Game 14	at No. 22 University of Houston (12-0; 27-8, 14-4 in AAC in 2017-18)
Date | Time	Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018 | 3 p.m. (CT)
Location | Arena	Houston, TX | Fertitta Center
Tickets	UH Tickets | 713.GO.COOGS
Live Video	ESPN3  |  David Saltzman (PBP) & Reid Gettys (color)
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
All-time Series	n/a
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | UH Notes

 

PREGAME COMMENTS FROM COACH KENNEDY (VIDEO)


(HOUSTON, TX) – After a two-week layoff, the Highlanders (11-2) will return to action with perhaps their most daunting challenge of the season – a visit to No. 22 University of Houston (12-0) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. (3 p.m. CT) at the brand-new Fertitta Center in Houston.
 
This will be NJIT's seventh all-time meeting with a Top-25 team. Last season, NJIT suffered an 82-53 loss at No. 7 Seton Hall University (Nov. 18) and a 102-69 defeat at No. 19 West Virginia University (Nov. 30).
 
However, the players on the Highlanders roster are fully aware of the program's 72-70 win at No. 17 University of Michigan on Dec. 6, 2014. The list includes third-year head coach Brian Kennedy – the only current NJIT representative on the sidelines who was present in Ann Arbor – who was then the top assistant to Jim Engles.
 
Now running the show, Kennedy has a streaking team that hopes it can continue its momentum after the season's lengthiest break due to final exams and the holiday.
 
The Highlanders arrive in the Lone Star State riding a season-high-tying, four-game winning streak after their most recent victory – a 90-80 win at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Dec. 15.
 
At 11-2, NJIT is off to the best start in its Division-I history (13 seasons) and since the program opened 12-1 in 1994-95 – a season in which it went 28-2 and advanced to the NCAA Division-III Elite Eight.  The Highlanders are also 6-1 on the road, making them one of just two teams in the nation with six road victories. Stony Brook (NY) University, which participates in the America East Conference, is the other.
 
The Highlanders will have plenty riding on the game after receiving a vote in the AP Top-25 in each of the past three weeks and climbing to No. 24 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 this week. A win will give the ASUN leader its first five-game winning streak in three seasons (since Jan. 30-Feb. 13, 2016) and momentum into its final non-conference game at Duquesne University on Monday.
 
NJIT is fueled by one of the best inside-out tandems at the mid-major level in sophomore guard Zach Cooks (5'9") and senior forward Abdul Lewis (6'10").
 
Cooks leads the ASUN in scoring at 19.2 points per game – which ranks 69th in the nation, 16th among underclassmen and seventh among all sub-six-foot-tall players in D-I.
 
The Lawrenceville, Ga., native comes in red hot, having scored 20-plus points in six of the last nine games -- averaging 21.9 ppg in the span. He also leads the ASUN in steals per game (2.6) and, despite his five-foot-nine frame, ranks 11^th with 5.4 rebounds per game.
 
Lewis, NJIT's lone selection on the ASUN preseason All-Conference team, is also on fire. The Newark native is averaging 16.7 ppg and 11.7 rpg over his last three contests. With his 20-point, 12-rebound performance at FDU, he has tied Tim Coleman '17 with the most double-doubles (16) in an NJIT career.
 
Lewis, who is averaging 12.0 ppg and 8.4 rpg for the season, also ranks 14^th among all active D-I players with 813 career rebounds.
 
Senior Diandre Wilson is the Highlanders' other double-digit scorer at 11.1 ppg. Although falling just short at 9.9 ppg, junior co-captain Shyquan Gibbs leads the team with 2.8 assists per game.
 
Houston native Donovan Greer returns to his hometown as a spark off the bench. The product of the Hillcrest Academy is averaging nearly five points per game over his past seven affairs, including notching a season-high eight points on a pair of occasions.
 
NJIT, which reached 11 wins at the earliest date (Dec. 15) in program history, has posted at least 11 wins in its first 13 games for just the sixth time in program history at all levels -- which dates back 97 seasons to 1922-23. All prior 11-2 or 12-1 starts occurred during Division-III play (1984-85, 1988-89, 1990-01, 1992-93 and 1994-95).
 
The Highlanders have a current NCAA Net Ranking of 164.
 

All-Time Series:
 
NJIT enters its first all-time meeting with University of Houston.
 
All-time, NJIT is 1-1 against American Athletic Conference teams. The Highlanders first won at University of South Florida, 60-57, on Nov. 16, 2015, before falling at Temple University, 68-63, on Dec. 17, 2016.

 
Houston (They Don't Have a Problem):
 
The Cougars, who have started 12-0 for the first time since 1967-68, enter ranked 22nd in the Associated Press Top-25 and with an NCAA Net Ranking of 5.
 
In addition, Houston has reeled off 25 consecutive home victories -- it's the longest home surge since the 1989-90 season and the fourth-longest in school history.
 
The Cougars are coming off a season in which they finished 27-8 (14-4 AAC) to finish in a tie for second in league standings. After falling to University of Cincinnati, 56-55, in the conference tournament championship game, No. 6 Houston fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a 64-63 nail-biter to No. 3 Michigan.
 
The Cougars first-round, 67-65 win over San Diego State University marked the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since 1984. Additionally, Houston finished among the Top-25 in both final national polls for the first time in more than three decades.
 
This season, they were predicted for third place in the AAC preseason poll behind University of Central Florida and Cincinnati.
 
Junior Armoni Brooks, who was honored as the AAC's Sixth Man of the Year last season, is the team's leading scorer at 15.3 ppg. He also leads the squad and ranks sixth in the conference at 7.3 rpg.
 
Senior Corey Davis Jr., the Cougars' leading returning scorer, is a close second at 15.1 ppg. Davis was an American All-Tournament Team selection a year ago after becoming the fifth player in school history to sink at least 100 three-pointers in a single season.
 
Senior point guard Galen Robinson Jr. ranks second in the conference at 5.7 apg while sitting third on the team in scoring at 8.9 ppg.
 
Veteran Kelvin Sampson is in his fifth season as Cougars head coach and has posted an impressive 95-48 (.664) record at Houston. Last season, he was honored as AAC Coach of the Year.
 
Now in his 26^th season guiding a D-I program, Sampson owns a 520-275 (.654) record from his time with Houston (2014-present), Indiana University (2006-08), Oklahoma University (1994-06) and Washington State University (1987-94). He is one of 10 coaches in NCAA history to lead at least three different schools to an NCAA Tournament win (Oklahoma 11, Indiana 1, Houston 1) and one of 14 coaches in NCAA history to lead at least four programs into March Madness.
 
Prior to his D-I career, Sampson spent five season at the helm at Montana Tech (1981-85). He has also served as an assistant in the NBA, combining for six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks (2008-11) and Houston Rockets (2011-14).