UH-USF rundown: Cougars looking to avoid second straight AAC loss

Houston men’s basketball senior guard DeJon Jarreau drives into the paint against the SMU Mustangs. UH will play USF on Wednesday, a game that was originally postponed due to COVID-19 issues. | Andy Yanez/The Cougar

The Houston men’s basketball team is traveling to Tampa, Florida, as it will take on the USF Bulls at the Yuengling Center on Wednesday.

The Cougars (16-2, 10-2 American Athletic Conference) are coming off their 112-46 victory against Our Lady of the Lake. A game, in which UH rested all of its usual starters. While the team dominated OLLU, it is still feeling the sting of its loss to East Carolina in its last conference game.

Junior guard Quentin Grimes, who leads UH with 16.2 points per game, has been battling a left leg injury that has affected his lateral movements the past few days, head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters on Tuesday.

The Woodlands native has done better with the few days of rest, and is expected to play against the Bulls, the head coach said.

“He seems fine now,” Sampson said. “I don’t see it being much of an issue going forward.”

A look at the Bulls

USF (7-5, 3-3 AAC) has not played a game in a month. It has had six games postponed due to COVID-19 issues. Its last contest came on Jan. 9 when it defeated ECU 69-63. Senior guard David Collins led the team with 16 points and five assists in the win.

Heading into the game, Sampson has high praised for Collins.

“Collins is one of those wildly old veterans that has a lot of moxy, a lot of savvy, knows how to draw fouls. He lives at the foul line,” Sampson said. “We’ve been watching him for three years. He is one of those kids that you would love to have on your team. He is just hard to play against.”

The Bulls’ length is something that the Cougars will have to deal with on Wednesday as well, the UH coach said.

USF junior forward Michael Durr and sophomore center Russel Tchewa both stand at 7 feet. Durr is averaging 7.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Alexis Yetna adds versatility to the position as he is shooting 35 percent on threes this season. He is also averaging 7.6 rebounds per contest.