The Houston Cougars and the Never-Ending Quest for the National Championship

Table of Contents (by section):

• Introduction
• Kelvin Sampson Era
• 2023-2024 Season
• 2024-2025 Season
• 2024-2025 Postseason
• National Championship
• Epilogue

This college basketball season ended in sheer heartbreak for the Houston Cougars. Just like the Cougs' first berth in the tournament in 1956, just like their seasons with the core tandem known as Phi Slama Jamma (featuring the likes of head coach Guy Lewis, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon) from 1982-1984, and now their previous three seasons entering as a one seed in the tournament under Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars have been an illustrious and historical program for spurts, but this season felt like something had finally clicked.

Kelvin Sampson took over the Houston program 11 years ago now becoming the ninth head coach in program history. He had just come off a tenure in the pro scene after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach between the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets, respectively. The result of which came from a strange divorce at the time from the Hoosiers of Indiana (which later was revealed to be due to recruiting violations) in the middle of his second season, where the Hoosiers were sitting comfortably with a 22-4 record when he was forced to resign by the Hoosiers. Sampson was already in hot water even before arriving at IU, as he had similar claims brought against him by the NCAA during his tenure as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners from 1994-2006. Little was said by Sampson and the Hoosiers that would be seen as out of the ordinary for a situation like this. From an ESPN piece put out by writer Andy Katz back in 2008, Sampson was quoted as saying, "I'm deeply disappointed in today's findings by the NCAA, but the accusations at hand are something that happened on my watch and therefore I will take responsibility."

Sampson was deemed to receive a five-year show-cause penalty, essentially eliminating his presence from college basketball. Six seasons in the NBA came and went (including a near head coaching gig with the Rockets until the position was handed to Kevin McHale) until a position opened up that Sampson was quite familiar with. 10 minutes down the road, the head coaching position for the Cougars opened up as James Dickey stepped down due to personal family matters. Word spreads quickly even in a city as massive as Houston, Texas, and after a few calls made by the Vice-President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Mack Rhoades, the job belonged to Sampson.

The Cougars had been in a slight rut, to put it lightly. At the time of Sampson's hiring, the program had not surpassed the first round since 1984, the final year of Phi Slama Jamma. The program had not claimed an NCAA tournament victory since that season and had only made a tournament berth four times (three of which were under Pat Foster, the immediate successor of Guy Lewis). The only slight success you could argue the Cougars had seen since the days of Lewis and Foster was throughout the mid-late 2000s, as head coach Tommy Penders led the program to multiple 20-win seasons to go along with their first tournament berth since Foster last took the team there. This wasn't due to a lack of talent that ran through the program, as the Cougars were able to graduate 13 different players to the NBA throughout those years (8 of which played more than triple-digit games in their careers), nor was it the lack of competition that was featured in the Cougars' schedule from their time in the SWC (Southwest Conference) or as an initial member of the C-USA (Conference-USA), there was just nothing that stood out the Cougars from the rest of the pack. It seemed that the days of greatness were out of reach for the Cougars. When the program did have its occasional dustup in the national market, it would be exposed by the bright lights and fall well short of getting anywhere notable in postseason play. At the time, it was certainly a choice from the Cougars to bring in the hot-seated Sampson. But anything was better than where they were, right?

The answer to that question was, well, no– at least to start the Sampson era. In all fairness, this was to be expected for a program in the same situation as the Cougars. The previous season had just seen the team go 17-16 overall and 8-10 in their second year in the AAC (American Athletic Conference), pair that with the paradigm shift that is destined to happen when a coach who had been a part of the program for so long stepped away unexpectedly, you may expect a 13-19 record. Granted, this was not a pretty season that featured a losing record. While there were positives sprinkled throughout the season, the Cougars began early conference play in the deep freezer as they began 0-8 in AAC play and were not able to turn their fortunes until a non-conference victory vs Rice, and would only gain their first conference win against UConn. Another six-game losing streak, all to AAC opponents, turned the tide when Houston defeated USF in the third-to-last game of the regular season. The Cougars finished the regular season on a three-game win streak and advanced to the AAC tournament with a conference record of 4-14. An "upset" over 15-win Tulane claimed the Cougars' second AAC tournament win in two years, where they would fall to Tulsa just a game later, concluding their season. The leading scorer for the team was Jherrod Stiggers, who left and forwent his final year of eligibility to sign a contract to play professional hoops in Greece (the team also featured, checks notes, Adam Drexler? I know that isn't who I think it is!).

