Houston Basketball: 3 keys for 1st Round NCAA Tournament game against Longwood

Stars Shine

Jamal Shead, J’Wan Roberts, and LJ Cryer are the stars and those are the three players that are going to get Houston to the promised land. Last season the stars for Houston could never get it figured out in the tournament and it cost Houston. This year expect those players to make an impact. Shead and Roberts were on the team last year and are looking to prove that last year's early exit from the tournament was a fluke. Cryer is a transfer from Baylor who also didn’t play very well in the NCAA tournament for Baylor last year and all three guys are looking for a bounce back.

Houston needs their stars to shine to win them games, maybe not against Longwood but will need them in the later rounds. They need to get them going early to build some confidence to carry over into the later rounds. Shead anchors the defense and sets up the offense and he is the most important player on the floor for Houston. The point guard playing well will ensure that Roberts and Cryer get open shots.

Shead turns Houston into a hard offense to defend because of his ability to get into the paint for easy baskets, he can make threes, and he kicks the ball out to the open shooters. Cryer is a great shooter and can go off for 25 points at any point in time and Roberts is a load inside both on the glass and easy looks in the post. Roberts can dominate a game in the paint. 

Houston may have their best team ever and if you disagree all of that will be figured out later on this month but if the three stars for Houston play like they have all season Houston has a great chance to hoist the trophy. Don’t look ahead though because Longwood is capable of making this game close if Houston doesn’t come out and play with effort. It will be a big day for the stars against Longwood and Houston should cruise to an easy victory.