Many people did’t think that Houston basketball would be able to continue dominating season after season after moving to the Big 12, but Kelvin Sampson and company have proven everybody wrong.
Houston secured its second straight Big 12 regular season title this season and capped it off with a gritty 65-61 win over Baylor on the road on Saturday night. This victory moves the Cougars to 19-1 in conference play as the regular season wraps up as they win the conference by four games after a dominant campaign.
Houston is always tough to beat at home, exemplified by their 16-1 record in at the Fertitta Center. However, their excellence on the road was the most jarring part of this season. Sampson’s group finished 10-0 on the road, a number that even he couldn’t believe after the Baylor win.
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson on UH going undefeated on the road: “Unbelievable. You’re not supposed to do that.”
“You got to earn the right to be good.” pic.twitter.com/pyIRFLO9Ko
— Pawd Slama Jama (@PawdSlamaJama) March 9, 2025
“Unbelievable. You’re not supposed to do that,” Sampson said. “You’ve gotta have a little luck along the way.”
Houston has picked up a number of marquee victories on the road in conference pay, including victories over Texas Tech and Arizona along with a miraculous victory over Kansas in the final seconds. That experience winning away from home should come in handy as the Cougars make a push for the national championship in March.
Houston getting great guard play heading into the postseason
Houston basketball has become known for its defense and rebounding year after year, and that is no different this season. That formula helped Kelvin Sampson lead this team to a Final Four in 2021 and is a big reason it has transitioned so well into the Big 12, but the ceiling is a little higher this year.
In 2024-25, Houston has a trio of guards who can really score the basketball on top of what they do defensively. Emmanuel Sharp is one of the best shooters in the Big 12 and Milos Uzan has done a very good job replacing Jamal Shead, giving the Cougars a big lead guard who can get into the paint and create good shots for the offense.
Baylor transfer LJ Cryer was the hero for Houston on Saturday night against his old team. Cryer started the game 6-for-6 from 3-point range and carried an otherwise sluggish Houston offense in the first half. He finished the game with 23 points to lead his team.
Cryer and Sharp are also two of the best free throw shooters in the country, which makes this Houston team very difficult to beat late in games. If you trail the Cougars in the final minutes, even by just a possession, they will get stops and they will make free throws. That will make them a very tough out in March.
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