Sophomore guard Quentin Grimes is questionable to play Wednesday night against Texas State with a bruised tibia. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar
Houston (3-2) will host another in-state rival when Texas State (6-2) comes to town Wednesday night at Fertitta Center in a matchup that could see the Cougars play without two of its strongest players.
Both sophomore Quentin Grimes, who is dealing with a bruised tibia, and redshirt freshman guard Caleb Mills, who is dealing with a bruised rib, are questionable to play.
The Bobcats come to Houston as winners of six of their first eight games, and in their losses have played well against tough opponents like Baylor.
“They are a very well-coached team,” head coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We’ve been watching them for two days now. They run their offense. They’ve got a go-to guy and they know who it is.”
The go-to guy for the Bearcats is senior guard Nijal Pearson, who leads the team in scoring with 18.1 points a game.
“He’s a bigger guard and can shoot 45% from the field,” Sampson said. “He also leads them in free throw attempts, and he is a senior. He’s been there, done that. He doesn’t care who he is playing against.”
Pearson provides a tough matchup for the Cougars because of his ability to attack and improvise on broken plays, which makes defending the Bobcats that much tougher.
“He’s got a really good offensive game,” Sampson said. “He’s got the Pearson rules. He can do whatever he wants, and he’s really good at it — look at his percentages. He makes tough shots. He gets to the free-throw line, and he can make threes; all those things equal a tough matchup.”
The Bobcats also come into Fertitta with a strong defense.
In all six of their wins, Texas State’s opponents were held under 60 points.
“They don’t let you run your offense, and you’re not going to run your offense, so you better have playmakers,” Sampson said. “Against Texas State, don’t throw the ball away.”