What was seen as a wash season proved to be just that, as the next season, the Cougars returned four of the previous team's five leading scorers to finish with a record of 22-10, their best since the 2007-2008 season. With the return of a good chunk of the previous team, to go along with the homecoming for a transfer from Houston Community College in Damyean Dotson, the Cougars looked like a revitalized program finally ready to do something in the adopted AAC. With a fantastic regular season that concluded with the Cougars finishing third in the C-USA standings, the hearts were ripped from the Cougar faithful as the team was upset by the 12-22 Green Wave in the first round of the AAC tournament. An invitation to the NIT was accepted by the Cougars, but only resulted in a loss to the ACC's Georgia Tech.

Another 20-win season commences for the Sampson-led Cougars, this time ending in another first-round exit in the AAC tournament, this time to the downward-sloping Huskies of UConn. The regular season success for the Cougars always seemed to be there, but the forever looming despair of postseason time always seemed to be around the corner for the Cougars. Entering what could only have been seen as the last shot for Sampson at Houston, the Cougars etched their way into the NCAA tournament for the first time in just under a decade. The Cougars made their way to the sixth seed on the western side of the bracket after a 27-8 regular season, including a 2nd place AAC finish as after falling to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the AAC championship game. The season felt different from the offseason to the beginning of the year, as the Cougars were retaining four seniors, including the leading scorer, Robert Gray, who was around for the very first season under Sampson. The regular season proved dividends, as wins against top 10-ranked conference rivals in Cincinnati and Wichita State propelled Houston to one of the favorites in the AAC. Defeating Wichita State in the conference tournament was the second victory by the Cougars over the Shockers for the year is perhaps what propelled the Cougars to their highest seeding in the NCAA tournament since they were given the 2nd seed in the final season of Phi Slama Jamma. The Cougars would end up losing to the overall 7th-ranked Wolverines of Michigan in the round of 32 by just a point. The Cougars wound up finishing the next season with an overall record of 33-4 and as runners-up in the AAC, once again falling to Cincinnati. The Cougars got themselves one game farther than the previous season, as they fell to Kentucky in the sweet-16 to the 7th overall ranked Kentucky Wildcats by just four points. The tournament success was not quite the reflection the Cougars were wanting to see based on their overall record, but the road seemed nothing but up.

The very next year, the Cougars failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Wait a second, I'm getting a call from my editor. Oh, sorry, what I meant to say was, a global pandemic hit, causing the cancellation of the NCAA tournament. Yep, we're in 2019-2020 now. The Cougars were on pace for a decent finish and certainly a berth in the tournament for the third straight year. They were 23-8 at the time the rest of the season was called off, and were also on pace to claim their second straight regular-season AAC championship. The team featured four future NBA talents, most notably Quentin Grimes, who would return the next season as a senior and go on to be the Cougars' leading scorer for the year. Speaking of, this Cougars team finished the regular season with an overall record of 28-4 and a conference record of 14-3 en route to the team's first AAC tournament championship. The three conference losses were out of the ordinary in a few ways but excusable in others. To begin, this Houston team should probably not have been losing to certain meddling AAC teams such as Wichita State, Tulsa, and East Carolina (really?). But in all fairness, all of these losses were on the road, and all of them were decided by 10 points or less, with the largest deficit being 9 points to East Carolina, funnily enough. The Cougars finally overcame their demon that was the Cincinnati Bearcats by nearly 40 points in the AAC championship and entered the NCAA tournament as the 2nd seed in the Midwest and the 6th overall team in the final AP poll. The initial two rounds of the tournament featured victories over Horizon League champions Cleveland State as well as a scare against Rutgers that featured a 22-point near double-double from Grimes to etch the Cougars passed the Scarlet Knights by just three points. The Sweet 16 matchup vs Syracuse put the Cougars in position to advance the farthest they had in the tournament for decades to that point where they would go onto the Elite 8 and defeat the Beavers of Oregon State for their first Final 4 berth since they made the NCAA championship in the final year of Phi Slama Jamma. Unfortunately, the road was cut short, as they fell to the eventual champion Baylor Bears in a game where it felt like the Cougars had no real chance from the jump. The Cougars came in as the higher-seeded team compared to the 3rd-seeded Bears, but came out of the gate incredibly flat and found themselves down 25 points at halftime. Grimes or fellow starter Dejon Jarreau could seem to find their shot, with the only net positive coming from Marcus Sasser, who did most of his damage when the game was already out of reach in the second half. This season also featured the planting of seeds for a future Cougars squad, as freshman J'Wan Roberts starred in his limited role.

