Houston has knocked Illinois out of the NCAA Tournament thanks to Kelvin Sampson’s brilliant coaching.
He has his Cougars ready to play on Sunday as they took down one of the best teams out of the Big Ten this season.
Houston was up 30-26 at halftime before outscoring Illinois 38-27 in the second half to win, 68-53. The Cougars are now into the Sweet 16 as they’re four wins away from a National Championship.
After the game ended, the college basketball world praised Sampson a lot on social media.
A shirtless Kelvin Sampson celebrating with the rest of the Cougars is amazing. 😂 pic.twitter.com/i4H10nwAXI
— Jake Asman (@JakeAsman) March 20, 2022
Kelvin Sampson said Illinois doesn’t do anything tricky. Happy to hold Cockburn to 11 shot attempts.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 20, 2022
Amazing what Kelvin Sampson has built at Houston. Cougars had been to the tournament once in 26 years before he returned them there in 2018. They’re now a consistent top 12-15 program that has made it to the Sweet 16 the last three tournaments, including Final 4 last year.
— Jerry Brewer (@JerryBrewer) March 20, 2022
Kelvin Sampson doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a top HC. 622-296 (.678), 2 Final Fours & a 7x conference or national COY. The NCAA basically banned him 14 years ago for committing 5 telephone recruiting violations, but all he does is keep winning. pic.twitter.com/cP3mVYd2IZ
— White Sheep of the Fam (@YourProcessGuy) March 20, 2022
Kelvin Sampson lost two of his top four players in December — but still won his league and league tournament before advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a win over a Big Ten champion. The list of coaches who could do that is very, very short.
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) March 20, 2022
It simply cannot be understated what Kelvin Sampson has done for this program…
— Bonda (@BenOndaTop) March 20, 2022
After overcoming the loss of 2 of his best players in December, Kelvin Sampson deserves serious consideration as Coach of the Year! A third consecutive Sweet 16 and maybe a second Final Four in a row. Good luck to the Cougars!
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 20, 2022
All Kelvin Sampson does is win everywhere he goes. He does not get enough credit for how great he is as a basketball coach.
— SFA has never lost to Duke in men’s basketball (@SanAntonioTim) March 20, 2022
Taze Moore led the way for Houston against Illinois as he finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Jamal Shead and Kyler Edwards also finished in double figures with 18 and 15 points respectively.
Houston will now await the winner of Arizona-TCU which will tip-off at 9:40 p.m. ET.
The Cougars will try to make their second-straight Final Four after getting to their third-straight Sweet 16.