The Cougars open up their Conference USA schedule under unfamiliar circumstances – for only the fourth game this season, they won’t be playing at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Houston head coach Tom Penders and his squad will attempt to improve its 0-1 road record (excluding tournament play) and begin conference play with a bang tonight against Southern Methodist in Dallas.
Penders said it would be crucial for his team’s morale and tournament chances if it could leave SMU with a victory and said losing to the 6-8 squad would not do too much for the Cougars’ Ratings Percentage Index ranking.
"I expect (the team) to come out and play really well," Penders said, "It’s always important to establish yourself when conference rolls around."
In order for the Cougars to take care of business tonight, they will need to find a way to disrupt the Mustangs’ offense and establish themselves in the paint before 7-1 center Bamba Fall gets too comfortable. Fall is averaging 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season.
Houston’s resident scrapper, senior forward Tafari Toney, will take on the bulk of that responsibility, while 6-11 junior center Marcus Cousin looks to see a little time as he is still recovering from a high ankle sprain.
"He is at about 60 percent," Penders said. "You don’t want to rush these things. He has to be able to move around on (his ankle) well enough for us to run the offensive and defensive plays we normally do."
Another player Penders said he’d like to see work his way into the lineup more is freshman guard Zamal Nixon, who exploded for a career-high 24 points in Houston’s loss to Arizona on Saturday in a nationally televised game.
"He’s only been playing 18 (minutes per game). I think he deserves more," Penders said. "I’d like to see him get his minutes up to about 25. He has to earn them, though. It’s not like the NBA, when the minutes are determined and set."
Though Nixon got the minutes over fifth-year senior guard Lanny Smith because of Nixon’s ability to get to the basket and finish, it would be difficult for Penders to bench his only true point guard down the stretch.
