Houston Cougars guard Milos Uzan (7) dribbles the ball during the first half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
Every day is a battle for No. 5 Houston men’s basketball, but with ESPN’s College GameDay at Fertitta Center and No. 8 Iowa State coming to town on Saturday the stakes are even higher.
“This is a high-level game: Two really good teams, two teams with really good culture and identities that play really hard and kind of mirror each other in a lot of ways,” ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said.
However, the Cyclones will be without their two leading scorers, senior guards Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert. The two account for, on average, over 31 points per game, leaving Iowa State with a tough hole to fill.
Absences for Iowa State
Jones is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 17 points off the bench and will be out with an illness, while Gilbert, who averages 14, is battling a muscle strain.
The team will rely on its next best scoring guard in the starting lineup, junior Tamin Lipsey, who averages 10 points a game and leads the team in steals.
Senior guard Nate Heise, who averages four points per game boasts the most experience of the remaining guards having played in 26 games and will start.
Increased workloads for freshman guard Nojus Indrusaitis and junior guard Demarion Watson, who have played in only 13 and 14 games this season, respectively are expected.
Four of the Cyclones’ five losses have come when the team did not have its normal starters on the floor.
Most recently, the return of sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic, the team’s best 3-point shooter has helped the Cyclones regain their footing and return to their winning ways after a rough stretch in late January and early February, where they lost three straight games. However, the team will look for a scoring burst from Momcilovic to keep Houston from exploiting their vulnerabilities.
The stakes
The Cougars, who hold a 14-1 conference record and sit at the top team in the Big 12, returned from their Arizona road trip with two wins and the longest road-winning streak in Big 12 history at 12 games. But they are just as dominant at home, boasting a 30-1 record over the past two seasons, with their only loss coming in overtime earlier this month against Texas Tech.
The Cyclones are riding a four-game winning streak and are tied with Texas Tech for third place in the Big 12 at 11-4, three games back from Houston.
With the direction things are going, Houston is close to locking up its second consecutive Big 12 regular-season title, but the game will still have important implications for seeding, and the Cougars are not taking their feet off the gas.
“We are in a fight to get the highest seed we can get, whatever it is, and we are also in a fight to see if we can win the conference again,” coach Kelvin Sampson said.
Tough brand of basketball
Despite these absences, the Cyclones maintain their ability to play with toughness, as both teams are known for their defensive brand of basketball, focusing on causing chaos for their opponents.
“They play super hard and similar to us,” junior guard Milos Uzan said. “They take pride on the defensive end and are super physical. It will be a good matchup.”
Both teams rank among the top in the Big 12 in turnover margin, with Houston leading the way at 5.08. However, Iowa State has struggled with turnovers recently, averaging 14 per game over their past four contests, while the Cougars have been held to single digits in turnovers in three of their last four games.
Uzan has led the charge, turning the ball over only twice in Houston’s last five games. He’s also found his rhythm offensively, averaging 14 points per game during that stretch.
“It’s just amazing the way he has grown and his confidence has grown,” Greenberg said.
Familiar foes
Last season, the teams met three times, and Iowa State took a 2-1 advantage in the series.
Both programs won on their home courts, with each matchup decided by eight points or fewer. However, when the teams clashed in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, the game quickly spun out of control, as the Cyclones blew past Houston with a 69-41 victory.
GameDay
For the first time since 2019, ESPN’s College GameDay is in Houston. Fans can join in on the action for free, with seating beginning at 7:30 a.m. for students and 8 a.m. for the general public.
“They’re coming because the basketball program has had great success, and we have been really good this year,” Sampson said. “That’s why they’re here. It’s always a compliment, a star in your feather if ESPN wants to come to your campus and highlight your basketball program. Now, because of that, I think it’s a tremendous infomercial for everything associated with the basketball program: the university, the city, the Fertitta Center, our students, our passion.”
The show, which features a panel of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Andraya Carter, Jay Williams and Greenberg will air its 150th episode at 9 a.m.
“There is no better place I would rather be than right here,” Williams said.
The game will tip off at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