It was surely devastating for Sampson and the Cougars to make it so far and fall the way they did, but it will always be difficult to play a team on a mission like the Bears were. The Cougars would wind up making due, even after losing two seniors to the NBA draft in Jarreau and Justin Gorham, as well as the junior, Grimes. Two transfers from the portal made their home comfortably in Houston, as Kyler Edwards from Texas Tech and Josh Carlton from UConn finished the season as two of the Cougars' top-three leading scorers. This allowed for the first of four consecutive (and ongoing) 30-win seasons for the Cougars, as they finished 32-6 overall and three-peated as AAC tournament champions. Despite this, the Cougars came into the NCAA tournament as the fifth seed in the South and 15th seed in the AP poll, due to a notably weaker AAC. This didn't stop the Cougars from a much-impressive tournament run, as they made it back to the Elite 8 after defeating the 2nd overall-ranked Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16. The run would come to an end at the hands of Villanova, who would fall to Kansas in the Final Four. The following two seasons once again featured 30-win campaigns from the Cougars, both of which ended in the Sweet 16 against Miami and Duke, respectively. Both seasons saw the Cougars enter their section of the bracket as a number one seed, as the Cougars continued to make incredible work of the transfer portal as well as their recruiting classes that notably featured names like LJ Cryer and Jarace Walker. There were points in both seasons where the Cougars found themselves at first in the AP poll, and ended up finishing 2nd and 3rd overall in the subsequent seasons. Conference realignment began to make a real push at this time, which allowed Houston to wind up in the Big 12 conference for the 2023-2024 season and beyond.

This brings us to this previous season, 2024-2025. The college basketball world is now in full transfer portal territory, as more and more teams are building their teams around the practice completely. Teams such as Duke continue to build their recruiting profiles with the commitment from future AP national player of the year Cooper Flagg, but the shift is in full effect. You could make a case that four of the five top teams entering the season built their team almost exclusively around the transfer portal, one of which was the Houston Cougars. The Cougars featured an exclusive upperclassmen starting lineup to begin the season, the youngest of the five being sophomore Joseph Tugler for the majority of the year. Four of these talents were homegrown from the previous season, with the only exception being Milos Uzan, who transferred in from Oklahoma. This was now Sampson's 11th season at the helm, and he had already made himself one of the great coaches in Cougar history. All that was left was something the program had yet to claim, a national championship.

The Cougars entered the season ranked 4th overall in the AP poll. The season began on a shaky start, as the Cougars were just 4-3 in their first seven games of play. Two of those losses came to eventual tournament darlings Auburn and Alabama, which were excusable both at the time and in hindsight, but a strange loss to San Diego State left the committee and media scratching their heads. This was a team with incredibly high expectations with one of the most experienced rosters in the league losing to, a Mountain West team? While strange, the Cougars attempted to move on, and move on they did. A 28-point victory over Butler set off a 13-game Houston win streak that included 8-straight Big 12 victories to begin conference play with an 8-0 record. The win streak was eventually snapped at the hands of 22nd-ranked Texas Tech, but the fact of the matter was the Cougars were looking like the team the preseason selection committee thought they were. This continued right after the loss at the hands of the Red Raiders, as three-straight victories shifted the Cougars focus to the incredibly hot Arizona Wildcats for the first time that season. A down-to-the-wire battle with one of the Big 12s finest came down to the wire as the Cougars managed to pull away from the Wildcats as Uzan and Cryer both scored well into double digits. A stop commenced, and the Cougars walked away from McKale Center as victors, 62-58. Back-to-back victories over top 10 ranked Iowa State and Texas Tech avenge the Cougars' only conference loss of the season as they go on to finish the regular season with an overall record of 27-4. The Cougars entered the Big 12 tournament as the heavy favorites for the second year in a row and this time make their presence felt, defeating Arizona for the second time in the season to claim the program's first Big 12 tournament championship. A record of 30-4 was the final tally after regular season and conference tournament play for the Cougars, securing the a number one seed in the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row.

In case you haven't been keeping tally, Kelvin Sampson now has a resume for the Cougars that looks like this:

• 6 NCAA tournament appearances
  • Five Sweet 16 appearances, two Elite 8 appearances, and one Final 4 appearance
• 6 regular-season conference championships
  • Four AAC conference championships, two Big 12 conference championships
• 3 number one seedings in the NCAA tournament

All in just 11 seasons. Sampson now enters the NCAA tournament as the second-winningest coach in program history, only behind Guy Lewis. The Cougars have the team, the history, and certainly have the coach. Yet, did not have a national championship. Now, it was time to put it all together.

