 13-1 overall and 8-1 in the American Athletic Conference.
Grimes and Sasser each had 15 points and Justin Gorham added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
ailed in the last 154 minutes dating back to Jan. 9. The guards went a combined 12-of-32 from the floor, accounting for six of UH’s nine 3-pointers.
“They put in the time, they work at it,” coach Kelvin Sampson said of a roster that has produced 59 3-pointers during the winning streak. “They understand the culture of this program is based on extra work. It’s not what you come in with, it’s what you leave with.
“I’m not sure these guys were great shooters when they came in, but they’ve obviously gotten better since they’ve been here. I give my staff a lot of credit for that.”
Much like they’ve done throughout the last six games, the Cougars didn’t let up, building as much as a 24-point lead. UH led from start-to-finish and has not trailed over the last 154 minutes dating back to a Jan. 9 game against Tulane.
A few tenets of Sampson-coached teams were on display Saturday.
“One of the hallmarks of our program has been our ability to come up with loose balls. We were great with loose balls,” Sampson said. “We turned those loose balls into our possession. We don’t always score, but they become our possession. We take pride in getting loose balls, we take pride in getting offensive and defensive rebounds Things that can keep the other team from going on a run are the things we try and focus on.”
After Temple (3-4, 2-4 AAC) pulled within 19-13 midway through the first half, UH went on a 15-2 run, capped off by back-to-back 3s by Grimes and Sasser.
Temple attempted to close the gap in the second half – a jumper by Brendan Berry cut the lead to 49-36 – but this time 3s by DeJon Jarreau and Gorham thwarted the comeback bid and pushed the lead back to 58-37.
“I like the fact that we are starting these games off really defending,” Sampson said. “I thought our defense and rebounding was really good the first 20 minutes. To hold a team to 21 points (36-21 at halftime) in their own gym is not easy to do.”
The Cougars were forced to juggle the schedule and play on the road Saturday. The game was originally scheduled for Feb. 8 but moved up after a scheduled home game against Cincinnati was called off due to COVID-19 issues within the Bearcats program. The game at Temple’s Liacouras Center was played with no fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Sampson said he was working on scheduling just a few hours before Saturday’s tipoff to reschedule postponed games against South Florida and Cincinnati.
It did not matter where the Cougars played. Grimes and Sasser, who together with Jarreau give UH one of the best backcourts in the nation, combined for six of UH’s nine 3-pointers. Grimes added nine rebounds and three assists. Jarreau had nine rebounds, six rebounds and six assists.
During the six-game winning streak, UH is averaging 74 points and shooting 42.2 percent, including 38 percent from 3-point range.
“It doesn’t matter who scores,” Gorham said. “We move the ball. We’re not selfish with the ball. We tell everybody to shoot open shots because we focus on offensive rebounds. If it’s a miss, we’re going to get another opportunity.”
Gorham has at least 10 rebounds in six straight games.
“Justin Gorham continues to be our identity,” Sampson said. “His toughness is a factor.”
Temple shot 34 percent against the Cougars, who entered the game leading Division I in scoring defense (56.7 points) and second in opponent field-goal percentage (37.1). UH has held 10 of 13 opponents this season below 60 points.
Temple had two lengthy shooting droughts in the first half and made just nine of 28 shots. Damian Dunn, the Owls’ leading scorer, went a combined 1-of-10 for five points.
Jake Forrester had 15 points and Khalif Battle added 14 for the Owls.
With no AAC team appearing capable right now of slowing down the Cougars, Sampson was asked about the potential for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
“Don’t think that’s ever been in my mindset,” Sampson said.
Joseph Duarte reported from Houston
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