When Kelvin Sampson speaks about his team, his tone is matter-of-fact.
He’s not arrogant, but he’s assured that the brand of basketball he coaches night-in and night-out is one that reflects the image of how he believes the game is supposed to be played.
“We play man-to-man every day,” Sampson said emphatically, after the Cougars 83-36 win over Northern Colorado. “If playing defense was easy, then everybody would be good defensively. It’s not easy winning the way we win.”
It’s an identity that the Houston Cougars head coach of eight years has instilled in each iteration of the roster since inheriting the position in 2014. It helped to turn a program that was 13-19 the year before he took over, into one that’s won no less than 20 games in his eight years at the helm.
It’s a game plan predicated on putting opponents’ ball-handlers in jail, forcing turnovers at the point of attack, and capitalizing in the form of fast-breaks. And it did its job on Sunday night as the Oregon Ducks fell short of the Cougars 66-56.
Oregon (2-2) did its best to mimic the Cougars by employing their own brand of defensive intensity. The problem for Ducks, however: that’s not who they are, at least, not yet. After going .500 through their first two games, it’s clear the Ducks are still searching for their identity. Unfortunately for them, they came up against a program who’s not.
Still, the score sat at 60-54 with two minutes and change remaining. Oregon had stuck with Houston, but it needed to knock down a few more shots to complete the upset. Instead, the Cougars put their foot down in a way they’ve grown accustomed to.
With 90 seconds to go, Cougars’ forward Jarace Walker blocked Will Richardson’s putback layup attempt, and the ball was subsequently pushed up to guard Marcus Sasser for a three which extended Houston’s lead to nine points and felt like the nail in the coffin.
“They know who they are,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “They play within their system pretty well.”
It was timely sequences — like that block to transition three — that gave the Cougars the edge and showed why their system is so revered. Some of Oregon’s 16 turnovers were self-inflicted mistakes, but most were a product of the pressure the Cougars’ guards put on the perimeter, and the active hands their big-men play with when defending the post-entry pass.
That defensive challenge that Sasser and fellow guard Jamal Shead presented throughout the night wore down Oregon’s ball handlers. Matters were only made worse when Ducks’ guard Keeshawn Barthelemy popped up favoring his left ankle after a made layup late in the first half. Barthelemy joined Oregon’s list of injury absences at guard, as Jermaine Couisnard and Brennen Rigsby won’t return anytime soon.
“We just don’t have any guards,” Altman said.
That issue was certainly present with seven minutes remaining when the Ducks had dug themselves a hole that seemed insurmountable at the time.
They trailed by 58-42 — the greatest margin of the night — and seemed like their guard play had finally succumbed to Houston’s perimeter pressure. Fatigue plagued the ball-handling and the passing that Richardson displayed as he tried to navigate the zone.
Sasser began to pick up on Richardson’s lackadaisical tendencies and he baited him into a pass to Kel’el Ware on the short roll. Sasser poked the ball and took it the other way for an emphatic dunk.
“We showed an inability to handle the ball,” Altman said.
Richardson ended the night with a season-high 7 turnovers.
That mark emulated the type of team that Oregon’s became this season. It’s not the roster-build that Altman typically employs, but it’s one he’s had to as the Ducks lack talent and bodies at the guard position, but can overpower opponents with its big men. That latter part is what kept them close, on Sunday.
N’faly Dante was the Ducks most consistent force of offense — that is when they successfully got the ball into him — and defense, on Sunday. He led the team in points (16), rebounds (11), assists (4), blocks (3), steals (2), free throws made (4-of-4) and turnovers (0).
In the end, his statline wasn’t enough. The Ducks came up short but this wasn’t the same team that bottled up against UC Irvine last Friday. But what clearly separates them from Houston, and was present in the final 10 point deficit, goes back to what Sampson said after the Cougars win against Northern Colorado. His comments might come off as cocky, but he’s earned the right to speak with that tone. It’s clear just how comfortable he’s grown with the philosophy he preaches.
After eight seasons, it’s become almost expected that when the Cougars take the court, they want to make the game a track race, rather than a shootout.
The next step for the Ducks, this season, is finding their identity. Yes, they’re 2-2, yes, they’re hurting at the guard spot, but the season is young and even with a healthy dose of guard play, it’s clear this team’s strength is its bigs. It seemed like Altman finally began to accept that, on Sunday. Now he’ll have to empower them.
