Houston Cougars Cruise Past Idaho 78-47 in NCAA Tournament Opener

Freshman Kingston Flemings went 6-for-6 from the field and scored 18 points, freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds, and the Houston Cougars dismantled 15th-seeded Idaho 78-47 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, setting up an all-Texas second-round showdown with No. 10 seed Texas A&M.

The Cougars fell behind 10-7 early before turning the game into a clinic. Houston outscored Idaho 41-14 over the next 15 minutes, building a 48-24 halftime lead that effectively ended any suspense. Flemings led that surge with 14 of his 18 points in the first half, while Emanuel Sharp added 12 of his 16 points before the break, making four of five shots including three 3-pointers. Idaho, meanwhile, went nearly 10 minutes without scoring during that stretch and finished the game shooting just 8-of-30 from the field, a 26 percent clip that reflected how thoroughly Houston's defense smothered the Vandals.

Flemings extended the lead to 67-38 on a short jumper with 7:12 remaining, putting the margin beyond any doubt.

"That's what always happens," Flemings said of the defensive burst that fueled the run. "Defense and rebounding, and then we can start scoring on the offensive end. Offense is going to follow the defense. I think once we started getting stops and kills, that's really when our offense started exploding in the first half."

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson acknowledged Idaho's effort even in a 31-point loss. "It's hard to make this tournament. It's really hard," Sampson said. "There are so, so many good teams that don't get a chance to play in this. Coach Pribble's kids were well-coached. They had a good plan. They fought. They played really hard, and they scrapped."

Idaho's Kolton Mitchell was the lone Vandal to offer much offensively, scoring 14 points. The Vandals had earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1990 by winning four games in five days to capture the Big Sky championship, a remarkable run given they entered that conference tournament seeded seventh. Their season ends at 21-15.

The Cougars, now 29-6 on the season, enter Saturday's second round carrying motivation that extends well beyond this year's bracket. Houston lost to Florida in last year's championship game, and the program has made its return to March Madness with the No. 2 seed in the South Region and a roster built to make a deeper run.

Standing in the way next is Texas A&M, which beat St. Mary's 63-50 on Thursday to advance. The Aggies, seeded 10th, give Houston an in-state opponent to close out the weekend in Oklahoma City.