The team entered March Madness with a first-round draw vs the 16-seeded SIUE Cougars. Aside from the name, the parallels between the two teams end there. The Cougars of SIUE were a decent enough squad who benefitted greatly from the automatic bid for conference champions, as they defeated Southeast Missouri State to claim their first Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament crown to send the program to their first NCAA tournament. While they were bringing in three different players averaging double figures entering the tournament, there was no such luck, as Houston handled them, 78-40. The next foe would provide an incredible task for the Cougars of Houston, as Gonzaga was the next opponent lined up. Criminally underseeded at 8, this Gonzaga team was not boasting its usual top-three seed that it normally carries into the tournament, but an argument could be made that this was their best overall group since their previous Final 4 run. Hall-of-fame bound head coach Mark Few built an incredible roster surrounded by tempo and motion, as the quintuple group of double-digit scorers is what provided Gonzaga with the 2nd out of 364 eligible teams in offensive rating. The Cougars were 3rd out of 364 eligible teams when it came to defensive rating. It was an exhibition of flying colors as the representative of the flying and motion-centered West Coast Conference (WCC) in Gonzaga was set to try and outrun the down-tempoed, slogging representative from the Big 12 in the Cougars. The first half fell the Cougars' way, as they outscored Gonzaga 35-27 throughout the entirety of the first half. Pace was surprisingly even, as although Gonzaga tried to outrun and make the Cougars keep up, the Cougars returned with what had made them such a powerhouse under Sampson by controlling the ball and forcing Gonzaga to play at their pace. LJ Cryer had 16 points throughout the first half himself (finished with a career-high 30) to catapult the Cougars to the lead, while J'Wan Roberts was the catalyst for the second half. Gonzaga got well back into the game in the second half, as Graham Ike poured in 27 points and NBA prospect Ryan Nembhard played all 40 minutes and finished the game with a 10-point, 11-assist double-double. They managed to find and force their pace against the Cougars, as the second half scoring ended up totaling 49-46 in favor of Houston. The Cougars displayed their ability to not only play the style they were best known for, but to show they could hang with the fastest the tournament has to offer. The Sweet 16 followed, as the Cougars were set to meet the Boilermakers from West Lafayette, IN. Matt Painter and Purdue were in the same boat as Gonzaga, as while it was not entering the tournament where it is used to being seeded in the top three range, it was bringing it what may have been their deepest and most well-thought-out roster to date. Purdue was fielding a roster similar to last year with one 7'4-sized hole in the middle of it, as the previous back-to-back AP Men's National Player of the Year in Zach Edey, was off to the NBA. Despite how great those Purdue teams were, the Boilermakers were coming into it with quite a stigma. They made it to the national championship game the year prior, and, to put it lightly, were completely outclassed almost the entire way by an unbelievable UConn team. The problem was the three years prior, as the Boilermakers suffered two different first-round exits as a 4-seed in 2020-2021, and as a 1-seed in 2022-2023. Just the second time a No. 1 seed has ever fallen to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament. However, this was a different team. Instead of being completely built around a single player, letting the offense operate around them like Edey in the years previous, the Boilermakers were focused on two rather than one. The junior pairing of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn had a serious case to lay their stake as the dynamic duo in the Midwest bracket. Both natives of Indiana, Smith and Kaufman-Renn, were a classic outside-inside duo that could put any opponent to work. Smith with his deadeye shooting and incredible vision, and Kaufman-Renn's interior back-to-the-basket game that could rival any other in college basketball. Pair that with surrounding players like Fletcher Loyer, C.J. Cox, and Myles Colvin, and Purdue fielded a roster not to take lightly. The game was set for tip in what might as well have been a home game for Purdue, as the Boilermaker faithful fielded only a 90-minute drive east of West Lafayette to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. The ball was up and found it in the hands of the Cougars. An ugly first half followed, with neither team gaining any more than a three-point advantage for the entirety of the first half. Both sides would trade baskets and would take 10 separate possessions for either side to put the first points on the board. Most notable was the poor performance from the Cougars' Cryer, who had a tanked field goal percentage and couldn't seem to find his shot no matter where he looked. Score at half: 31-29, Purdue. The final 20 began with a 6-0 run from the Cougars, which brought life back to the Houston sideline. A combination of sloppy play and lackluster shot-making from the Boilermakers is what set up the Cougars to play their way down low off of the one-step behind Boilermakers. A two-minute scoring drought from the Cougars allowed Purdue to get back into the game once more, as a flurry of inside-the-post play brought Purdue within three points of the Cougars. A breath was gathered, and the Cougars stormed right back, launching another 6-0 run over three minutes that put the Cougars ahead by double-figures for the largest lead of the night. The Cougars' Sharp has been fantastic all night and wants to put in the dagger, but it's slightly off. Camden Heide for the Boilermakers brings down the ball and gets it into the hands of Smith, his playmaker. 14 seconds go by, a jumper by Purdue's Myles Colvin falls, assisted by Braden Smith. Miss on the other end, Colvin rebounds, ball ends up in Fletcher Loyer's hands, who finds the basket, assisted by Braden Smith. Cougars timeout, miss, rebound, stolen by Colvin. Two possessions later, Heide nails a three, assisted by Braden Smith. Back-to-back free throws from Kaufman-Renn bring the Cougars' lead to just two. At the under-4 TV timeout, Purdue has cut the lead to just two. Out of the break, Cryer nails a three to break the two-minute scoring drought. Another minute passes, Kaufman-Renn finds the basket, assisted by Braden Smith. Are you keeping track? Well, that's eleven straight field goals assisted by Braden Smith, displaying one of the best playmaking performances in tournament history. Two minutes of uninterrupted action commences, when with just two seconds remaining on the shot-clock after a Kaufman-Renn offense rebounds, Heide finds the basket from deep to tie the game at 60 apiece with 35 seconds to go. Timeout, Houston. Lucas Oil Stadium is as loud as its ever been as both teams make their way back out onto the court. All the momentum was in favor of the Boilermakers. Was this really how the dream was gonna end for the Cougars? The ball is in, and the Cougars make their play. 24 seconds go by, when Milos Uzan squares, sets, and misses the J to take the lead, and Joseph Tugler just barely misses a tip shot to win the game, but it falls out of bounds right under the rim. Replay review commences (we all know that feeling), Cougars ball. Houston would have a chance to win it right under their basket. Milos Uzan was the man designated to inbound the basketball. Cryer flares to the right corner out of reach, but Uzan finds a pedaling Tugler to draw off two defenders from the basket. The ball is in, and Uzan immediately cuts his way to the basket, the bounce pass from Tugler is perfect, and Uzan lays it in over the ghosts of every Purdue basketball fan in the country. 0.8 on the clock with zero timeouts proved to be too much of an obstacle even for Braden Smith, who misses the half-court heave. The Cougars survive and advance.

