Kelvin Sampson cuts down nets after Houston punches ticket to Final Four

The Houston Cougars are officially going back to the Final Four for the first time since 2021. The Cougars jumped out to a commanding 34-15 advantage at halftime against Tennessee. The Volunteers battled back in the second half, cutting the Cougars lead to 11 under five minutes left. But Emanuel Sharp countered with some big-time three pointers. And Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars cruised to victory, 69-50.

It’s officially the seventh Final Four appearance in Houston basketball history. And of course, to celebrate Kelvin Sampson got the chance to cut down the nets on Sunday. Here’s the video of Sampson celebrating the milestone accomplishment.

The Houston defense was stingy as usual, limiting the Tennessee offense to one of their worst outputs of the year. And by a large margin. The Volunteers were averaging 74 points per game all season long, and they were stuck in the 40s with 2:58 left on Sunday. The Cougars offense also drilled some clutch three-pointers in the final few minutes to ensure there would be zero chance of a furious comeback by Tennessee.

Houston has lost only four games all season long. Sunday was their 17th victory in a row, and it came in convincing fashion against one of the best teams in the SEC. It’s the 34th win of the year for the Cougars. Tennessee got 17 points and seven rebounds from Chaz Lanier, as well as 17 points and three rebounds from Jordan Gainey in the loss.

Houston connected on 9 of 25 shots from beyond-the-arc on Sunday, good enough for 36%. Tennessee just connected on five 5 of their 29 three-pointers, hitting just 17.2% from the field. That proved to be a massive difference in the game. The Volunteers also shot poorly from the field, just connecting on 15 of 52 shots (28.8%). It’s a testament to the stingy Houston defense and the remarkable program they’ve built over the years under Kelvin Sampson.