7. Houston (11-1)
Believe it or not, the Cougars haven’t played a true road game yet this season, though beating Auburn in Birmingham didn’t exactly feel like a pro-Houston crowd. They’ve won some really nice games and had impressive performances, even looking great at times in their lone loss against Tennessee. This team had a major chance to build on that success with another ranked matchup this week and they took advantage.
Kelvin Sampson and his Cougars headed to New Jersey, facing Arkansas as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic. Thanks to a strong start, Houston delivered with a 94-85 win over the Razorbacks, shooting 52% from the floor as a team. Emanuel Sharp had another solid effort with 22 points while Kingston Flemings continued a brilliant freshman campaign with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The Cougars strengthened an already impressive resume with that neutral-site effort against Arkansas, and the play of their star freshmen in Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. has been a major reason for this hot start. The brilliance of this offense has been on full display but we know just how lethal Joseph Tugler and this defense can be, especially in Big 12 play in the weeks ahead. The last nonconference foe is Middle Tennessee before Houston tries for another league title.