The Cougars continue their 16-game win streak into the Elite 8 as they are set to take on one of the SEC's finest in Tennessee. Tennessee entered and proved its worth throughout the entirety of the season as one of the most intense defensive groups in all of basketball. They wrapped up the regular season as the 6th-ranked team in the AP, and were entering the Sunday matchup off a double-digit win vs Kentucky in the same building where the Cougars and Boilermakers put on their all-time classic. The results of the Elite 8 duel were, well, anti-climactic. The Cougars came in as just 2.5-point favorites, but the first half of play left viewers wondering if the line was supposed to say 20.5-point favorite as Houston outscored the Volunteers 34-15 in the first half. An abysmal shooting performance from the Volunteers' Cha Lanier is what allowed the Cougars to establish their dominance on the offensive side, as Lanier was handling the defense all by himself, essentially shooting Tennessee out of the game early. The second half saw slightly greater results for the Volunteers, as they poured in more than double the total points they scored in the first half, but the Cougars matched for the final score of 69-50. The Cougars were now bound for San Antonio, where a not-so-familiar foe was waiting for them.

The Duke Blue Devils were entering the Final 4 for the first time since 2021-2022, the final season for Mike Krzyzewski. While this doesn't seem catastrophic and almost feels like a dream for most programs to make the Final 4 for the second time in four seasons, this was Duke we were talking about. In fact, the five seasons previous to the last Final 4 berth, the Blue Devils had yet to make it past the Elite 8 since they won the tournament in 2014-2015. This all goes to say that the Blue Devils and now 3rd-year head coach Jon Scheyer (hand-picked by Coach K himself) were hungry for the crown. The team ended the regular season and conference tournament with a record of 31-3 and was selected as the #1 overall seed in the East region. They entered the season as perhaps the most hyped team in the nation, as they were the home of the projected first-overall draft pick in the upcoming draft, 17-year-old Cooper Flagg. In simple terms, Flagg was an absolute monster, and perhaps the most hyped prospect in the NCAA since Duke's Zion Williamson back in 2019. He had the size, quickness, and explosiveness to seemingly play in the NBA right out of the gate at, and I can't put this any lighter, 17-years-old. Couple that with fellow freshmen Kon Knueppel and the 7'2 Khaman Maluach, as well as a junior from Australia who was entering his second year as a starter for the Blue Devils in Tyrese Proctor. This Duke team seemed poised for a classic Blue Devils affair. Through their first 10 the Blue Devils were 8-2, with their only losses coming to 19th-ranked Kentucky and 1st-seeded Kansas (that didn't last long), with neither of them coming from home. The tandem the Blue Devils put together shone early, as Flagg was in contention for national player of the year, looking to become the fourth freshman to ever do so. It wouldn't be until February that the Blue Devils would lose another game, as their 16-game win streak was snapped at the hands of ACC rival Clemson by six points. Playing away combined with an unusual off-night from Flagg put the Blue Devils in unusual circumstances that never really allowed them to gain their momentum back when they lost it. The Blue Devils would rebound well, finishing the regular season undefeated and sweeping the ACC tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament as the one seed in the East region. The Blue Devils all but handled their first four games incredibly well, as the closest a team came was Arizona, which managed to stay in the game for the long term as Duke finally pulled away in the closing minutes for a 100-93 victory. A dominant 20-point win over Alabama put the Blue Devils in a firm position and was the second 1 seed to establish their spot in the Final 4. It was the Flagg-focused explosive Blue Devils and the dribble-your-heart-out slow-tempoed Cougars, and it was to all take place in the Alamodome.

