Joseph Duarte

Join the JD bracket challenge. I’ll giveaway something cool to the winner. fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?chal…

Houston's star freshmen lead the way as Cougars roll past Idaho in March Madness opener houstonchronicle.com/sports/college… via @houstonchron

Final from Oklahoma City (2) Houston 78 (15) Idaho 47

Mercy Miller hits a 3 and follows with a dunk. Houston leads 78-45 with 2 minutes left.

Chris Cenac Jr. rebound total is now at 18.

Mercy Miller 3-pointer

After that challenge, Kelvin Sampson just told the official: "That's not a tough call." UH won the challenge.

Chris Webber says he doesn't know the cheer that UH fans do when they're swaying, but "it looks great from a fan perspective."

JoJo Tugler. Dunk alert.

Chase McCarty checks into the game for Houston.

Texas A&M against Houston-Idaho winner is set for 5:10 p.m. Saturday on TNT.

Chris Cenac Jr. has tied career high with 14 rebounds. We have 19 minutes left.

First half stats

Houston forward Chase McCarty is back on the court for warmups before the second half. He took a hard fall to the floor on a block attempt with about seven minutes in the first half.

Halftime (2) Houston 48 (15) Idaho 24

Chris Cenac Jr. has 10 rebounds in the first half

Who you don't want to be right now. Anyone on Idaho team (down 33-18) and Chris Cenac (who is getting an earful from Kelvin Sampson).

Houston vs. Idaho March Madness 2026 live updates: Cougars surge into lead houstonchronicle.com/sports/college… via @houstonchron

Idaho is 1 for its last 10. Houston is on 24-3 run.

In an interview with Andy Katz @TheAndyKatz, Kelvin Sampson credited Emanuel Sharp's leadership that calmed down freshmen Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. Sampson said the two were "freshmany." "They've never been here before. You could tell they were a little nervous. Emanuel is not nervous."

That's a 16-3 run for Houston.