How Houston Cougars' defense fuels success by embracing the ugly

Cougars Kelvin Sampson
Can the Cougars continue their success versus Duke? Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

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!

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The Lakers beat the Rockets, 104-98. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Luka Doncic had 20 points and nine assists, and Gabe Vincent added 20 points on six 3-pointers in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 104-98 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

LeBron James finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who solidified their hold on fourth place in the Western Conference.

Dorian Finney-Smith also scored a season-high 20 points and hit six 3-pointers while Los Angeles sent second-place Houston to only its second loss in 14 games.

After James hit two free throws with 11.1 seconds left to put the Lakers up 102-98, he soared across the key to block Alperen Sengun's layup attempt. Dillon Brooks then missed a 3-point attempt to seal the Lakers' 29th home victory.

Amen Thompson scored 20 points and Brooks had 16 for the Rockets, who had won three straight.

The Lakers' two superstars both looked weary, and much of LA's offense consisted of Doncic and James drawing defenders before kicking to Finney-Smith and Vincent for 3-point attempts.

Neither team led by more than eight points all night, but Los Angeles nursed a small lead throughout the final 17 minutes of play.

Takeaways

Rockets: They remained defensively tenacious in the second game of a road back-to-back, but their offense was lacking. Leading scorer Jalen Green had only nine points on 4-of-13 shooting, and Sengun managed just 14.

Lakers: They sometimes looked exhausted in their 19th game in 35 days, but got the job done.

Key moment

After Brooks missed one of two free throws with 20.1 seconds left to trim Los Angeles’ lead to 100-98, the Rockets nearly tied up Finney-Smith for a jump ball — but the Lakers called a timeout first.

Key stat

Finney-Smith posted his Lakers highs in points and 3-pointers.

Up next

The Rockets host Utah on Wednesday. After their first back-to-back days off in three weeks the Lakers host Golden State on Thursday.

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