The ball was in Duke's court from the very beginning of the matchup. The ball was controlled incredibly well on one side (Duke of course) and not-so-well on the other. Houston was playing ugly and out of favor, as they couldn't hold onto the ball, and when they did, it was almost surely a miss. Remarkably, they managed to stay in the game, only down six at half with a late rally. Both teams traded baskets to begin the second half, but it was all Duke from there. The Blue Devils extended the lead to 10 off a three-point basket from Knueppel, then proceeded to go on a 6-2 run to extend the lead to 14 points. Shockingly, Sampson refused to call a timeout, the Cougars were going to play it out. A three from Sharp finally broke the scoring drought for the Cougars, but Flagg hit a J with 10 mins to go to get the lead back to 13. Still, no timeout. Two minutes go by until the Cougars can find the basket off a three from Cryer with 8 minutes to go. The first half of a trip to the line falls for Cryer, and he hits another jumper to finally get the lead within double-digits. Another two minutes go by until J'Wan Roberts hits one under the rim to cut the lead to 6. This time, it's Tugler who finds himself in a position to tip the ball in off a missed jumper from Sharp, and it's a four-point game. The Cougars have ramped everything they have to 100 at this point. Pressure, pace, physicality, all matter they needed to fire on to have a shot at advancing to the national championship. After a five-minute drought, Tyrese Proctor finally gives the Blue Devils some points after nailing both free throws with 3:44 remaining. The Cougars can't find their stride on the other end, Flagg gets the ball, turns off a screen, nothing but the bottom. 64-55, Blue Devils. A minute goes by until Sharp is finally able to lay it in to cut the lead to 7. Free throws from Sharp, lead down to 5. Timeout, Houston. The time gives Sampson the ability to remind the Cougars that this is a must-foul situation, something most teams seem to forget nowadays. Sharp takes the fall and sends Flagg to the line. Nothing but net. Likewise, says Sharp, as he nails both for the Cougars on the other end. An egregious technical foul from Tugler sends Knueppel to the line, where he makes the shot. The ball goes right back to Knueppel off the inbounds and, blocked. Tugler makes up for the technical and sends the ball right back at Knueppel. 10 seconds go by, Uzan finds an open Sharp, who finds the bottom, followed by an immediate timeout by Sampson. Ball is on the baseline, and pressure is applied. The Cougars are going stride-for-stride with the Blue Devils. Sion James looks to inbound the ball when Mylik Wilson for the Cougars gets a hand on it and the ball winds up in his hands. Flares out and a miss, but who else but Joseph Tugler locates and finishes around the rim. One-point game. Foul, Wilson. Sending Proctor to the line who misses the 1-1. Roberts finds the ball and is fouled on the rebound by Flagg, sending him to the line. Roberts is 1-2 from the line on the night and puts the ball down to set. The first one is up and finds the bottom. The first tie game since the first half. Second to the ground, good. Houston's first lead since the opening minutes of the matchup. Timeout, Duke. The Cougars have fought all the way back from a 14-point deficit in the closing 8 minutes. Nothing short of incredible is the only term that could be used for this sequence. The Cougars know, however, that not all dreams have happy endings. They realized this when Cooper Flagg stepped onto the court. With 8 seconds remaining, both huddles break and trot to the floor. Not unexpectedly, the ball finds the hands of Flagg on the left side of the paint. He plants the ball into the group and uses his frame to gain positioning on the just-as-strong Roberts. Flagg has about two inches on the senior; however is matched in physical prowess. Flagg recognizes this and opts for a turnaround over his left shoulder. Flagg goes up, Roberts extends with him, fingertips inches from the ball, it's released. Time freezes as the country awaits to see if the freshman phenom has done it again– short. The ball hits the front end of the rim and into the hands of Mylik Wilson. A second goes off the clock when the ball finds its way into the hands of Cryer, a 90% free-throw shooter. Both fall. Zero timeouts remaining, no shot is released. The Cougars advance to the national championship for the first time in 42 years.

