Kelvin Sampson Calls Out Lack of Love for Houston After Stunning Comeback Win vs. Duke

'Don't sleep on Houston,' the head coach proclaimed after overcoming Duke in the final seconds of the Final Four.
Sampson had a blunt message after Houston's big win
Sampson had a blunt message after Houston's big win / CBS Sport

Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars are headed to the national title game. Thanks to a whirlwind comeback victory over the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four, Sampson will coach in his first national championship game and Houston has a shot at its first national title.

The end of Saturday's 70-67 win over Duke will be talked about for a long time in college basketball circles and may very well go down as the best game of this year's March Madness. Perhaps, above all, it is a landmark moment for Houston basketball as Sampson finally gets to the mountaintop with a shot at a title and basketball immortality.

Speaking to Tracy Wolfson and surrounded by his players after the game, Sampson took his version of a victory lap by bluntly calling out the lack of love for his Houston team.

"I hear what people say," Sampson said. "'Duke this. Duke that.' Duke's great. Jon Scheyer is awesome. But don't sleep on Houston. Don't sleep on Houston. We weren't 34-4 playing in the Toy Poodle League."

It's a great night for the Cougars and for Sampson.

Now, a date with Florida awaits on Monday to see who will emerge as the 2025 NCAA champions.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.