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Volume 70, Issue 93,
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Sports Cougars to face C-USA rival Bulls Houston will face USF for the second time this season, UH victory will help postseason odds By Sam Khan Jr.
The Cougars return to some home cooking tonight as they take on Conference USA foe South Florida at 7 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion. Last time out Houston completed a 2-0 season sweep of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles as they beat them 75-53 Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss. Senior guard Andre Owens led the Cougars with 20 points, and junior forward Ramon Dyer added 17. The Cougars shot a better-than-usual 49 percent from the field.
Junior forward Brian Latham, Houston's defensive guru, will be one of the Cougars to keep an eye on in today's game against the Bulls as he will most likely be paired up against South Florida's Brian Swift, their leading scorer. Stephen Pinchback/The
Daily Cougar
The Bulls are coming off a road loss to the Associated Press No. 9-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 65-57. Senior forward Terrence Leather was their high-point man with 18. They committed 18 turnovers and lost despite holding the Cardinals to just 37 percent shooting. Last meeting between UH and USF The Cougars defeated the Bulls in Tampa, Fla. 62-50 on Jan. 22. Houston held the Bulls' two top scorers, Leather and guard Brian Swift, to 10 points apiece. Owens topped Houston with 16 points, and sophomore guard Lanny Smith added 15. It was Houston's second road win of the 2004-05 season. Series history Houston trails the series between the two teams 9-8 but has won the last three meetings dating back to Jan. 31, 2004. The Cougars have also won the last four straight between the two teams at Hofheinz Pavilion. What the outcome would mean The Cougars are trying to put themselves in position to make their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 1991-92 season. A loss would hinder that goal, but wouldn't eliminate all hopes of getting to the postseason. The Cougars are 10-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to Tulane on Jan. 26. Keep an eye on The turnover differential. Houston is second in C-USA in forcing turnovers, at 19.9 per game. The Bulls commit the third-most in the league at 15.1 per contest. The higher that number is, the less South Florida's good shooting percentage (44.8 percent) will mean. Matchup to watch: Brian Latham vs. Brian Swift Swift is USF's playmaker and Latham is UH's defensive
stopper. Houston could use Latham to try and pressure the Bulls early in
order to get the ball out of Swift's hands. In the two teams' last meeting,
Swift shot 4-of-14, including 0-of-7 from behind the arc.
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