NEWARK, NJ – How do you come within one shot of winning a national title, bringing back three key members of that team, starting 10-1 and still hovering around the edge of the national radar?
There’s only one way: you are the perpetually under-discussed Houston Cougars.
I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying it is. Way too often.
“Don’t sleep in Houston,” Kelvin Sampson said last April, after the Cougars stunned much of the college hoops world by ending Cooper Flagg’s college career with the Coogs’ epic upset over No. 1 Duke in the Final Four.
It’s time to remind the world to wake up again.
Maybe it’s because Houston likes to win ugly.
Maybe it’s because the schedule hasn’t been flashy so far.
Maybe it’s because the Cougars don’t produce one-and-done talent (read on, though, because that’s no longer the case).
But here we are again, in the middle of a new season, and Houston is one of the best teams in the country. It’s time to once again focus on the Cougars game by game, as they are the most reliably successful team in college basketball and proved that again Saturday with another physically authoritative Houston-style win against outmatched Arkansas in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center.
The Cougars defeated the Razorbacks 94-85 to improve to 11-1, falling behind 22 points from senior guard Emanuel Sharp and 21 more from freshman guard Kingston Flemings Jr.
Houston came into the game ranked No. 8, Arkansas at No. 14. They didn’t seem that close. Arkansas was within breathing distance throughout the second half, but Houston broke the game open when it pulled off a 15-0 run to make it 41-19. The game faltered there. The only reason it didn’t become a blowout was due to the play of Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr., who kept the gap from becoming a chasm.
Acuff, who could be a lottery pick in next June’s NBA Draft, finished with 27 points and seven assists, both game-highs.
John Calipari and Kelvin Sampson have combined for 70 seasons and more than 1,600 wins, but this was only the second time they’ve ever matched that; Calipari defeated Sampson in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. For Arkansas, the match was a missed opportunity. The Hogs are 9-3, but a win here would certainly have taken their reputation a step further. Instead, they’re one of six or seven teams with talent mixed at the top of the SEC, which begins competition in two weeks.
Houston is in a much rosier position. The Big 12 is filled with the likes of Arizona, Iowa State, BYU and even Kansas. It has not yet fallen out of place in this sport.
The answer to why Houston didn’t get more attention is their schedule. Saturday’s win is only the second Quad 1 win for UH in twelve games, joining the Nov. 16 73-72 loss to Auburn in Birmingham, Alabama. Beating Arkansas also improved UH to 7-1 in its last eight games in top-15 matchups.
This is what Sampson’s teams do. Win a lot more than they lose, and when they win, they hurt you and tend not to get close.
You may have forgotten amid the great games in November, but Houston’s only loss came by three during Players Era in Vegas. I was there; Tennessee may not play a better game this season. And the Vols are obviously of good quality. With that in mind, Houston, who has just one turnover against a team that might be a top four player, shouldn’t take them out of the discussion of who is elite in this great season.
Houston’s adaptability was also admirable on Saturday. Arkansas came into the game averaging 89.9 points, and it was close, but Houston had no problem turning it into a track meet. The game featured 73 possessions, the most Houston has played in regular regulation since the start of the 2024-2025 season. I know Kelvin Sampson hates it when another team scores 80+ points on his guys, but wins like this will serve Houston well over the next three months.
The Cougars stymied the run-happy Hogs, who came into the game ranked No. 2 in fast break points with 22.7 per night. Only seven this evening – which is half a point more than Houston gives up per game.
Houston knew it would have its moments on the offensive glass — Arkansas allows 16 per game on second-chance opportunities — and voila: Cougars got 16 on the board after securing 12 offensive rebounds.
Regardless of which line you want to use, Houston leads all teams in college basketball in total wins over the last five, six, seven, eight years. It’s no surprise that the Cougars are great again. Not only great, but a national title contender, and while they’re not yet in the top five in terms of efficiency, their DNA puts them in a deep pool of teams that includes undefeated teams like Arizona, Michigan, Duke and Iowa State. Then the one-loss bullies are Houston, UConn, Gonzaga, Purdue, Michigan State and North Carolina. (Undefeated Vanderbilt may also be in that league, but it has yet to beat a top-30 team.)
Getting Sharp, Uzan and Tugler back, with that Final Four experience, is huge. But the addition of Flemish is what changes the dynamics of the game. He’s a rangy senior guard who was ranked 20th in his high school class and has already surpassed that projection. He scores better than 15 points, five assists and shoots almost 60%.
Houston has always been good/great under Sampson. Always been tough. Always been opportunistic. Always had a face.
Kingston makes them dangerous. Uzan and Sharp are capable of making the big shots, but Flemings is the man who is the key to keeping Houston as good this season as it was last season, and the season before that, and the season before that.
But even more? He’s talented enough to make Houston believe that a return to a national championship game should be the expectation, not the hope.
#Wake #haters #Houston #national #title #contender #dangerous