Houston coach Kelvin Sampson not looking past Idaho in March Madness

On Saturday, Houston came up short against Arizona, 79-74, in the final of the Big 12 tournament. Nevertheless, some are anticipating that Houston will win the NCAA tournament.

As a result of their loss to Arizona, the Cougars secured a No.2 seed in the South Region of the tournament. On Thursday, the Cougars will play against the University of Idaho.

Despite the Cougars being the clear favorite, head coach Kelvin Sampson isn’t taking them for granted, per Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle. He specifically mentioned Idaho winning four games at the Big Sky tournament.

“We respect Idaho,” Sampson said. “You’ve got to be tough.”

Overall, the Cougars finished the season with a 28-6 record. Additionally, they finished with a 14-4 record in the Big 12 conference.

Last season, the Cougars made it all the way to the Final Four. They defeated Duke 70-67 in the national semifinal before losing to Florida 65-63 in the National Championship game.

Meanwhile, Sampson is in the midst of his 12th season as head coach. He was hired on April 3, 2014. Along the way, Sampson has led Houston to seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Additionally, the Cougars reached two Final Fours in 2021 and 2025.

Also, Sampson has 327 career wins with the Cougars. Before then, Sampson had coaching stints at Michigan State, Montana Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, and Indiana. Afterward, he served as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets.

Altogether, Sampson has 826 career wins as a head coach. Plus, Sampson is a four-time AAC Coach of the Year, two-time AP Coach of the Year, and two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.

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