LJ Cryer led Houston with 20 points as the No. 17/18 Cougars downed Butler, 79-51, Saturday afternoon at the Fertitta Center in Houston.
 
The road loss snaps a six-game winning streak for the Bulldogs, who are now 7-2 on the season. Houston improves to 5-3.
 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• Houston led 28-18 after the first half, which saw Butler make only five of their 25 attempts from the field. The Bulldogs missed 13 of their first 14 attempts as the Cougars built a 14-3 lead over the first 10 minutes of the game.
• A stretch of five straight makes by the Cougars opened the game up as Houston took a 50-32 lead with 11:29 remaining, the largest advantage at that point in the game.

 
NOTEWORTHY:

• Houston has now won 26 consecutive games at the Fertitta Center.
• Patrick McCaffery and Augusto Cassia led Butler with 11 points apiece.
• Houston's defense limited the Bulldogs to 28.3-percent shooting from the field, Butler's first time shooting less than 30 percent since Nov. 17, 2023 at Michigan State (.288). Houston has led the nation in field goal percentage defense in each of the last four seasons.
• The biggest discrepancy came on the glass as Houston held a 41-22 advantage. Houston also out-scored the Bulldogs, 28-6, in the paint.
• Butler went to the free throw line 22 times, making 16. The Bulldogs have shot at least 70 percent from the free throw line in each game this season.
• J'Wan Roberts pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for Houston.
• Houston shot 53 percent from the field.
• Nine of Butler's 13 made field goals came from three-point range.
• Saturday's game began a stretch for Butler that has the Bulldogs playing four Top 25 teams within a five-game span.
• Saturday's game was Butler's first true road game of the season.
• Saturday was the second meeting between Butler and Houston; the Cougars won the first match-up which was part of the 2021 Maui Invitational that was played in Las Vegas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return to Hinkle Fieldhouse to host North Dakota State Tuesday night. Tickets are still available for the 6:30 p.m. tip. Fans can watch the game on FS1 or listen to the audio feed provided by Mark Minner and Nick Gardner via the Varsity Network app.