INDIANAPOLIS — The defining theme of the 2024-25 school basketball season has been the dominance of the SEC. The league set a document with 14 NCAA match bids, established every other one with seven groups within the Candy 16 and changed into the primary convention to have 4 faculties in each and every regional ultimate.
However on Sunday within the Elite 8, the College of Houston confirmed Tennessee and the SEC that the Giant 12 can nonetheless play the function of bully. Houston threw a defensive haymaker within the first 1/2 and rendered Tennessee’s offense beaten and useless, like such a lot of sufferers of the SEC this season, in a 69-50 win.
In a match the place SEC groups have gained steadily through swallowing groups entire with athleticism, intensity and an abundance of ability, Houston flipped the script.
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Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars were the Giant 12’s maximum dominant program since getting into the league two years in the past. And they have executed so with a defensive edge that Sampson started forging at Montana Tech when he first changed into a head trainer within the early Nineteen Eighties.
“We play in a difficult convention,” Sampson mentioned. “I feel going 19-1 within the Giant 12, 10-0 at the street, ready us for this. The Purdue recreation used to be roughly like a street recreation. Tennessee recreation used to be roughly like a street recreation, too, with their fanatics, however our youngsters are roughly calloused to that and so kudos to them.”
On Sunday, Tennessee, coached through Sampson’s shut good friend Rick Barnes, changed into the most recent staff to get ripped aside through Houston. Tennessee ignored its first 14 3-pointers, trailed through as many as 22 within the first 1/2 and appeared every now and then like a directional college “purchase recreation” opponent in an early November matchup.
“Houston, they do what they do,” Barnes mentioned. “That is why they are the place they’re. That is the usual in their program.”
L.J. Cryer shook off a coarse taking pictures efficiency towards Purdue to attain a team-high 17 issues, and Houston ruled the paint through outscoring Tennessee 30-14 within. Tennessee completed the sport taking pictures 17.2% from 3-point vary and 28.8% from the sphere.
Tennessee controlled to chop the Houston result in 10 in the second one 1/2, however any embers of lifestyles the Vols confirmed had been extinguished through Emanuel Sharp, who hit a couple of second-half 3-pointers not up to a minute aside to increase the lead again and completed with 16 issues.
The Cougars advanced to 34-4 and can face East Regional champion No. 1 Duke within the Ultimate 4 subsequent weekend. That is Houston’s 7th Ultimate 4, and its six appearances within the tournament and not using a nationwide identify are essentially the most of any program.
Sampson advances to the 3rd Ultimate 4 of his occupation, and the second one throughout his time at Houston. After advancing on a slick inbounds play with not up to a moment left towards Purdue on Friday night time, Houston’s defensive brutality eradicated any likelihood at an identical drama Sunday.
“The energy of our staff has all the time been our staff,” Sampson mentioned. “[Our guys], they have got all taken turns being the most efficient participant for that week or the following two weeks, however we now have a just right staff, and whoever we play the following recreation we get ready for it, and that’s the reason been our secret sauce.”
The Ultimate 4 can be every other exhibit for the exceptional run of dominance that Sampson has performed at Houston. The Cougars personal the rustic’s longest streak of Candy 16s, having reached the spherical in six directly years.
Via profitable Sunday, Sampson avoided Barnes from achieving his moment Ultimate 4. The end result additionally stored Tennessee from achieving the primary Ultimate 4 in class historical past. This used to be Tennessee’s tenth Candy 16, essentially the most through any college to by no means make a Ultimate 4.
The SEC already had Florida complicated to the Ultimate 4 and added a moment staff after No. 1 Auburn defeated No. 2 Michigan State within the South Regional ultimate. The Tennessee loss method the SEC is not going to tie the Giant East’s document of 3 groups within the Ultimate 4 again in 1985.
Tennessee belly-flopped from the beginning. Houston compelled misses on 10 of Tennessee’s first 11 pictures and at the Vols first 14 3-pointers. By the point Zakai Zeigler hit Tennessee’s first 3-pointer, there have been 39 seconds left within the first 1/2 and the shot reduce the Cougars’ result in 34-15, and that used to be the halftime rating.
The Vols had been by no means actually within the recreation. Tennessee fell at the back of 9-2 to open the sport, 22-6 later within the first 1/2 and took greater than 16 mins to crack double digits. Via then, the Vols trailed 29-10 and Barnes had his arms jammed in his wallet in frustration.
“I believe like we all the time need to throw the primary punch,” Houston guard Milos Uzan mentioned. He added: “It is tremendous vital to stay our foot on their neck. So we did a just right activity with that.”
Tennessee’s offensive ineptitude — and Houston’s defensive disruption — had the NCAA interns getting paper cuts taking a look up ancient lows in a match recreation.
It used to be the bottom first-half scoring overall through a staff seeded No. 1 or No. 2 in NCAA historical past. It used to be additionally the second-lowest total scoring 1/2 for a top-two seed, with Kentucky’s 11 issues towards Georgetown in the second one 1/2 in their nationwide semifinal recreation in 1984 the one worse appearing.
And it units the degree for a possible home-court merit for the Cougars in San Antonio, not up to 200 miles from Houston.
“Soar at the interstate and get right here, that is what we’re going to do subsequent week,” Sampson mentioned. “We’re going to soar at the interstate and head down San Antonio. That is why you do not whinge, as a result of it could actually turn the wrong way. Happy with our guys for locating a strategy to win. We beat two exceptional techniques — now not simply groups, nice techniques — this week in Purdue and Tennessee.”
