8. Houston (12-3)
When November ended, Houston sat at 4-3, losing to a strong Auburn team before dropping a pair of overtime games in Las Vegas. Ever since then, the Cougars have been playing inspired basketball and kept that recent streak going into this week. After last year’s Big 12 title, Houston lost a really special player in Jamal Shead but might just have the pure talent to repeat that feat.
This week’s fun began Monday with a 65-46 win at home over TCU. Emanuel Sharp continued a solid season with 14 points as the Cougars outshot and outworked the Horned Frogs in every aspect. Saturday was even more demonstrative, as Houston head to Kansas State and left town with an 87-57 victory. Their defense was fantastic yet again, Sharp led with 15 points, and Joseph Tugler had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cougars own the top defense in the nation according to the efficiency metrics and it’s been on display in recent weeks. During this 8-game winning streak, Houston hasn’t allowed more than 57 points in any of those performances while their offense has continued to do more than enough. Kelvin Sampson’s squad just keeps playing smart, efficient basketball and looks to keep this going next week against West Virginia and UCF.