What Kelvin Sampson said on Houston clinching Final Four berth: ‘It’s their moment’
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Houston left no doubt about its validity as a No. 1 seed and playing in another hostile environment.
The Cougars led from start to finish in a 69-50 win Sunday against Tennessee for the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region championship in Indianapolis, sending a large contingent of Volunteer fans home dismayed. Two days earlier, Houston prevailed in the Sweet 16 against Purdue, which was playing about an hour away from its campus.
With Sunday’s win, Houston (34-4) clinched its first trip to the Final Four since 2021 and the seventh Final Four in program history. The Cougars will take on Duke this Saturday in the national semifinals at San Antonio.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, who is taking a team to the Final Four for the third time in his career, talked about getting back to the Final Four, silencing the large Tennessee-heavy crowd and the play of his team in Sunday’s postgame media conference.
Here are several of Sampson’s thoughts:
On his initial thoughts about Houston’s Elite Eight win
“Really proud of our kids. We play in a tough conference. I think going 19-1 in the Big 12, 10-0 on the road prepared us for this. The Purdue game was kind of like a road game. Tennessee game was kind of like a road game, too, with their fans, but our kids are kind of calloused to that and so kudos to them. Really proud of this bunch.
“I think the reason why we have been so good over the years is we've developed a great culture that our seniors adopt and make sure that our young kids and new kids buy into it. We're kind of a home-grown program. We bring kids in as freshmen.
“It's been a secret sauce of ours and we have had two kids the last two years in the portal, LJ (Cryer) who came from Baylor and Milos (Uzan) who came from Oklahoma, but their character and willingness to be coached the way we do it and their maturity, I think, has really helped.
“We have a really good team. I think being humble and staying hungry every day has really helped us. I'm more excited than I'm letting on right now. … I’m really excited. I'm really excited for these kids, but it's their moment and just happy for them.”
Tip time, TV network announced for Houston's NCAA Tournament Final Four game
On Houston’s quick start to the game, especially nearly 36 hours after the Sweet 16 win
(Houston scored the game’s first four points, and after Tennessee got on the board, the Cougars reeled off a 13-2 run to take a 17-4 lead.)
“Well, it wasn't the last 36 hours. … (It has been this way) since June. We didn't get good the last 36 hours. We just went through the Big 12 Tournament, played three games there.
“The thing I like about this team, I don't think they overreact to anything, good or bad. Kind of keep an even keel. That's the way Milos is, the way LJ is, J’Wan (Roberts), Emanuel (Sharp). They just have a good way about them when it comes to that.
“We spent a lot of time with Purdue just like they did us. … After SIU (Edwardsville) and Gonzaga (Houston’s first two wins in the tournament), we knew we were playing Purdue, so we spent a lot of time preparing for them.
“And then Tennessee, I had seen Tennessee play quite a bit. … We’ve seen them a lot, but we felt like it was a good matchup for us. Our defense and our rebounding, I thought Terrance Arceneaux coming off the bench early, when J'Wan got his second foul, allowed me to leave J'Wan over there so he could be ready the second half.
“The strength of our team has always been our team. Emanuel and Milos and (Cryer), J'Wan, JoJo (Tugler), they have all taken turns being the best player for that week or the next two weeks, but we have a good team and whoever we play the next game, we get prepared for it and that's been our secret sauce."
Kelvin Sampson getting all the hats after the game 😅 @UHCougarMBK pic.twitter.com/hjfrJZiYbH
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 30, 2025
On when it finally hit Sampson that he was going back to the Final Four
“I don't allow myself to think that way until the game's over out of respect, number one, for the game. You always respect the game. And then number two, respect your opponent. When the game was over, I was excited, but I know how hard our kids work. I know that most of our work is done in anonymity and I prefer it that way.
“We start in June. … We did 18 100-yard sprints for time, and if anybody doesn't make it, we start over. That's part of our culture. You be on time and you're held accountable for everything you do.
“Once you teach accountability, the next phase of that is responsibility and that's why our kids - this is very much a player-led team. They're responsible for our success, and as a coach, that's the way I prefer it.
“This is the 11th team I've had at Houston. We won 30-plus games five times, and this is the first time we won 34 games. And I'm glad these guys did it. The maturity of our older guys has been great for our younger guys.
“When the horn blew, my first thought was to Rick (Barnes, Tennessee’s coach) because getting to the Elite Eight is such an amazing accomplishment. I knew he would be a little bit down so I thought about him.
“I was really happy for my kids, and then when I turned around and saw my son and my daughter, my two grandkids and my wife, I felt good for them, too, because they have to put up with a cranky old coach sometimes. It's good to be able to share this with your family, and that's what's most important to me.”
Kelvin Sampson still receiving support - and a gift - from one of his former bosses
On how great it will be to have the Final Four in San Antonio, a short drive from Houston
"Excited about it. Two years ago, we beat Auburn in Birmingham and we were the higher seed. We were the one seed coming here, and Purdue and Tennessee, that's great for them. They didn't ask to be here, they were chosen to be here.
“Just like we chose to be here, but we didn't really talk about that with our team. We just said two more road games, that if Kentucky had won (against Tennessee on Friday), that would be a road game because their fans are going to quadruple our fans. Tennessee's fans were awesome (Sunday). … That's probably 16,000 Tennessee fans (of the 18,000 in attendance). That's awesome for Tennessee. Jump on the interstate and get here.
FINAL FOUR... we are coming HOME to TEXAS#ForTheCity x #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/mzMQbCovc3
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) March 30, 2025
“That's what we'll do next week; we’ll jump on the interstate and head down to San Antonio. That's why you don't complain because it can flip the other way. Proud of our guys for finding a way to win. We beat two outstanding programs, not just teams, great programs this week in Purdue and Tennessee.”
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On Houston holding off a Tennessee charge in the final minutes
(The Cougars hit several clutch 3-pointers after the Vols had closed the gap to 10 points with nearly five minutes left. Houston went on a 12-4 run, all coming on four 3’s, three coming from Sharp.)
“Yeah, I have seen that many times from our group, home and away. I think we're one of the top two or three, maybe, 3-point shooting teams in the country. All three of these guys (Sharp, Uzan and Cryer) shoot 40-plus percent from the 3-point line with volume attempts, so it's no surprise.
“I was more surprised they missed some of the ones they did. But, you know, just kind of stay the course. When they started pressing us, my message in the huddle was, be fearless. Don't be afraid to take a big shot and don't be afraid to miss it, either. What's the worst that can happen? You miss it.
“We're also a good offensive rebounding team. That's why a missed shot is much better than a turnover. You can't rebound a turnover. If you get a window - I talk to LJ about this a lot. I don't have to talk to Emanuel. Emanuel usually shoots whether he has a window or not. L.J. is a little more frugal in his approach, but all three of these guys. … Milos had six 3’s the other night, last game. L.J. has had many, many games with six 3’s, and so has Emanuel.
“That's part of our offense, that we've got outstanding offensive rebounders and normally we don't take an offensive rebound back up. Normally, we kick it out and we call those daggers. We dagger offensive rebounds and that gives us another opportunity to make 3’s.”
