NEWARK, N.J. – How do you get within striking distance of winning a national title, get three key pieces back from this team, start 10-1 and still float on the national radar?
Only one way: You’re a Houston Cougars player who isn’t always discussed.
I’m not saying this is true, I’m just saying it is the way it is. Often.
“Don’t sleep in Houston,” Kelvin Sampson said on CBS last April after the Cougars surprised much of the college hoops world by ending Cooper Flagg’s college career with the Coogs’ epic 70-67 comeback from top-seeded Duke in the Final Four.
It’s time to remind the world to wake up again.
Maybe because Houston loves winning ugly. Maybe it’s because her schedule hasn’t been flashy yet. Maybe it’s because the Cougars don’t produce individual talent (though, read on, because that’s no longer the case).
But here we are again, in the middle of another season, and Houston is one of the best teams in the country.
Don’t sleep in Houston.
It’s time to start paying attention to the Cougars’ game-by-game again, as they are the most successful team in college basketball and furthermore proved the point on Saturday with another physical Houston-style win against overmatched Arkansas in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center.
The Cougars defeated the Razorbacks 94-85 to improve to 11-1, trailing by 22 points behind senior guard Emmanuel Sharpe and another 21 behind freshman guard Kingston Flemings Jr.
Houston entered the game ranked eighth. Arkansas had the number 14 next to its name. The two teams did not look as close as these numbers suggest. Arkansas was within striking distance throughout the entire second half, but never threatened after Houston opened the game with a 15-0 run to get the score to 41-19 at halftime. The game is swinging there. The only reason there wasn’t a blowout was thanks to the play of Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr., who kept the gap from becoming a chasm.
Acuff, who could be a lottery pick in next June’s NBA draft, finished with 27 points and seven assists, both game-highs.
“We were up 49-41, and it looked like we played our worst basketball in the last three minutes (of the first half),” Sampson said. “But we had some cards to play because we could space the floor.”
John Calipari and Kelvin Sampson have 70 seasons and more than 1,600 wins between them, but this was only the second time they were matched in intelligence (Calipari beat Sampson in the 2018 NCAA Tournament). For Arkansas, Saturday was a missed opportunity. The Hogs are 9-3, but a win here would have certainly raised their reputation to a higher level. Instead, they are one of six or seven teams with talent scattered near the top of the SEC, which will begin league play in two weeks.
Houston is in a rosier situation. The Big 12 is stacked with the likes of Arizona, Iowa State, BYU and even Kansas. And he has not retreated one bit from his position in this sport.
The answer to why Houston doesn’t get more attention is their schedule. Saturday’s win is only UH’s second win in 12 games, joining Auburn’s Nov. 16 73-72 rout in Birmingham, Alabama. The win over Arkansas also improved the Coogs to 7-1 in their last eight Top 15 games.
That’s what Sampson teams do. They win a lot more than they lose, and when they win, they hurt you and tend not to get close.
You may have forgotten about it in the midst of November’s incredible playoff crunch, but Houston’s only loss came by three at Players Era Stadium in Vegas. I was there; Tennessee may not play a better game overall this season. The folders are clearly of good quality. With that in mind, Houston losing alone by one possession to a team that might be a top-four finish should not displace them from the conversation about who is elite in this remarkable season.
Houston’s ability to adapt on Saturday was also impressive. Arkansas entered the game averaging 89.9 points, and came close, but Houston had no trouble making it a game on the gridiron. The game had 73 possessions, the most Houston has played in regulation since the start of the 2024-25 season. I know Sampson hates to see another team score 80+ points on his guys, but getting that kind of win will serve Houston well for the next three months.
“It speaks volumes about Arkansas’ talent that they scored 85 points,” Sampson said. “They are good enough to do it, and thank God we were good enough to score 94.”
Houston’s 94 points were the program’s most against a ranked team in regulation in 15 years.
The Cougars frustrated the run-happy Hogs, who entered the game ranked second in fast break points at 22.7 per night. On this night, just seven — which is half a point more than Houston gives up per game.
“I think this was the first time we played district since I was at Montana Tech,” Sampson said, following up with some admitted humor. “We went 1-2-2, then came back to 3-2, and bought some possessions. Our fastball will never be there, but it’s good to know you have a curveball.”
Houston knew it would have its moments on the offensive glass — Arkansas allows 16 points per game on second-chance opportunities — and voila: The Cougars got 16 points on the board after grabbing 12 offensive rebounds.
No matter what cutoff you want to use, Houston leads all teams in college basketball in total wins in the last five, six, seven or eight years. It’s no surprise that the Cougars are so strong again. Although they don’t rank in the top five in terms of efficiency yet, their DNA puts them in the mix with undefeated teams like Arizona, Michigan and Iowa State. Then the one-loss bullies are Houston, Duke, UConn, Gonzaga, Purdue, Michigan State, and North Carolina. (Undefeated Vanderbilt might be in that category as well, but it has yet to defeat a top-30 team.)
Getting Sharp, Uzan and Tugler back, with Final Four experience, is huge. But the addition of Fleming is what changes the dynamics of the game. He is a long-time point guard who ranked 20th in his high school class and has already exceeded that expectation. He’s scoring over 15 points, dishing out five assists and shooting nearly 60%.
Houston has always been good/great under Sampson. It’s always been difficult. She has always been an opportunist. He was always boastful.
Kingston makes them dangerous. Ozan and Sharpe are capable of making the big decision and making it, but Flemings is the guy who is the key to keeping Houston as good this season as it was last season, and the season before that, and the one before that.
But more than that? He’s talented enough to make Houston believe a return to the national championship game should be the expectation, not the hope.
“How good can we be? I never thought about it. I just know we can get better,” Sampson said.
This is just Houston at its best. We know Houston when it’s great, and this group has what makes it great. The most impressive personality trait of cougars is how they reliably get stronger the more games they play. We’re a third of the way through the college basketball season and Houston may be at 60% or 70% of its potential. Keep an eye on these guys because they clearly have their eyes on the prize: Sampson himself is a national title contender once again.