3 Takeaways From No. 8 Houston's Blowout Win over Jacksonville State

Houston Cougars basketball, now ranked No. 8 overall, cruised to a massive 92-46 win over Jacksonville State on Wednesday night at home in Fertitta Center. UH improved to 3-0 on the early season and continues to roll with a high level of production on both sides of the floor.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville State out of Conference USA dropped to 1-2. Here are three main takeaways from Houston's victory in the third game of the year.

Dominant Start

Houston wasted no time at all in this one and quickly got out to a massive lead. Senior forward Joseph Tugler led the attack with four early points, including a jump shot from outside the paint. While he didn't play much of a factor on the scoresheet after that, Houston kept going.

A couple of three-pointers were knocked in from senior forward Delrecco Gillespie and senior point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. Additionally, there were some and-ones from junior guard Mercy Miller and freshman center Arafan Diane as the Cougars attacked the basket.

Houston took a 22-3 lead at the 11:33 mark of the first half. The Cougars' lead was brought down to 10 at 25-15 with 8:43 left as the Gamecocks started knocking down their open shots. Houston was rapidly able to bring the lead back up 45-23 at halftime.

Free Throw Reliance

Houston has been much more of a team that scores in the paint this year and is aggressive in attacking the basket. As a result, the number of free throws has also dramatically increased since last season.

Thomas is someone who's good at getting to the line, as is the rest of the guard room. Houston had 32 free-throw attempts total and made 27 of them for a rate of 84 percent. That is excellent for the Cougars to make almost all of them. It's now a large chunk of the offense.

Houston was 27 out of 37 from the line in the season opener against La Salle.

Mercy Miller Among Top Scorers

Thomas has led Houston in scoring in the first three games and had 17 points along with seven assists in this game. However, it was his backcourt partner in Miller, who put up the highest number of points he's scored in a game this season with 15.

Miller also added five assists and four rebounds. He was also six-for-eight from the free-throw line. Additionally, senior guard Chendall Weaver has been so productive off the bench. Currently eligible due to a temporary restraining order, Weaver scored 10 points in 11 minutes and also added four rebounds.

Weaver was a big factor from the line as he went seven-for-eightfrom the line. Both backup big men in Diane and junior Braden East, had nine and eight points each. The Cougars had 43 points off the bench total, as redshirt freshman Bryce Jackson got some playing time with four points.

Up next, Houston takes on Rutgers on Tuesday in the opener of the Player's Era Tournament.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/houston as 3 Takeaways From No. 8 Houston's Blowout Win over Jacksonville State.