What felt like a dream season for the Cougars would all come to a head in the very same building just two days from then. Earlier in the night, the one-seeded Florida Gators defeated the one-seeded Auburn Tigers to advance to their first national championship game since they claimed the crown in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007. The Gators came in ranked just 21st in the AP preseason poll behind teams like Cincinnati, Texas, and Indiana, just to name a few. They were projected to be a meddling top-25 team who had a chance to do something, but not much in the tournament. A 24-12 season the year prior ended in the first round by way of the Colorado Buffaloes, featuring future NBA talent Cody Williams in head coach Todd Golden's second year at the helm. This was one of the rosters, just like Houston, who built its team around the portal and experience. The three leading scorers were all seniors and all made their way from different schools. The overall leading scorer, Walter Clayton, was in his second year as a Gator after departing from Iona, Alijah Martin was in his first year after playing his initial three seasons at Florida Atlantic, and Will Richard was a sharpshooter who had been there since his sophomore year after transferring from Belmont. The last core piece was 7-footer Alex Condon, who was recruited as a Gator just a year previous and was the team's leading rebounder.

The team began on a very hot start as they opened the season 13-0 in non-conference play. That was immediately shut down in the first conference game against rival Kentucky, who defeated the Gators at Rupp Arena in the highest scoring affair for either team that season. A defeat of #1-ranked Tennessee put the Gators firmly back in the driver's seat until they lost to an unusual Missouri team at home by just a point. Just two more regular-season losses followed (one to Tennessee and the other to Georgia), allowing the Gators to enter the SEC tournament with a record of 27-4. The Gators smelled blood in the water early, as they handled Missouri by double-digits and destroyed Alabama for the second time that season by a score of 104-82. The SEC kings were crowned in a rematch vs Tennessee, where the Gators took the season series 2-1 with a final score of 86-77. Florida drew the one-seed and entered the NCAA tournament as the number one overall seed. The west region featured heavy hitters on all sides and ones you wouldn't necessarily expect. Norfolk State was not a problem, but a dire scare from UConn extended the Gators' streak to 9. The Huskies were a problem even after losing multiple NBA talents the year prior in Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan, they were back-to-back national champions after all. Dan Hurley pulled one of his signature performances on the sideline, but it wasn't enough. Maryland followed after coming off a game-winner in the round of 32, but was handled relatively easily in the Sweet 16, as the star power was simply no match. Walter Clayton had proven why he was the leading scorer for the best team in college basketball throughout the tournament and was on an unstoppable tear. A five-point win vs Texas Tech put the Gators in position to take on the number-1 seed from the other side of the bracket, the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers came into the year with high expectations and rightfully so. A veteran lineup led by national player of the year candidate Johni Broome got off to a dominant start to the season but began to crest in the latter half. 3 late losses down the stretch set up the Tigers in a not-so-admirable position in the SEC tournament, where they fell early. Despite this, the team still entered the tournament as a one-seed in their region due to the incredible performance seen early in the season. The game started well in Auburn's favor, as the Gators didn't seem able to find the basket. Hlaftime came around with a close game but was eventually pulled away by the Gators as shots started to fall, leading to a final score of 79-73. Four one-seeds, two victors, one championship. It was Cougars and it was the Gators, and it was all coming to a head on Monday night.

