Let's talk about Houston

[HAM ELLIOT]

Has anyone watched them play this year?  What can we expect from them? 

[alohawg]

If you have Facebook there's a cougar bball page. I watched a minute of an interview with coach Sampson, interesting.....guess they're young with 8 new players on the team.

[Letsroll1200]

I know in Andy Katz power rankings, Houston was ranked ahead of the Hogs.

[USChog]

If you have Facebook there's a cougar bball page. I watched a minute of an interview with coach Sampson, interesting.....guess they're young with 8 new players on the team.

8 new players is young, must be 8 very talented young players to be favored over the Hogs.

[Piggage]

According to Sagarin, they're currently ranked #77. Arkansas is #21. Houston is 334th in SOS out of 351 teams in college basketball. They lost their tournament opener to Drexel and then beat Liberty by 2 points.

[elksnort]

In other words, we should expect to beat them this Saturday night.

[bigred223]

In other words, we should expect to beat them this Saturday night.

Yet, Andy Katz has them ranked 30th in College Basketball ahead of us. ESPN BPI also favors them apparently. I honestly can't wrap my mind around that considering their performance this season.

[Hawg Red]

I think some Hog fans here in Jumpball love to put imaginary chips on their shoulders over national "disrespect" but Houston being ranked ahead of the Hogs in anything right now is egregious. Arkansas is a far superior team with a far superior resume to this point. They have a fighting chance because the game is played in their gym. That's it.

[gmarv]

Home court advantage keeps them in the game if we don,t shoot the ball well, but if we do it won,t be pretty.

[Fan701]

Yet, Andy Katz has them ranked 30th in College Basketball ahead of us. ESPN BPI also favors them apparently. I honestly can't wrap my mind around that considering their performance this season.

Yes, Andy Katz says they're a little more likely to get an at-large bid than we are, and ESPN's BPI says they are the likely winner Saturday.  It really makes you wonder what all that is based on.  They have played nobody, lost to a not-so-good team, but seems they're supposed to beat us.  I'll believe it when I see it.  Maybe they have some budding superstars who have been injured but will be back for Saturday?  I'm pretty sure they were picked to finish behind UConn in their league.

[FineAsSwine]

Yet, Andy Katz has them ranked 30th in College Basketball ahead of us. ESPN BPI also favors them apparently. I honestly can't wrap my mind around that considering their performance this season.

Just about all of the ranking sites lost credibility with this one. Hogs should win but I doubt that it will be a blowout. Margin should be 10-12 points since they are playing in Ray's old stomping grounds.

[HogFaninMemphis]

Let's watch the game play out before we're tearing down people who do this for a living, especially considering none of us have seen them play nor know much about their team. Obviously there is something to like, or they wouldn't be ranked highly or favored in this game. The game in which they lost, their star freshman, Rob Gray, did score 37.
Also of note: This game isn't actually being played in their gym. Their arena is being renovated, so they're playing this season at Texas Southern.

[jabber71]

I like Teamrankings.com They have us as the 16th best team in the nation and Houston at #65. They give us a 65% chance to beat Houston
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/matchup/razorbacks-cougars-2017-12-02

[Fan701]

Let's watch the game play out before we're tearing down people who do this for a living, especially considering none of us have seen them play nor know much about their team. Obviously there is something to like, or they wouldn't be ranked highly or favored in this game. The game in which they lost, their star freshman, Rob Gray, did score 37.
Also of note: This game isn't actually being played in their gym. Their arena is being renovated, so they're playing this season at Texas Southern.

Rob Gray is their star, but he's a senior, averaged over 20 last year.  I'm not sure who else they have.  Last year, I recall they had a very good forward, too, but I think he graduated.  Just looking at their results this season and knowing that most picked them to finish behind UConn in their league, I'm at a loss how they're supposed to beat us.  Maybe they will, but I'm very skeptical.  I certainly don't know too much about them, and the ESPN computers and at least one "expert" seem to think they are the superior team.  I guess we'll see on Saturday.

[hoghevn]

Being coached by Kelvin Sampson is all I have to know to want to absolutely kill them.  When at OU he shot his mouth off before and after he beat us and has always been an arrogant blow hard who later proves to be dishonest and an NCAA nightmare.  He's been in trouble with ethics with the NCAA everywhere he's been - and fired either during or after being investigated EVERY place he's been.

[HogFaninMemphis]

Rob Gray is their star, but he's a senior, averaged over 20 last year.  I'm not sure who else they have.  Last year, I recall they had a very good forward, too, but I think he graduated.  Just looking at their results this season and knowing that most picked them to finish behind UConn in their league, I'm at a loss how they're supposed to beat us.  Maybe they will, but I'm very skeptical.  I certainly don't know too much about them, and the ESPN computers and at least one "expert" seem to think they are the superior team.  I guess we'll see on Saturday.

Oh forgive me on the freshman comment. I assumed he was, because he was suspended beginning of the season by the NCAA, but I see now that was due to his playing in a church league. Yes, that's actually what I just said. good riddance

[Sapperhog]

According to Sagarin, they're currently ranked #77. Arkansas is #21. Houston is 334th in SOS out of 351 teams in college basketball. They lost their tournament opener to Drexel and then beat Liberty by 2 points.

This is all we need to know about them.

[ADavisTheGOAT]

You heard it here first. Houston will beat us .

[theFlyingHog]

You heard it here first. Houston will beat us .

Inb4 you get yelled at 

[Biggus Piggus]

Houston has good shooters and plays great FG% defense. The Coogs foul a ton and are bad at the FT line. Gotta keep em off the boards.

[AugustaHog]

You heard it here first. Houston will beat us .

Reasoning?  Not saying you're wrong, just wondering why you feel this way.  Haven't watched Houston this year and know nothing more than Sampson is their coach.

[Wisco Pig]

Reasoning?  Not saying you're wrong, just wondering why you feel this way.  Haven't watched Houston this year and know nothing more than Sampson is their coach.

AD the GOAT is using some sort of reverse-pysch, verbal gris-gris routine for the games this year.   Seems to be working so far.

[Letsroll1200]

Houston has good shooters and plays great FG% defense. The Coogs foul a ton and are bad at the FT line. Gotta keep em off the boards.

This is the type of game we have to win to become relevant. We need to get this one.

[hawgball40]

You heard it here first. Houston will beat us .

Hey real talk though, you weren't here for the UNC game. y?

[pigroots]

ESPN  matchup predictor gives Houston a 54% chance to win the game

[bigred223]

ESPN  matchup predictor gives Houston a 54% chance to win the game

This makes no sense to me whatsoever. I guess we will see on Saturday.

[Fan701]

ESPN  matchup predictor gives Houston a 54% chance to win the game

Yep.  Their computer algorithm says we're toast.

[BannerMountainMan]

I'm giving the Hogs a 69% chance of winning.

[Youngsta71701]

This is the type of game we have to win to become relevant. We need to get this one.

Yep, ANY road win against ANY D1 opponent is a resume builder. I think we win this game though. Not going to say easy because it will be on the road or a neutral site but I will say we win.

[masondh]

Houston is in a pretty close game with New Orleans right now

[TheRazorback500]

Houston may hang in for a while, but we should win going away. When our seniors are playing well together along with what we're getting from Bailey, Gafford, and Jones, we seem to have a lot of weapons. I don't think the young Coogs can stop them all.

[hogfan stuck in texas]

 I know Houston is playing games at TSU court while renovations are going on at their place but I thought I read somewhere that they are playing the hogs at Toyota center but can't find it again. Does anyone know?

[Arkansauce]

I know Houston is playing games at TSU court while renovations are going on at their place but I thought I read somewhere that they are playing the hogs at Toyota center but can't find it again. Does anyone know?

It's at TSU.

[Hogs49ers]

I like Teamrankings.com They have us as the 16th best team in the nation and Houston at #65. They give us a 65% chance to beat Houston
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/matchup/razorbacks-cougars-2017-12-02

I really like teamrankings the best too and I am not just saying that bc they have us ranked the highest of all the other sites, they were also my favorite ranking site to look at last year going into the tourney.  I feel like they are the most accurate.  However, right now there are 2 really big head scratchers I have with their rankings:

- The fact that they have 6-1 West Virginia ranked #10 and 6-0 Texas A&M ranked #14 -  TAMU beat WV by 23 on a neutral floor for the first game of the season, so it is a bit mind boggling that they would be ahead of an undefeated A&M that beat them.
- Not sure how they still have Purdue ranked #5 after losing back to back games to Western Kentucky and Tennessee. 

...And I am going to go throw up now for sticking up for A&M

[elksnort]

If our 3s fall at a decent percentage, we will win.

[Fan701]

I really like teamrankings the best too and I am not just saying that bc they have us ranked the highest of all the other sites, they were also my favorite ranking site to look at last year going into the tourney.  I feel like they are the most accurate.  However, right now there are 2 really big head scratchers I have with their rankings:

- The fact that they have 6-1 West Virginia ranked #10 and 6-0 Texas A&M ranked #14 -  TAMU beat WV by 23 on a neutral floor for the first game of the season, so it is a bit mind boggling that they would be ahead of an undefeated A&M that beat them.
- Not sure how they still have Purdue ranked #5 after losing back to back games to Western Kentucky and Tennessee. 

...And I am going to go throw up now for sticking up for A&M

Purdue is a head-scratcher, but they have Texas A&M at number 8 and West Virginia at 15.  I guess it's because Purdue has wins over Arizona and Louisville.

[popcornhog]

I think some Hog fans here in Jumpball love to put imaginary chips on their shoulders over national "disrespect" but Houston being ranked ahead of the Hogs in anything right now is egregious. Arkansas is a far superior team with a far superior resume to this point. They have a fighting chance because the game is played in their gym. That's it.

It's good for us that they're ranked ahead of us. It's an opportunity for a win that is meaningful.

[MAGA45]

I think we have a nice advantage with the schedule we have played so far.  I think we win by 10-15

[Hogs49ers]

Purdue is a head-scratcher, but they have Texas A&M at number 8 and West Virginia at 15.  I guess it's because Purdue has wins over Arizona and Louisville.

You are just looking at their bracketology and seed projection page, if you go to their predictive ranking page, WV is #10 and TAMU is #14.

[The_Bionic_Pig]

Houston has good shooters and plays great FG% defense. The Coogs foul a ton and are bad at the FT line. Gotta keep em off the boards.

Good Breakdown...simple and to the point!

[Hawg Red]

I'm giving the Hogs a 69% chance of winning.

Niiiice.