UH's Injuries slowly healing

Jones' mind filled with Olympic dreams

Sports Opinion

Rohith Nandagiri

Saying the Cougars are struggling would be an understatement. Their four-point loss to Marquette on Saturday only proves that UH is talented, but making errors that cannot be made.

Missing three-throw shoots, offensive rebounding and turnovers are things good teams don't do. Against Alabama-Birmingham last week, the Cougars blew a 13 point lead with under three minutes to play. In fact, the Blazers scored 23 points in the final three minutes. 

Pete Medrano/The Daily Cougar

Defensive lapses and poor ball handling caused that. The Cougar interior defense was not able to stop anyone. 

Other questions can be raised from that game as well. For one thing, why wasn't Chad Hendrick in the game at the end? He's been playing extremely well and he is second on the team in free-throw percentage. He is also a good three-point shooter and plays the passing lanes well. His alley-oop dunk against UAB was simply spectacular.

The Cougars have lost four games in a row and now stand at 8-14 overall and 2-7 in conference play. Two weeks ago, the Cougars were 8-10 and had a definite shot at making it to at least the National Invitational Tournament. But now, they can only hope to get into double figures in wins. 

With games coming up against C-USA American division opponents Saint Louis this Saturday and then Cincinnati next Thursday, the Cougars are staring at 8-16 and 2-9 in conference right in the face.

Last Thursday night, even Rockets owner Les Alexander quipped, "maybe (Drexler) can even be a winning coach someday." 

The Cougars could win some games down the stretch, but it is sad that seniors Gee Gervin and Kenny Younger are not going out with more of a bang. 

Speaking of Younger, he has been very quiet recently. If the Cougars have any shot at beating teams like the Bearcats, Billikens or Louisville, Younger has to be a secondary shooting option. He needs to take the ball to the rack and show his athleticism. In the process, he may draw fouls on players like Kenyon Martin, Nate Johnson and Pete Mikeal.

Baseball loses two of three

Is college baseball the most unpredictable sport there is? Any team can fall on any given day. A ranked opponent could fall to a nobody, and you can never be sure of a win until the final out is recorded. 

UH lost two of three ball games to UT this past weekend. Although Texas is also ranked, the Cougars are ranked No. 6 in the nation. Some of the best college baseball in the country is played right here in Texas. It will be a dogfight to win the regional here, but if UH does, it has a definite shot at going to Omaha for the College World Series.