Houston (7-3) vs. Portland (8-4)
Diamond Head Classic , Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu; Sunday, 3 a.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Houston and Portland will take the floor in the Diamond Head Classic. Houston easily beat UTEP by 20 in its last outing, while Portland fell to Jackson State in its most recent game, 73-63.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Houston's Nate Hinton, Quentin Grimes and DeJon Jarreau have collectively accounted for 47 percent of the team's scoring this season and have scored 52 percent of all Cougars points over the last five games.NATE IS A FORCE: Hinton has connected on 45.5 percent of the 44 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 10 of 21 over his last three games. He's also made 73.3 percent of his foul shots this season.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Pilots have recently converted baskets via assists more often than the Cougars. Portland has 43 assists on 70 field goals (61.4 percent) across its previous three matchups while Houston has assists on 39 of 73 field goals (53.4 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Houston has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 40.2 percent, ranking the Cougars fourth nationally in that category. The offensive rebound percentage for Portland stands at just 23.5 percent (ranked 305th).
