The Houston basketball team has now won back-to-back Big 12 regular season titles as the Cougars clinched a share of this year’s championship on Monday night. Houston had a tough road matchup against Texas Tech, but they took care of business to earn a 69-61 win over the 10th ranked Red Raiders. Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson has built something special here at Houston.
Kelvin Sampson has been with the Houston basketball program for over 10 years now, and he has now led the Cougars to two Big 12 titles in a row. He reacted to the incredible accomplishment after the game.
“Every team has its own identity, with its own fabric and its own makeover,” Sampson said, according to a post from KTXT Sports. “We work so hard when nobody’s around, and when you put in the time and effort, you create your own expectations, have no idea or really care about anybody else’s, all that matters is ours. We prepare to be successful, but it’s not easy to win in this league. It’s hard to win on the road.”
Houston got a great fight from Texas Tech on Monday night, but the Red Raiders were not able to do enough to secure the win. Sampson has a ton of respect for head coach Grant McCasland and the program, and he knows that his team benefited from some Texas Tech injury trouble.
“Just a ton of respect for Texas Tech’s program,” Sampson said. “One of my best friends is a Texas Tech graduate. So he’s turned me into a Texas Tech guy except for when we play them. Proud of my team. You know, Grant [McCasland] was short handed, and I’m sure that’ll be the storyline for a lot of people, but that crowd and that old Red Raider quarterback that showed up, that had to be worth at least 10 points. That was a tough place in there. That crowd was awesome. Patrick Mahomes, I had a little conversation with him on the way in, I have a ton of respect for him.”
Right now, Houston has only clinched a share of the Big 12 regular title, but it would be shocking to see anyone catch the Cougars. Houston has a 3.5-game lead on the next closest team, so if they win just one of their remaining three games, they will win the conference outright.
Texas Tech fell to 21-7 overall with the loss, and they are now 12-5 in conference play. With a win, they would’ve stayed in contention for the regular season crown and would’ve been within two games of Houston. Now, the Red Raiders have no shot at the title.
Houston will finish their season with home games against Cincinnati and Kansas before hitting the road to take on Baylor to end the season. The Cougars are once again one of the best teams in college basketball, and they seem poised for a deep run in March.
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