Thursday night saw the end of the line for Kelvin Sampson and Houston.
No. 3 Illinois, defeating the No. 2 Cougars 65-55 on Thursday night in their own backyard, bumped yet another Big 12 squad from the dance. A Houston team loaded with talented players won’t see the Elite Eight and it feels a bit strange.
While an Arizona-Iowa State half to the Final Four is still technically possible, the Cougars produced one of the more gut-wrenching losses of the tournament and in their hometown of all venues at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston.
The visual below says it all, with Houston watching the clock drift away and with it another chance at the school’s first national title.
After leading early, Illinois exploded for a 17-0 run in the second half to lead by as much as 18 thanks to big minutes from forward David Mirkovic (14 points), guard Keaton Wagler (13 points) and guard Andrej Stojakovic (13 points).
Houston senior guard Emanuel Sharp, who spent all four years in Sampson’s program, led the team with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting with three triples. Freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. fetched a team-high 10 rebounds and six points.
Cenac, a projected first-round pick alongside star guard Kingston Flemings in the upcoming NBA Draft, said the real pain arrived when he and his teammates stepped off the court.
“As soon as we got back in the locker room and (Sampson) started talking – that shit shurt for real,” Cenac said. “Houston’s forever my home, and I thank all the fans and everybody that’s even a part of Houston. This, forever, is going to be my home. I’m always going to be back here.”
Kingston, adding 11 points on just 4-of-10 shooting, likened Houston’s schedule to that of the pros.
“Every single game we play, we’re playing other professional athletes,” Flemings said. “It’s hard, making the tournament’s hard. Making seven straight Sweet 16s is hard. You just know what this program is and obviously we were hoping for more, I know we could’ve got more but we’re just proud for everything we did.”
With Thursday night’s result, Sampson wraps his 12th season as Houston’s head coach and his fifth to end in the regional semifinals. The 70-year-old coaching veteran touched on his future a bit when asked what keeps him going.
“I still like it, but we all have our time. I think coaches have to understand when their time is. We all know this is a young man’s game. I still like but you know we’re all going to step away eventually. I haven’t really thought about that to the point where I can share anything, but I’m not going to get in anybody’s way, though. If I’m in somebody’s way or overstaying my welcome, I’ll be the first one to leave.”
