No. 8 Houston, Louisiana both see room for improvement

Houston lost its most recent game, however the Cougars' coach wasn't totally dissatisfied.

Louisiana won its most recent game, however the Ragin' Cajuns coach wasn't totally satisfied.

Both teams are focused on early-season improvement ahead of their game Wednesday night in Houston.

Houston (1-1) dropped to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after a 74-69 home loss to then-No. 11 Auburn last Saturday. The Cougars opened the season with a 97-40 victory against outmanned Jackson State, prompting coach Kelvin Sampson to say that he wanted his team to be challenged in its second game.

"This team needed to be tested," Sampson said. "That's why we scheduled the game. You have wins and losses, but you also have wisdom and learning. This was a learning night for us."

Sampson said his team had its lofty ranking because of its "rebounding and transition defense."

But those areas weren't advantages against the lengthy and athletic Tigers. Auburn outscored Houston 14-10 in fast-break points, including a 12-3 edge while it outscored the Cougars 46-36 in the second half. The teams each had 33 rebounds.

"We got exposed in some areas that we've got to go back and figure out how we can get better and clean up some things," Sampson said. "This is a great learning tool for us. We weren't very good offensively in a lot of ways, but their defense had a lot to do with that.

"We hope we can learn from a loss to a really good team. There is no shame on our side."

J'Wan Roberts was one of five Houston players to score in double figures. He finished with 12 points along with seven rebounds.

"I don't think this game defines our season," Roberts said. "When we look at the film there's a lot of stuff we've got to work on to try and get better for the next game."

The next game is against Louisiana (1-1), which defeated visiting UT Dallas 82-65 last Thursday.

"We showed some inconsistency," Ragin' Cajuns coach Bob Marlin said. "It's a learning process. We had our moments each half offensively and defensively. And then the second half I thought we did a pretty good job pressuring the ball and defensively we got off to a better start."

Marlin said his team had too many unforced errors among its 14 turnovers and he was "really disappointed" in its 3-point shooting (4 of 21).

"We've got to do a better job of shooting the ball," Marlin said, but he added that his team's shortcomings were overcome by preventing its opponent from taking full advantage.

UT Dallas, which made 7 of 28 3-pointers, turned the ball over 24 times and Louisiana had a 30-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

"(The Ragin' Cajuns) are disappointed because they know they're better than they played," Marlin said, "but we're still growing as a team."

The game against Houston will be a far greater challenge for Louisiana, which opened the season with a 70-66 home loss to Kent State on Nov. 4.

"We'll learn more when we go to Houston," Marlin said. "It'll be a super tough game. They're one of the most physical teams in the country, if not the most physical."

--Field Level Media