Kansas and Houston are set to clash inside of Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday evening in a game that could have major ramifications in the Big 12 title race. KU enters the contest two games back of Houston with a 5-2 record in conference play while the Cougars are 7-0. Houston has been riding a strong wave over the last seven weeks and the Cougars haven’t lost a game since November. Their 11-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in college basketball.
KU and Houston split the home and home series last year. The Jayhawks were underdogs in the home game last year but ended up winning the contest 78-65 behind an incredibly efficient game on offense. In the return game, KU was blown out by Houston, 76-46.
On Friday, Bill Self was asked what the biggest key to the game is for KU. He didn’t hesitate before he answered.
“I’d say, rebound the ball,” Self said. “They’re plus seven (rebounds per game), I think, for the year, but those three big guys can really rebound the ball. And then they’ve got other guys that go as well.”
Houston is one of the better rebounding teams in the nation. The Cougars are a middle of the pack team on the defensive glass and grab around 70 percent of opposing misses. Where they are elite is on the offensive end, where they grab 38.3 percent of their misses, which ranks No. 11 nationally. Joseph Tugler (2.7 offensive rebounds per game) and J’Wan Roberts (2.6 per game) are the leading threats on the glass for Houston.
In terms of raw numbers, Houston has an average rebounding margin of +6.3 per game compared to its opponents.
Even with that said, Houston has the No. 1 defense in the nation in several key metrics like effective field goal percentage, 2-point percentage and block rate.
Self said KU will need to be smart on the offensive end of the floor.
“You’re going to have to be able to attack and play behind their pressure,” Self said. “We’ve got to be patient enough and aggressive enough to understand that we’re going to have to create some situations that force them into long closeouts or mistakes and then play behind that as opposed to just trying to come down and go one on one and score.”