Houston Basketball took a tough blow when they got thoroughly beat by a tough and experienced Oregon team on Friday night.
Despite Houston Basketball defeating Oregon last season, no one was expecting the Cougars to come in and easily defeat a tough Ducks squad. Houston is led by their impressive backcourt of Kansas transfer Quentin Grimes and freshman Caleb Mills, who comes off the bench. Though the Pac-12 has been up-and-down in recent years, they are looking particularly strong this season, with Oregon standing out as the class of the conference.
If Houston could’ve knocked off the Ducks in Eugene, it would’ve given head coach Kelvin Sampson’s squad a marquee win heading into a few weaker non-conference games against Houston Baptist and Texas State.
This game will help Houston in the long run, as this lack of offensive identity when the 3-point shots aren’t falling is something that must be corrected for the Cougars to reach their full potential.
Houston basketball was able to show their grit, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the first half alone and 17 overall. Oregon’s ball movement, defense, and hustle down the court in transition helped the Ducks put the game away coming out of halftime. Oregon senior point guard controlled the tempo and did his fair share of scoring and playmaking to put Oregon ahead for good. Houston basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson praised his ability postgame, stating, according to ESPN,
"“The strength of Oregon’s team is their senior point guard….He’s why Oregon is going to be good this year.” Kelvin Sampson on Oregon’s Payton Pritchard"
Houston basketball still seems legit this year, as there is no shame in losing to an elite Oregon team in Eugene.