Kelvin Sampson Was Seriously Impressed With This Kansas Jayhawks Star
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The going got tougher for the No. 5 Houston Cougars Monday night as they dropped their third straight game, this time in a 69-56 road loss to the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks, bringing their record to 23-5 on the year.
The leader behind Kansas' upset was senior guard Tre White, who has been a key piece of the Jayhawks' scheme in the 2025-26 season, averaging 14 points to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
And according to Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, that could be just the weapon that Kansas needs for a run during March Madness.
"He Really Played Well"
Following the Cougars' loss to the Jayhawks in Lawrence Monday night, Coach Sampson piled on the praise for the Dallas native, claiming that he could be a difference maker for Kansas throughout the NCAA Tournament.
"“The kid that really played well for you guys that I think is a difference maker as you get to the NCAA Tournament is Tre White,” Sampson said. “His ability with his size, I mean, he shot it well. You guys were 18-20 from the free throw line. He was three for four, and he made some big threes.”
White led the Jayhawks with a season-high 23 points on 6-for-9 shooting, included the 3-for-4 from beyond the arc that Sampson mentioned.
As for the Cougars, they suffer their third straight loss after recently embarking on a six-game conference winning streak, still keeping them ranked high in the AP Top 25 and Bracketology, but their momentum is slowly dwindling away with each loss as they look to make it back to the national championship game.
In the loss, however, did come a bright spot for Houston's premier scorer.
With a team-high 16 points, freshman Kingston Flemings brought his season total up to 465 points, setting a new freshman scoring record for the University of Houston previously set by Rob Williams during the 1979-80 season.
Flemings leads the Cougars with 16.6 points scored per game on 48.2 percent shooting as well as 5.1 assists.
And there are still four games left to play, plenty of time for Flemings to extend his record and for the Cougars to get back in the groove of competing for a national championship.
The Coogs will look to veer back on that path when they host a slightly more-rested Colorado Buffaloes team at the Fertitta Center in Houston in a Saturday morning showdown at 11:00 AM.
