How Houston Cougars' defense fuels success by embracing the ugly
This speaks volumes
01 April
This speaks volumes
The Houston Cougars like mixing it up.
They enjoy seeing opponents colliding, sprawled across the floor. They thrive on rebounding and have used the relentlessly hard-nosed defense that has become their trademark during coach Kelvin Sampson’s 11-year career to take them places once considered unthinkable.
It's why they're now considered one of the country's most successful, consistent teams annually — and why they're one of four teams still playing Saturday in March Madness.
“That’s what we do,” Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player Emanuel Sharp said after Sunday's 69-50 win over Tennessee. “We’re a great defensive team and that’s how we like to set the tone of the game, on the defensive end. I think when we come out with the right intensity, we’re a hard team to beat.”
The Cougars (34-4) certainly haven't lost much this season.
Their 17-game winning streak is the longest in Division I, they swept the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament titles and now they've reached the Final Four for the first time since losing to 2021 national champion Baylor in a March Madness that will always be remembered as the tournament played in the Indiana COVID-19 bubble.
That loss came in a national semifinal, where the Cougars are 2-4 all-time. They'll face five-time national champion Duke in San Antonio, a 3 1/2-hour drive from their campus, as they try to reach their first title game since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1984.
“We didn’t get good the last 36 hours,” Sampson said when asked about Houston's quick turnaround between the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. “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.”
Perhaps that explains why the Cougars didn't even flinch after the 62-60 late-night, last-second win over Purdue in the Sweet 16 and facing the Vols in the Elite Eight.
How stingy have the Cougars been?
After allowing a Division I low 58.3 points during the regular season, Houston has allowed just 56.5 points in four NCAA Tournament games while allowing just one team, Gonzaga, to top 60 points. They also allowed the lowest scoring totals last weekend — twice.
Tennessee missed its first 14 3-pointers, shot a dismal 28.8% from the field and despite playing well defensively against Kentucky simply couldn't match the Cougars toughness.
“They do what they do,” deflated Vols coach Rick Barnes said in his opening statement after the loss. “That’s why they’re where they are, that’s the standard of their program.”
Yet in a college basketball era where faster, higher-scoring games seem to be all the rage, this Final Four seems to be all about the defense.
Duke swarmed Alabama's 3-point shooters, holding the Crimson Tide nearly 40 points below their previous game's scoring total to win the East Region title. Florida's defense spurred a late run to get past Texas Tech in the West Region and South Region champ Auburn is allowing just 65 points per game in the tourney.
But nobody has done it better than Houston, and that's by design.
Sharp, who is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, and LJ Cryer, at 6-1, 200, may not look like the most imposing backcourt but they revel in getting physical. Plus, Cryer comes with a championship pedigree, part of Baylor's title team.
Houston forwards Ja'Vier Francis, J'Wan Roberts and Joseph Tugler stand 6-8, not nearly as big as some of the other frontline beasts in San Antonio, but they are experienced, tough and muscle bound.
The inside-out defensive combination has made Houston almost unbeatable. Since starting the season at 3-4, they've gone 30-1 and broken the school's single-season victory record.
“We’re able to do some things that may be outside the box, whether it’s spending extra time on baseline out of bounds plays, we spend a lot of time on that, offensively and defensively,” Sampson said. “We take pride on not being scored on in baseline out of bounds. If you watch (Tennessee) when they beat Auburn or beat Alabama, they played a certain way. But we play the way we play and our kids are very confident in our approach and our defense.”
And now Sampson will find out if that defense is good enough to carry him to his first championship game in three Final Four trips — or bring Houston its elusive first title.
Don't miss the video below as ESPN Houston's John Granato and Lance Zierlein react to the Coogs reaching the Final Four and much more!
Jalen Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-94 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.
30 PTS through 3 quarters 🔥@JalenGreen https://t.co/Qj2MAu16Yz
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 24, 2025
The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.
Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.
His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.
𝙏𝙐𝙁𝙁 step 🔙 pic.twitter.com/xGcq0fgwcX
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 24, 2025
Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.
𝙥𝙤𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🍿@alperennsengun pic.twitter.com/ll5Pge7R3q
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 24, 2025
Game 2 is Saturday night at Golden State.
Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors and become the 11th player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career playoff points with 4,017.
Houston led by 20 with about 10 minutes left before the Warriors used a 9-0 run, with two 3s from Quinten Post, run to get within 11. Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green at the end of that run after he flailed an arm into his face.
The Rockets then used an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by a step-back 3 from Green, to extend the lead to 99-80 with 5 ½ minutes remaining. Draymond Green received a technical foul in that stretch for arguing with officials and Eason received one for throwing a towel in an “unsportsmanlike manner.”
The loss of Butler, acquired from Miami in a February trade, was a huge blow to the Warriors after he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the series opener. On top of Butler’s injury, the Warriors were also hampered by Brandin Podziemski’s stomach ailment.
He missed most of the first half dealing with the problem and was scoreless in 14 minutes after scoring 14 points in Game 1.
Final Thoughts
Vanessa Richardson was joined by Sengun after the big win!
“I was telling him, we’ve earned this.”
Tonight, in their fourth season, Alperen Sengun & Jalen Green win their first playoff game. @SpaceCityHN | @HoustonRockets #Liftoff pic.twitter.com/56OctjGAgU
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) April 24, 2025