Kelvin Sampson reveals Houston tried to test Duke's inexperience during closing stretch in Final Four

Houston advanced to the national championship game with a remarkable late comeback against Duke. The win was a product of quality scouting by head coach Kelvin Sampson.

ESPN’s College GameDay crew broke down what Houston saw against Duke in the final moments ahead of tonight’s title game against Florida. It was revealing.

“In the locker room yesterday we tried to get an explanation for how Houston ended the game on an 11-1 run,” Pete Thamel reported. “And part of that autopsy of how they felt Duke (lost) started with Houston not fouling with 1:14 remaining when they trailed by six and again when they trailed by three with 33 seconds left.

“That decision by Kelvin Sampson was tied into another Houston philosophy. They wanted to take advantage of Duke’s inexperience and especially their inexperience in close games.”

Duke, of course, had numerous opportunities to close the game out. But the offense simply disappeared down the stretch.

Was inexperience to blame? Houston certainly felt like that was the case.

“Duke had coasted in the ACC,” Thamel pointed out. “They hadn’t really been tested in a while. Houston felt if they got them out to deep water they could be in trouble.

“One of the points the staff pointed out to me was they felt like as the game wore on and they grinded them down, Kon Knueppel got lost in Duke’s offense. He didn’t score a field goal in the game’s final 14 minutes. He didn’t even attempt a field goal in the final nine minutes. And they felt that was part of their inexperience. They started pressing and giving the ball to (Cooper) Flagg and it bit them.”

So what will Houston take away from tonight’s matchup against Florida? That remains to be seen.

But the Cougars are just one win away from a title. And there’s ample reason to believe they might just have an edge going into tonight’s game.

“One final thing I got from the Houston locker room yesterday, they really felt like they were fresh at the end of that game,” Thamel said. “The last couple seasons Houston has been dogged by injuries. They weren’t able to finish. Obviously you remember the two injuries last year in the Elite Eight against Duke.

“In the last six weeks of the season, Houston gave the team back-to-back days off. That is not something in Kelvin Sampson’s DNA. That’s an adjustment. And tonight on this floor we’re going to see a fresher Houston team than if they had their normal rest procedure.”