Last Sunday night, on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, I predicted that Houston would be the last college basketball team to take a loss this season.
So far, so good.
Kelvin Sampson's squad improved to 2-0 Saturday afternoon with an 82-50 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in which the Cougars held the Islanders to 29.7% shooting from the field and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. They remain No. 7 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
"We're still growing — but I like the potential of this team," Sampson said. "I think this team can be really good. I really like this team. We have great player-leadership."
Houston has won its two contests this season — both against sub-280 KenPom.com opponents, to be fair — by an average of 42.5 points. Up next is Monday's game against Stetson. After that, the Cougars will head to the Charleston Classic, where they'll open with Towson and then play Utah or Wake Forest before closing the event with a game against either St. John's, North Texas, Dayton or LSU.
Regardless of the opponent, the Cougars will be favored in each of their three games in Charleston and, according to KenPom, in every contest between now and when they play at Kansas on Feb. 3. That doesn't mean they'll actually take an undefeated record into February, of course. But it should help illustrate why I believe Houston will keep a zero in the loss column longer than any other team.
My prediction?
Houston will be 15-0 heading into a Jan. 13 game at TCU. If so, that should be enough to make the Cougars the last undefeated team in the sport.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 99-61 win over Manhattan. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 23-11 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 87-57 win over Morehead State. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday against Xavier. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Keshad Johnson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 78-73 win at Duke. The Wildcats' next game is Monday against Southern. | -- | 27-9 |
| 4 |  | Duke gave up 15 offensive rebounds in Friday's 78-73 loss to Arizona. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 75-62 win over Loyola Chicago. The Owls' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. | -- | 25-9 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 23 point and six rebounds in Friday's 95-65 win over Rider. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | -- | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | J'Wan Roberts finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 82-50 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cougars' next game is Monday against Stetson. | -- | 32-5 |
| 8 |  | Tristen Newton finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 107-67 win over Stonehill. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Mississippi Valley State. | -- | 37-3 |
| 9 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 89-60 win over North Dakota State. The Bluejays' next game is Tuesday against Iowa. | -- | 25-10 |
| 10 |  | Wooga Poplar finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Friday's 88-72 win over UCF. The Hurricanes' next game is Monday against Florida International. | -- | 15-17 |
| 11 |  | Khalif Battle finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Friday's 86-68 win over Gardner-Webb. The Razorbacks' next game is Monday against Old Dominion. | -- | 16-17 |
| 12 |  | Isaiah Collier finished with 19 points and 5 assists in Thursday's 85-59 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Trojans' next game is Tuesday against UC Irvine. | -- | 15-18 |
| 13 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Friday's 80-70 win at Wisconsin. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Wofford. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished with 21 points and four assists in Friday's 73-66 win at Ohio State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at SMU. | -- | 21-15 |
| 15 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 74-51 win over Southern Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 20-15 |
| 16 |  | Antonio Reeves finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Friday's 81-61 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 23-10 |
| 17 |  | Langston Love finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 96-70 win over John Brown. The Bears' next game is Sunday against Gardner Webb. | -- | 24-11 |
| 18 |  | Anton Watson finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 86-71 win over Yale. The Zags' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Oregon. | -- | 27-8 |
| 19 |  | Max Abmas finished with 19 points and five assists in Friday's 86-59 win over Delaware State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | -- | 21-13 |
| 20 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Thursday's 72-58 win over New Mexico. The Gaels' next game is Sunday against Weber State. | -- | 26-8 |
| 21 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 70-55 win at Missouri. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Alabama State. | -- | 22-10 |
| 22 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Monday's 86-70 win over Radford. The Tar Heels' next game is Sunday against Lehigh. | -- | 29-8 |
| 23 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 15 points and five assists in Friday's 64-53 win over Oakland. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Marquette. | -- | 29-9 |
| 24 |  | Justin Moore finished with 21 points and two rebounds in Friday's 83-57 win over Le Moyne. The Wildcats' next game is Monday at Penn. | -- | 18-16 |
| 25 |  | Joel Soriano finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 90-74 win over Stony Brook. The Red Storm's next game is Monday against Michigan. | -- | 20-13 |
| 26 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 102-80 win over Indiana State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against South Alabama. | -- | 25-12 |
