Houston basketball continues its dominant run in the Big 12, capping off a near-perfect conference record with a Big 12 tournament championship
General Information:
Team:Â Houston
Location:Â Houston, Texas
Record: 30-4 (19-1)
Head Coach:Â Kelvin Sampson (32nd season, 11th at Houston)
What to know about Houston basketball:
Ever since the Players’ Era Tournament over Thanksgiving, where Houston went 1-2, they’ve taken it to a new gear. At that time, they were 4-3. They ended the season 30-4. An absolutely ridiculous stat. They lost just one game in conference play, an overtime loss to Texas Tech, and enter the NCAA Tournament on a 13-game win streak.
Last year, this team won the regular season, finishing with a 15-3 conference record, and advanced to the final. They were then manhandled by Iowa State, and that loss was clearly on their minds in this game. Milos Uzan came up big in this year’s final with Ju’Wan Roberts unable to play, scoring 25 points, while also adding 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Emmanuel Sharp was the Big 12 Tournament MVP, though, scoring 17+ in each game this tournament, including 26 in the semifinal.
We talked about it in yesterday’s takeaways, but Houston’s identity is to punch the opponent in the nose until they quit kind of defense. They’re aggressive, smart, and willing to take risks, and as a result, finished the season allowing the least amount of points per game in the country. Arizona failed to score 65 points today, only their third time during conference play. One of those other times was their other matchup against Houston. Per EvanMiya, Houston has two of the top four defenders in the country in Joseph Tugler and Terrance Arceneaux.
While defense is their bread and butter, they are also significantly improved on offense. They are currently ranked as a top ten team in offensive efficiency by KenPom, and Barttorvik has them as high as 8. LJ Cryer’s scoring ability from all three levels takes them to the next level, and Emmanuel Sharp is capable of putting points on the board, as we saw all tournament.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Houston basketball: Final Four Exit
Projected seed: 1
It wasn’t much of a doubt, but Houston secured the third one seed with the Big 12 tournament championship. They’ll most likely be in the Midwest region, and they hope that their fans will make the trip to Indianapolis for the second weekend of the tournament. This is the third straight season with 30 wins. In the previous three seasons, Houston basketball’s tournament results were Elite 8, Sweet 16, Sweet 16. Under Kelvin Sampson, they’ve only made the Final Four once, and that was in the COVID bubble year.
So, can they break that course and play to their skillset, or will we see another second weekend exit? If they’re going to make it far, they’re going to have to rely on balance. This team has had a clear star in most of the past tournaments, whether that is Jamal Shead, Marcus Sasser, or Quentin Grimes. They don’t have that this year, and perhaps that’s a good thing. When Shead went down against Duke in the first half last year, Houston seemed lost, but this team doesn’t have a player where if they went down, the team would crumble.
Uzan, Cryer, and Uzan are all capable of big games, and you can’t forget about Mylik Wilson, one of the best rebounding guards in the country and one of the team’s unsung heroes. As mentioned earlier, they have two of the best defenders in the country, and this team has a lot of experience, not only in college basketball but playing with each other. Houston basketball returned 11 players from last year’s team, and that certainly showed all season.
The big question will be J’Wan Roberts. Roberts is the team leader both on and off the court, and while they proved they could win without him today, their ceiling is much higher with him on the floor. It seems like the injury isn’t a major concern but is something to watch.
With Auburn struggling down the stretch and Cooper Flagg potentially dealing with an injury, the doors are wide open for Houston. Let’s see if they can capitalize and get Kelvin Sampson the championship he truly deserves.