The job was simple for the Cougars: play how you have been, and you win. The Cougars at this point seemed like the dream of destiny. Decades of torment from the fanbase as well as the coach, a senior-led team destined for their first, and too close of calls to not find their way. From the days of Phi Slama Jamma to the decades of relentless mediocrity away from the tournament, this was finally the Cougars' opportunity. Immediately, the Cougars forced the Gators their way. The first basket came after a minute of playtime off of a Tugler jumper, it would take another full minute for the next. A block from Florida's Rueben Chinyelu set up a fastbreak for the Gators that ended up in a slam on the other end for Alex Condon. A series of messy sequences for both sides eventually leads to a TV timeout at the 15-minute mark with the score knotted up at 8-8. Sharp has himself two baskets early, but they aren't easy. One play in particular sees Sharp double-screening into a jumpshot that, while it falls, was made far harder than it needed to be. Houston wasn't sending anyone to the paint to draw away from Sharp despite having two men on the side to do so, a trend that would continue for the Cougars. The Cougars eventually find their way up six with 10 minutes left in the half until a three-ball from Will Richard breaks the stalemate for the Gators. Richard would end up hitting four threes in the first half and managed to cut the halftime deficit to just three points despite the Gators going down eight at one point when the Cougars' lead was 29-21 with 4:23 to go in the half. The Cougars only scored two points in those last 4 and change, allowing for a halftime lead of just three at 31-28. The Gators had been facing enormous pressure from the relentless Cougars' defense and were somehow still in the game. Houston had the lead they wanted but were not able to hold on to it, a dire mistake when playing this Gators team. An incredibly tiring and physical first half concludes and leads the way to a not-so-lenient half from the referees. Just 30 seconds into the half, Condon picks up a foul, leading to an eventual Cryer three-pointer to break the ice in the second half. Condon is also the one to break the scoring drought for the Gators as he punctuates the slam just a minute after his previous foul. He proceeds to pick up another, and in just 3 minutes and 39 seconds, the Gators are up to five in the half, leading to a seemingly justified frustration play as the ball is slammed into the ground and into the air from the Gators, leading to a technical foul. Cryer hits the first half yet fails to convert on the second, but all is well when he finds the ball again after the offensive rebounds and nails a three to extend the Cougars' lead to double-digits. The team's trade baskets until the 12:38 mark, where Alijah Martin nails a three to decrease the Cougars' lead to just six. A basket and a free throw for the Gators puts them within three with just over 11 minutes to go. The ball becomes completely stalled as the score is now 48-42 for two whole minutes until Denzel Aberdeen for the Gators hits two free throws. One more for Chinyelu, it's a three-point game. Clayton Jr. finally finds his stride and gets an and-one to fall with the free-throw to tie the game up at 48. Back-to-back fouls send the Cougars to the line, where they hit 3/4 free throws, which is matched by Clayton finishing through contact once more and hitting the given. Baskets continue to be traded for minutes, with every shot release building enough tension to blow the arena. At the 3:14 mark. Clayton Jr. finally makes enough room to nail a three and tie the game at 60 a piece. With the Cougars on the ropes, they go to the ever-reliable Cryer, who get his own rebound to finish and take the lead. Richard for the Gators gets sent to the line and hits both. Tugler does the same for the Cougars, except he misses the second from the line to only allow Houston a one-point lead. The Cougars watch in horror as the ball finds the hands of Clayton Jr., who lines up a shot from the key and– misses. Ball is secured by the Cougars, where a three is blocked by Will Richard on Uzan but is secured by the Cougars. Cryer finds a spot he likes but can't get it to fall when another rebound, this time pulled down by Tugler, is in, but snatched from Condon for the Gators. Six seconds go by when Tugler fouls Alijah Martin, sending him to the line for two. Martin lines his feet as he nails both like he would in an empty gym. 64-63, Florida. The Gators call timeout as the Cougars set their offense. They have too much time to hold for the last shot, so every decision is dire. The ball is inbounded and handled to the frontcourt, but the Gators turn the tide and hunt as the Cougars had all season. Will Richard gets his hands on the ball and secures the basketball off a turnover from Sharp. Uzan finally gets his hands on Abderdeen, sending him to the line. With 19 seconds left, Aberdeen squares, shoots, and misses. But refuses to in the second half. 65-63, Florida. Condon comes in for the Gators to bring in more size and length to avoid any potential disasters. Sampson timeout, it all comes down to this. The hell that Sampson has been put through by the NCAA for the previous 20 years. The hell that the Cougar faithful had faced since the days of Phi Slama Jamma. All coming together in the hotter than hell Alamodome. The ball is inbounded with 19 seconds to go as Houston sets for the final shot. It bounces back and forth between the hands of the Cougars, but time is running out quickly. Commotion on the side of the Cougars ensues, and Florida is right there with it. The ball winds up in the arms of Cryer, who swings it to Sharp at the logo, who has only a few feet between him and Clayton. Sharp rises off the air– and comes down with the ball. It's loose as Sharp touching it would be a travel, and time expires. Florida wins, 65-63.

The story of the 2025 Houston Cougars men's basketball team concludes with a tragic ending. So much had been built up to the final seconds of the 2025 national championship game on the side of the Cougars. A historic program that had finally found its way to the top of the mountain, all to be ripped away in a matter of minutes. Is that not the pain and joy that comes with basketball? Think with me in a hypothetical world where Houston wins this basketball game. There's only one alternate reality where that exists. It was a 50/50 shot; they either won or they didn't; there's no in between. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), we live in a world where Houston did not win this basketball game.

Houston is projected as a top contender for the 2026 national championship at the time of writing this, and rightfully so. This is a program that has clearly shown it has the driving forces and consistently to always be in the mix. But, if you want me to be painfully honest, this seemed like a last chance for this iteration of the Houston Cougars. Of course, you can say that for any team that featured the level of upperclassmen that the Cougars did, but I'm talking passed that. I'm talking this version of the Cougars that found its footing under Kelvin Sampson in the late 2010s. I'm talking about the Cougars that enter the postseason as favorites in whatever region they're in. I'm talking about the Cougars who should've probably been the 2025 national champions.

I'll happily be wrong about this if that winds up the case. I've adopted the Big 12 as one of my favorite conferences in all of basketball, and Houston is a major contributor to that. But I can only go where my mind takes me, and as of writing this, I would be very surprised to see the Houston Cougars back to this spot in the coming years.

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