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Sports

Home court advantage the key to wins

Silent Assassin

Ronnie Turner

Forget about the victories over Arizona and LSU. The biggest game of the season for the UH men's basketball team came on Wednesday night against crosstown rival Rice in UH's final regular season home game.

Or, at least it was for the Cougars' fans. They came out in droves for this one, 7,105 in all, and were not disappointed as the Cougars pulled out a hard-fought 74-71 victory over the Owls, ending a five-game losing streak to Rice while keeping their fading NCAA Tournament dreams alive.

Even before tip off, the UH fans made their presence felt. Whether it was getting into a shouting match with a sparse group of Rice supporters or letting the whole arena know just how much the Owl's starters "sucked," it was clear from the start who the home team was.

And early in the game, after the Cougars found themselves down 12-4, it was without a shadow of a doubt the home crowd that helped propel UH on a 16-2 run found the Cougars in complete control and with the lead for that stretch. 

But it was much later in the game when the Cougars really needed their fans with a tight 73-71 lead over Rice with 28 seconds left in the match and looking to close out the game. The crowd gave its cheers and the Cougars gave the crowd what it wanted: a good defensive possession with 2.4 seconds left that forced Rice junior guard Morris Almond to miss a three-pointer at the buzzer, clinching the victory.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, it'll probably be the last time this season they'll have their home crowd to lean on for crucial support, save a possible NIT first-round home game.

"We loved the support," junior forward Jahmar Thorpe said. "It really gave us a boost. We wished we had had this all season, but fortunately, they all came out tonight and we won this game for them."

It almost makes you wonder. What could the Cougars have done this season with this kind of fan support behind them on a regular basis? Trust me, Rice was no premiere opponent, simply a rival. But the way the home crowd cheered, you would have thought the Cougars were doing a number on Duke. Even after UH's best player, senior forward Ramon Dyer, went down hard late in the first half and had to leave the game, the players didn't lose their composure and neither did the fans.

But let's all take a trip back in time to another game in the season when the Cougars could have really used their home crowd to be in full force. Back on January 14, the team faced off against Central Florida at Hofheinz Pavilion, but this time only 4, 224 were in attendance. And needless to say, the lack of support hurt. UH was stoned to death 66-56 by a team with a current RPI of 0.4778, ranked 197th in the nation. If UH doesn't get a bid to the Big Dance, they can look back at this game as a reason why. 

The myth going around that UH students only come out in multitudes for games against Rice in any sport is no longer a false belief; it's downright true. Rice is the school's biggest rival, but coming out to the other home games helps as well. Just ask Texas. 

The Cougars need their fans to come out in order to make noise. But UH fans may just get their chance to do it again soon. After all, the only thing that the victory over Rice assures is that the Cougars have punched their ticket to the NIT and a possible first-round home game. It would be plain silly to think that simply beating Rice gets UH into the NCAA Tournament.

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