Houston guard Milos Uzan (7) flies in the air to catch the ball over Texas Tech guard Elijah Hawkins (3) during the first half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
After defeating Iowa State on Saturday, the Cougars are back on the road again. They will travel to Lubbock, Texas to face the No. 10 Texas Tech Red Raiders in a rematch bound to level up the intensity of this rivalry as they seek to earn a share of the Big 12 title.
High stakes, high rewards
With four games remaining, Houston leads the Big 12 standings with a 15-1 record, three games ahead of Texas Tech and the No. 22 Arizona Wildcats. With the Wildcats losing to BYU on Saturday, the Cougars can clinch a share of the Big 12 regular-season title with a win over the Red Raiders.
“We feel good about being in that position. We just got to capitalize on it. We know we’re right there. You gotta go out there and get that done. We know it’s not going to be given to us. We got to go take it,” graduate guard L.J. Cryer said.
Last time
The two in-state rivals previously met over three weeks ago on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Fertitta Center. The game ended with the Red Raiders winning 82-81 in overtime, snapping Houston’s nation-best 33-game home winning streak in the process. The match was full of twists and turns, including Texas Tech sophomore forward JT Toppin and coach Grant McCasland both getting ejected. The Cougars haven’t forgotten about the loss and are bringing their toughness to the United Supermarkets Arena.
“We base our program off toughness. They [Texas Tech] do too. We’re going to bring that edge and we expect it to be that type of game,” Cryer said.
Stoppin Toppin
The Coogs didn’t fully experience Toppin the first time, as he was ejected early in the first game. But the team knows what kind of impact he has on the Raiders. He is their leading scorer with an average of 17 points per game and collects the most rebounds as he averages nine a contest.
“He’s a leader to those guys. I think the better he plays, the better they are. He’s the team’s anchor and everybody knows he’s a big piece. Just try to contain him and limit the stuff he’s good at gives us the best chance to win the game,” graduate forward J’Wan Roberts said.
No rest for the weary
UH only had one full day of rest before being thrust back on the road. The grueling 20-game conference schedule has been discussed throughout the season, and coach Kelvin Sampson has openly criticized it in interviews. Despite this, the team is getting used to it.
“I feel like it’s more of a mental thing, especially pitting two of the top teams in the Big 12,” Roberts said. “Just going to Lubbock with the right mentality and focusing on what we want to focus on. I think it’s more of a mental thing, especially playing back-to-back games.”
Houston takes on Texas Tech in Lubbock, on Monday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
