No. 14 Kansas Shuts Down No. 5 Houston in 69-56 Defensive Battle in Allen Fieldhouse

Jacob Perrine
Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) dribbles down court against Houston Cougars during the game.

In one of the biggest games in the Big 12 conference this season, the 14th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks bounced back from their loss against Cincinnati on Saturday by beating the 5th-ranked Houston Cougars on Monday to hand Houston their third-straight loss this season.

Tre White Posts His Best Game of the Season in Kansas Win

While all eyes were on the star freshmen that both teams possess in Houston’s Kingston Flemings and Kansas’s Darryn Peterson, it was Jayhawks guard Tre White who was the biggest star of the game. White would score a season-high 23 points on 6 for 9 shooting from the field to lead Kansas to an easy victory. Speaking of Peterson, the Jayhawks’ main attraction had a solid game as he scored 14 points in the win for Kansas.

Despite the Jayhawks winning by a comfortable margin tonight, it didn’t look good early for Kansas in the first half. The Jayhawks were down 27-20 with 5 minutes to go before halftime and were seemingly unable to find any sort of rhythm. Thankfully for Kansas, both their offense and defense were able to crack Houston’s formula, as they went on an 11-0 run to take a 31-27 lead heading into halftime, and would cruise from that point on.

Although the Jayhawks suffered one of their worst losses at home in their 16-point loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, both the team and fans made sure to defend home court in a big way tonight.

Following this win on another primetime Monday night game at home, Jayhawks head coach Bill Self moved to an impressive 41-0 at home on Monday during his 23-year tenure in Lawrence. The win also prevented the Jayhawks from losing their second straight game at home, which last occurred back in 1989.

Flemings Makes Cougars History as Houston Loses Again

There weren’t many positives to take away from this game for Houston, as their offense went missing for the third straight game. The Cougars shot just 31% from the field and 20% from three-point range as Kansas locked up almost every player on Houston tonight. The only player that was able to find any holes in the Jayhawks’ vaunted defense was Kingston Flemings, who scored a team-high 16 points in the loss.

That 16-point outing for Flemings also had a bit of history attached to it as he set the single-season scoring record for a freshman in program history. Flemings passed Houston legend Rob Williams, who scored an impressive 456 points during his freshman year back in 1980. Flemings has put together an already historic season in just his first year in a Cougar’s uniform, as he also set the freshman single-game scoring record with 42 points against No. 16 Texas Tech last month.

The most disappointing performance for Houston this game came from their star senior in Emanuel Sharp, who posted his worst game of the season in the loss. Sharp finished with 5 points while shooting 1 for 10 from the field in a rough game overall for the Cougars. Flemings would be the only player on Houston to score in double figures, with the next closest scorers in Chris Cenac Jr. and Mercy Miller each finishing with just 9 points.

Kansas Keeps Pace in Big 12 Standings While Houston Falls

Although the Big 12 regular-season title is all but No. 2 Arizona’s to lose at this point, there is still a chance for Kansas to close the gap and potentially snag at least a portion of the Big 12 crown. Following the win, the Jayhawks stand at 11-4 in the conference, putting them just 2 games behind the Wildcats for 1st-place.

Of course, Kansas will have a chance to further put pressure on Arizona, as they travel to Tucson to face off against the Wildcats in the biggest game of the season for both teams. If Arizona loses against Baylor tomorrow night, the Jayhawks will have the perfect opportunity to win the Big 12 with a win over the Wildcats on Saturday.

For Houston, this loss against Kansas all but ends their chances at winning the Big 12 conference for a third straight season. Houston will have the opportunity to snap their three-game skid this Saturday, as they return home to match up against Colorado. That game will serve as the first of a fairly easy three-game schedule to end the conference season, as Houston will take on both Baylor and Oklahoma State following their game against Colorado.