FORT WORTH, Texas –After racking up their 21st win of the season Friday, beating Temple by 30, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team couldn't find the hole Saturday at Dickies Arena, losing to Houston 69-48.
Houston had three in double figures with Jamal Shead and J'Wan Roberts hitting for 16 and future NBA draft pick Jarace Walker popping in 13.
UC's top scorer was Landers Nolley II with 14 but he was just 3-of-13 from the field. Grad student David DeJulius was only 1-for 10.
The Bearcats shot just 25.5% and were only 6-for-28 on treys. On the boards, Houston also won handily, 44-32. The Bearcats maybe played their best and worst games back-to-back in Fort Worth.
UC basketballFive reasons why the Bearcats thrashed Temple to set up pivotal game against Houston
The No. 1 ranked Houston Cougars of Kelvin Sampson sit atop the polls, the NCAA NET rankings and the KenPom.com computations.
Houston is now 31-2 and owns three wins this season over the 21-12 Bearcats. The Cougars won by 13 at Fifth Third Arena in January. Later in the month, UC lost by six in Houston after leading at halftime and by 11 with 11:28 remaining in the game. Saturday, in front of a Texas crowd, the Cougars rolled.
UC now hopes for a possible NIT bid. They have put in a bid to host a game at Fifth Third Arena. A UC source also says they could only host one game as the facility would not be unavailable for a second date.
The final: Houston 69, Cincinnati 48
The Cougars dribble it out and will face the winner of Tulane/Memphis tomorrow for the AAC title.
Oop to Walker and clear the bench
Jarace Walker's sky dunk looked straight out of the NBA All-Star game, which he may play in someday. There's 2:25 left and Houston's up 67-44. It's all over but the shouting and there's surely been some shouting today somewhere. The Cougar crowd losing their stuff now as No. 20 Ryan Elvin enters the game. Miller has also subbed in C.J. Anthony, Chase Kirkwood, Jarrett Hensley and Josh Reed. Anthony's in the books. UC losing 69-46.
J'Wan Roberts with authority
The Houston junior just thunder-dunked to add an exclamation point to the dismantling in progress. The Cougars lead 65-42 with 4:29 remaining. If you follow NIT bracketology, now would be the time to bone up on that competition. I watched Houston have an off game yesterday and still beat East Carolina by 14. Today is not even their best effort, but their swarming defense is going to put them in the hunt aginst anyone. The board disparity is currently 40-29.
7:11 left and it's looking bleak
The Bearcats trail 60-38. It would take a complete Houston gag to get back in this. Bearcats 11-of-44 shooting and just 5-for-25 from the arc. Landers Nolley II is the only Bearcat in double figures with 11 and is just 3-for-13 from the field. It appears UC may have used up their best game a day early.
Houston increases lead as UC is running out of time
11-of-21 from the free throw line and 5-of-23 on threes pretty much tells the story. The Cougars are just 3-of-15 from the arc but it doesn't matter as they've been dominant. Under 8 to go and UC is down 20, 58-38.
Houston's lead back to 15
The Bearcats had it down to nine, but the Cougars are relentless. They now have three in double figures with Shead, Roberts and Walker. They're shooting 50% again this half and lead on the boards 31-23.
The pace has picked up
Timeout with 14:24 left and UC trails 46-35. Nolley hit a trey to reach double figures again at 11. Houston's Jarace Walker also has 11. Davenport and Skillings will be checking in out of the timeout.
Decent start to the second half
UC appears more inspired in this stanza as they have cut the Houston lead to 42-32. They've outscored the Cougars 9-4 in the first few minutes. There is 16:21 left in the game. DeJulius made his first field goal a minute and a half into the period and now has seven points. UC's only chance at an NCAA bid would involve a major comeback.
A pretty undesirable half
UC is down 15, 38-23. The game might be closer if the Bearcats could hit a free throw. UC is just 7-of-15 from the stripe. But, to be fair, they're not hitting much better anywhere else on the court. UC is shooting just 26.1% to Houston's 50%. The Cougars are outrebounding the Bearcats 23-14. Soon-to-be NBA player Jarace Walker leads all scorers with nine. Landers Nolley II has eight for UC but is just 2-for-8 from the field. David DeJulius has missed all five of his shots.
DeJulius on board
With 1:56 left in the half, David DeJulius is in the scorebook after a couple of free throws. UC trails 36-22. Ody Oguama goes to the bench after two fouls in favor of Kalu Ezikpe. Timeout with 54 seconds by Houston.
2:58 left in the half, Bearcats down 13
It's 33-20 Houston. The Cougars have committed 10 fouls sending UC to the line, but the Bearcats are just 4-of-11 from the line. It's a highly-partisan Houston crowd here in Fort Worth. The Cougars play elite defense and are extremely aggressive, yet their fans shriek in disbelief when a foul is called. Either way, the Bearcats have left seven points off the board. 34-20 Houston now with an and one free throw out of the timeout.
UC just 2-for-13 from perimeter
Nolley and Skillings have hit them, the other 11 have been off. UC trails 22-13. Nolley and DeJulius are a combined 1-for-9 from the field. Wes Miller calls a 30-second timeout now down 24-13. Before Nolley hit a free throw, UC's latest scoring drought was 2:16. The Bearcats are shooting 23.5%.
7:56 in the first half, UC down eight
Dan Skillings Jr. hit a 3-pointer to get the deficit into single digits. Kalu Ezikpe just picked up a second foul. UC is shooting just 28.6% from the field and 18.2% from the arc (2-for-11). David DeJulius is struggling for a second straight day and is 0-for-4. Yesterday, it didn't matter. Today it might.
Oguama breaks scoring drought
With 9:21 left in the half, Ody Oguama was fouled and sank a couple of free throws. Prior to that, UC had gone scoreless for 5:21. They are currently on pace to score under 20 points in the half. Houston's lead now 20-9 and each Cougar seemingly has three arms. Skillings hit a trey and it's 20-12.
Houston up 10 as UC shots aren't falling
With 11:57 to go in the first half, UC trails the Cougars 17-7. The Bearcats haven't scored in the last 2:44 while Houston's made six of their last seven shots. They've only missed four on the afternoon and they're tearing up the Bearcats on the boards 8-3.
Down 9 early
Media timeout with 15:55 remaining in the first half. Jeremiah Davenport came in for Lakhin. Houston leads 11-2 and has made five of their eight shots. They've pulled down six rebounds to UC's one. Houston is not a team you want to have a sluggish start against.
Not a terrific start
UC is down 9-2 at the first timeout with 16:52 remaining in the first half. Houston's taken seven shots and made four. All UC has is a banked jumper from Viktor Lakhin. Houston has five rebounds, UC none.
Here we go....
No. 4 seed and No 1 seed Houston about to go down. The winner faces the winner of No. 2 seed Memphis vs. No. 3 seed Tulane. Here's an earlier tweet of the young men.
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