Houston scored 33 points off Montana Tech turnovers in its first exhibition. Chase McCarty also made five of six three-pointers. Those are two useful ways to build a lead, but they leave Houston with a question for Sunday's meeting with No. 16 Michigan: how well can the Cougars score when a ranked opponent makes them work through longer possessions?
Houston's October 15 account puts the sophomore forward at a team-high 19 points in a 110-53 win. The official box score confirms his five makes in six attempts from outside. It also shows that Montana Tech committed 20 turnovers and Houston turned those into 33 points. Several Cougars reached double figures in a lopsided game. The box does not tell us which of McCarty's threes followed those turnovers, so the two numbers should not be fused into a made-up sequence of plays.
McCarty's makes are real. The challenge is deciding how much to carry forward from them. Houston's October 24 preview identifies Michigan as the Cougars' second and final exhibition opponent. The Wolverines are AP No. 16 and the defending national champions. They beat Oregon State 98-93 on October 16, according to Michigan Athletics. This is a different opponent and setting from Houston's opener, even if an exhibition remains a limited measure.
I would watch Houston's possessions that begin after a made Michigan basket or a clean defensive rebound. Those starts give the Cougars less of the immediate advantage that a takeaway can provide. Can they still get McCarty a useful outside look, or another player a good attempt, once Michigan is organized? The Montana Tech box can show that McCarty's shots went in. It cannot answer how Houston will create them against this opponent. Houston does not need another five-for-six night for his range to matter, but Sunday's game has to supply the evidence of how that range fits the offense.
Michigan also brings an offense Houston has reason to take seriously. In the Oregon State exhibition, Elliot Cadeau scored 27 points, 26 after halftime, and had eight assists. Moustapha Thiam added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Trey McKenney scored 18, Michigan reports. Those numbers do not assign McCarty a particular defensive matchup. They show that Houston may have to find perimeter points while managing a Michigan offense that scored 98 against Oregon State.
The two ranked teams play October 25 in Grand Rapids. Michigan calls it the last of three exhibitions and Houston calls it the last of two. The valuable Houston possessions may be the ones that start without a takeaway. They can show whether McCarty's range and the rest of the offense hold up when the first easy source of points is smaller.
