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The Houston Cougars were dominant in the opening week of the 2022-23 season. They defeated Northern Colorado 83-36 in the season opener and topped Saint Joseph’s 81-55 in the Veterans Classic.
Houston never trailed in either contest. Preseason All-American Marcus Sasser scored 21 points and four steals in the opener. In the Saint Joe’s game, Jarace Walker netted 23 points, and J’Wan Roberts notched 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The victory over Northern Colorado was the 700th win in Kelvin Sampson’s career and his 200th as the head coach at Houston.
Major milestones for one of the game's best...
— Houston Men's Hoops (@UHCougarMBK) November 8, 2022
Congrats, @CoachSampsonUH#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/JfzX1ih2ep
Meanwhile, Gonzaga also won both of its games in the first week. The Bulldogs knocked off North Florida 104-63 and beat Michigan State 64-63 in a nailbiter aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The Zags trailed for the majority of the game against the Spartans. All-American Drew Timme knocked down a shot with 2:24 remaining to give Gonzaga its first lead since the first half. MSU led seven at halftime. Timme posted 22 points and 13 rebounds.
San Diego State and Dayton held steady at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Saint Mary’s jumped from eighth to fifth. The rest of the top 10 jumbled around, but the teams remained the same.
Boise State saw the biggest jump as it moved from tied for 18th to tied for 11th despite falling to South Dakota State 68-66. The Broncos bounced back with a 71-61 win over Washington State.
Davidson, UCF and Cincinnati all joined the ranking. The Wildcats debuted tied for 19th. The Knights premiered at 23, and the Bearcats tied Liberty for the final spot.
The Other Top 25: Nov. 14, 2022
| Rank | Team (First-Place Votes) | Points | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team (First-Place Votes) | Points | Record | Previous |
| 1 | Houston (2) | 74 | 2-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Gonzaga (1) | 73 | 2-0 | 1 |
| 3 | San Diego State | 69 | 2-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Dayton | 65 | 2-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Saint Mary's | 61 | 3-0 | 8 |
| 6 | Saint Louis | 59 | 2-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Memphis | 54 | 1-0 | 9 |
| 8 | Toledo | 53 | 2-0 | 10 |
| 9 | UAB | 39 | 1-1 | 7 |
| 10 | Wyoming | 34 | 2-1 | 5 |
| T-11 | Boise State | 32 | 1-1 | T-18 |
| T-11 | Furman | 32 | 2-0 | 16 |
| 13 | North Texas | 29 | 1-1 | 13 |
| 14 | Tulane | 27 | 2-0 | 15 |
| 15 | VCU | 26 | 2-0 | 11 |
| 16 | BYU | 25 | 1-1 | 12 |
| T-17 | Loyola Chicago | 22 | 2-0 | 20 |
| T-17 | Drake | 22 | 1-0 | 14 |
| T-19 | Davidson | 21 | 3-0 | NR |
| T-19 | Towson | 21 | 3-0 | T-18 |
| 21 | UC Santa Barbara | 15 | 2-0 | T-21 |
| 22 | Bryant | 13 | 2-0 | 23 |
| 23 | UCF | 12 | 1-1 | NR |
| 24 | Colorado State | 11 | 2-0 | T-24 |
| T-25 | Liberty | 10 | 1-1 | T-21 |
| T-25 | Cincinnati | 10 | 3-0 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes:
Eastern Michigan 9; San Francisco 9; New Mexico 8; Florida Atlantic 7; Western Kentucky 6; Ohio 5; Utah State 5; Iona 4; Quinnipiac 3; Kent State 3; Southern Illinois 2; Santa Clara 2; James Madison 1; UC Irvine 1; San Diego 1
Dropped from Ranking:
Western Kentucky; Iona
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