Roughly one month before the Big 12 schedule opened, and after Houston absorbed a pair of overtime losses during a tournament in Las Vegas, another conference title did not appear to be guaranteed.
With their 73-64 home victory over Cincinnati on Saturday, the third-ranked Cougars (25-4, 17-1 Big 12) not only extended their winning streak to eight games, they secured a second consecutive Big 12 regular-season title. Houston improved to 15-1 at home this season and will play their home finale on Monday against Kansas.
The Cougars are one of just four teams to rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom.com. Three of their four losses this season have come in overtime with the fourth coming against Auburn, currently the top-ranked team in the nation.
After an uneven start to the season that saw Houston carry a 4-3 record into December, the Cougars have rounded into shape. Their status as a national title contender has been confirmed, with only a few loose ends to tie up before the start of postseason play.
“This one is special because it is this group,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I tell them before the season starts the most important team that I will ever coach is this year’s team. Not last year’s team. I couldn’t care less about next year’s team. The most important team that I coach is that year’s team.
“I always know exactly how I want this thing to look like, but you’ve got to build it. It takes time. It’s a process.”
Kansas (19-10, 10-8 Big 12) suffered a 78-73 home loss to No. 10 Texas Tech on Saturday, its first loss since a 34-point setback at BYU on Feb. 18 inspired Jayhawks coach Bill Self to declare a season reset. Kansas fell to 2-3 against top-10 opponents this season despite receiving a double-double from senior forward KJ Adams Jr. (21 points with a career-high 13 rebounds) plus 18 points and nine boards from graduate center Hunter Dickinson.
The Jayhawks have dropped consecutive games against Houston, including a 92-86 double-overtime home loss on Jan. 25.
The loss to Texas Tech, which led by 11 points at halftime but saw Kansas pull even at 73-73 late in the contest, represented another lost opportunity to secure a close victory for the Jayhawks. Kansas is 1-3 in two-possession games in conference play.
“We played really well against Houston,” Self said. “We came from behind and made it very interesting (against Texas Tech). We had to do a lot of things right and we didn’t do it right on the defensive end. Colorado, we did it right on both ends for the most part. We didn’t do it right at Utah.
“We said we had a five-game schedule (following the BYU loss) and we’re 2-1. Can we go beat Houston? Yes. Is it going to take an unbelievable effort? Yeah. But that’s the way it should be when you’re playing one of the best teams in the country.”
Dickinson paces the Jayhawks at 16.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. L.J. Cryer (14.8 ppg) leads four Cougars in double-figure scoring.
–Field Level Media
