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Houston Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Cougars against BYU Cougars

By Tristan Freeman

TULSA, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 24: Nate Hinton #11 of the Houston Cougars celebrates a three pointer shot by teammate Corey Davis Jr. #5 (not pictured) to take the lead during the first half of the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 24, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
TULSA, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 24: Nate Hinton #11 of the Houston Cougars celebrates a three pointer shot by teammate Corey Davis Jr. #5 (not pictured) to take the lead during the first half of the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 24, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 28: Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars coaches during a practice session ahead of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at the Sprint Center on March 28, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 28: Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars coaches during a practice session ahead of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at the Sprint Center on March 28, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Houston Basketball takes on BYU in an important non-conference battle. What are the most important keys for the Cougars to win?

While most teams have played at least multiple games at this point to start out the 2019-20 season, Houston Basketball has only had one contest. It was an 84-56 win over at home over SWAC opponent Alabama State. Five players scored in double figures, led by freshman Marcus Sasser coming off the bench with 14 points on four made three-pointers.

Although the Cougars lost a ton of talent from last season’s Sweet Sixteen team, Kelvin Sampson’s squad has a great chance of remaining on top of the American Athletic Conference. Most of the other projected top teams (UConn, Cincinnati and Memphis), have already suffered early-season defeats and Houston hopes to avoid that same fate for at least a while.

The next competition will be at a higher level than Alabama State with the BYU Cougars (2-1) coming to town. The squad from Provo is coming off a fierce battle with Southern Utah to win 68-63. Despite shooting just 38% from the field, BYU allowed not a single made three-pointer to survive the potential upset.

This is a return game in the series, with the Cougars of Houston winning last year in Provo, 76-62. This time around, Houston gets to be the home team. That’ll give them an advantage to play off of but they’ll have to do more to beat a capable program in BYU. Here are some important keys for Houston to come out on top.