<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1rh3V2_0uuJQfCz00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1rh3V2_0uuJQfCz00" width="1182" height="619" >Last year, Houston's prime objective was to show that they could dominate in the Big XII as they had in the AAC. The Cougars went 15-3 and won the league. Mission accomplished.But so powerful was <a href="https://247sports.com/college/houston/">Houston</a> last season that proving their Big XII mettle began to seem like small beer come late February and March. The goal then became to win a national title. The Cougars were knocked out of the NCAA tournament by <a href="https://247sports.com/college/duke/">Duke</a> in the Sweet Sixteen. Mission most definitely not accomplished.Now there is no doubt whatsoever about Houston's primary goal. <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/kelvin-sampson-2426/">Kelvin Sampson</a> brings back everybody from last year's roster that he wanted to bring back. Anything less than a natty will be a disappointment.There is just one minor caveat. A certain <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jamal-shead-46058761/">Jamal Shead</a> exhausted his eligibility last season. Shead was the Big XII Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. If you watched Houston play last season you understand that Shead's impact on the game was incalculable and extended far beyond his fairly modest stat line. He was the sort of player who willed his team to tough wins with his own toughness and competitiveness. Replacing such a player is, for all intents and purposes, impossible. The only hope is to mitigate the impact of his absence.Sampson brought in <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/">Oklahoma</a> transfer <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/milos-uzan-46097723/">Milos Uzan</a> in an attempt to do just that. Uzan's a pretty good player. He's a 6-foot-4 point guard who penetrates exceptionally well and passes with great aplomb. Most coaches would be very happy to have him on their roster. But Uzan, for all his skill, is no Jamal Shead. What's more, he seems to have peaked as a player, and that peak is a few thousand feet below the summit of Mount Shead.The question then becomes whether the rest of Houston's roster can compensate for the disparity between Shead and Uzan. It's certainly possible. Roster continuity, a rare thing in this age when every college player seems to have nothing on his mind other than trying to grab the biggest sack of gold, is valuable. The fact that <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/javier-francis-46099488/">Ja'Vier Francis</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jwan-roberts-46055190/">J'Wan Roberts</a>, LJ Cryer, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/emanuel-sharp-46086302/">Emanuel Sharp</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/joseph-tugler-46127722/">Joseph Tugler</a>, and <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/mylik-wilson-46048043/">Mylik Wilson</a> have played lots of ball together means the Cougars will hit the court running on opening night. Unlike the vast majority of coaches, Sampson won't have to waste precious time teaching his players his system and trying to get them to mesh. He can spend much more time polishing, and far less time building.So, the Cougars will be extremely tough yet again. The defense they played last season was among the best ever seen in the college game. That will not change one bit with bruising forwards Roberts, Francis and Tugler back in the fold. Then there's backup point guard Wilson who, on the defensive end anyway, is in the same class as Shead.Likewise, Houston's berserk attacks on the offensive glass will continue unabated. The Cougars--Cryer and Sharp excepted--are not talented scorers, but they don't have to be because they usually get multiple cracks at the rim on each offensive possession. UH's top rebounders return, so this offensive approach will remain intact, and that means terrible headaches for every team in the Big XII.So, if Uzan and Wilson (don't be surprised if Wilson winds up getting almost as many minutes as Uzan, by the way), can hold down the fort at point guard, Houston has every chance to successfully defend their Big XII title.But what about the NCAA tournament? Ah, that's a bit trickier. It is just possible that Sampson's non-negotiable demands for constant kamikaze basketball cause his players to be injury-prone, and that his teams wear down late in the season. Recall that last year the Cougars lost by 28 to <a href="https://247sports.com/college/iowa-state/">Iowa State</a> in the Big XII tournament final, struggled terribly to get past Texas A&amp;M in the second round of the Big Dance, and then fell to Duke. In three of their final four performances, the Coogs just did not look like their old selves. Perhaps my hypothesis is nothing but bunkum, but I for one will be watching Houston closely down the stretch of the 2025 season for signs of fatigue. You've got to have fuel in the tank to reach the finish line. </div></body>

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Not Too Early Big XII Hoops Predictions: No. 1, Houston

Last year, Houston's prime objective was to show that they could dominate in the Big XII as they had in the AAC. The Cougars went 15-3 and won the league. Mission accomplished. But so powerful was Houston last season that proving their Big XII mettle began to seem like small...