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

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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TULSA, OKLAHOMA – MARCH 22: Fabian White Jr. #35, Galen Robinson Jr. #25 and Breaon Brady #24 of the Houston Cougars celebrate from the bench against the Georgia State Panthers during the second half in the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 22, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

1. Beat BYU on the boards

One of the most impressive traits of Houston is how they operate without having much size. They had none last year when they won 33 total games and outside of 6’10 center Chris Harris (who played 12 minutes in the season-opener), doesn’t have anyone else on the roster over 6’8. Yet still, it doesn’t have an effect on the rebounding, as the Cougars still rank near the top in both the AAC and even nationally.

Usually, this is a key for Houston from the viewpoint of hoping to not get killed on the boards due to their perceived size advantage. But in this case, the Cougars have a massive advantage inside. That’s because BYU is missing both of their starting big men for this contest. Gavin Baxter is out for the season with a shoulder injury and Yoeli Childs, who averaged around 20 points and 10 rebounds last year, is suspended for the first 10 games due to NCAA violations committed around the NBA Draft.

And with a couple of other frontcourt players not playing due to transfer rules, that leaves just Kolby Lee and Dalton Nixon, a pair of reserve frontcourt players who wouldn’t normally be playing had BYU been able to play their other bigs. They were outrebounded by both San Diego State and Southern Utah and tends to give up a lot of second-chance opportunities.

So even if Houston struggles shooting the ball, Fabian White Jr. and Brison Gresham should have many chances of cleaning up down low. They usually have the strength and physicality advantage and now they won’t have to deal with imposing bigs. Houston will be well on their way to a win as long as they handle things down low on both the boards and in the paint.