2. Houston (3-0)
There truly is a lot to like about this Houston program under Kelvin Sampson’s leadership, especially fresh off last year’s trip to the national title game. Houston has built their strength in recent years off defense and still boast one of the nation’s most elite defenses. After all, they’ve allowed just 50 points per game in the first two weeks of the season, even if just against mid-major foes.
That great start to the season continued with the Cougars’ best effort yet, winning 78-45 over Oakland back on Wednesday. The defense clearly limited the Golden Grizzlies while Houston shot the ball better than in their previous two games. Kingston Flemings had another stellar outing with 19 points and 9 assists while Emanuel Sharp added 19 points of his own.
Through these first three games, Houston has taken care of business and are getting great contributions from those freshmen in Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. The one thing to note is that Milos Uzan hasn’t had the best start to his season but it’s only a matter of time for him to find his footing. Houston certainly hopes that happens very soon because there’s a big Sunday matchup looming against Auburn, with the Cougars hoping to avenge a tough loss from early last season.