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Sports

UH, No. 15 Arizona to do battle at Hofheinz

By Chris Elliott and Lourdes Castillo
The Daily Cougar

The Cougars' last two non-conference games have both been decided by a margin of just one point. 

Their victory against then Associated Press No. 25-ranked LSU came as a surprise to some of the players and coaches. However, as the Cougars prepare to face one of the strongest teams in the country, Associated Press No. 15-ranked Arizona at 6 p.m. Saturday at home, they will likely approach the game with confidence. 

Junior guard transfer Oliver Lafayette has made the adjustment to the Division I-A game smoothly. His 20.7 points-per-game average is a team high and he will attempt to carry his 32-point performance with him into Saturday night's game.

Junior guard Lanny Smith, senior forward Brian Latham and Lafayette will face their toughest matchup of the year in this guard tandem. When these two highly athletic, defense-oriented teams take the court Saturday night at Hofheinz Pavilion, a third consecutive close finish could be in the making.

"Lanny's (Smith) been hurt, he's been playing with a pretty badly sprained ankle and we can't rely on him at this point," head coach Tom Penders said. "Last night he only played sparingly and to my surprise, we were able to pull off a major upset against the No. 25 team without him being effective." 

However, the UH team competes against its opponents and gains wins thanks to team effort and not individual accomplishments.

"We are a team and we have a lot of new people and that's a good sign that other players stepped up and we scored 84 points and played a really good basketball game," Penders said. "We don't rely on one player, but when Lanny (Smith) is healthy he is one of the best (point guards) in the country."

Because the Cougars have been catching up on their schoolwork, they haven't had time until today to prepare for the matchup with the Wildcats.

"We usually try to start preparing as soon as we can, but (Tuesday) we were just exhausted from the trip and (the players) had classes to make up and meet with tutors and things," Penders said.

Penders' strategy of pressing opponents until they collapse or crack has proven highly effective. In the team's first three games, UH has an average turnover of plus 9.3. The turnovers the Cougars force usually lead to fast break points, and that's the tactic Penders plans to use to try to disrupt Arizona's offense.

Arizona has also been known to get after the ball on defense this year. Led by senior guard Hassan Adams, the Wildcats are averaging 12.5 steals per game. Adams, averaging 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, may be able to cause problems in the front court. Fellow senior guard Chris Rodgers with a 15 points-per-game average poses an additional threat.

The Cougars hopes to add another win to their record and realizes fans and supporters are vital to a victory Saturday.

"For all we know, (Lanny Smith) won't even be able to play on Saturday, so we are really going to need our students and our fans to help the team at a very high level, and they do," Penders said.

"Basketball players, more than any other sport, raise their level of performance and intensity with the noise and the support they get from the students. We started to get that late last year and it really helped us. 

"That's what goes on at Duke and all the great basketball schools. The students are the main supporters and that's what we've got to get going at the University of Houston."

Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu