The Cougars, a No. 5 seed, superior to the spherical of 16 for the third straight event with a 68-53 victory over fifth-seeded Illinois on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Houston, which misplaced in final yr’s nationwide semifinals to the eventual nationwide champion, Baylor, superior to fulfill the winner of Sunday evening’s recreation between No. 1 Arizona and No. 9 Texas Christian within the South regional.
“I simply suppose these guys stand on the shoulders of all these gamers that got here earlier than them,” Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson, who superior to the spherical of 16 for the sixth time in his profession, stated in a tv interview. “They consider in our tradition. We speak about watering timber. We don’t water leaves; we water roots, and the roots on this program is our tradition, and each considered one of these children buys into it. That’s why we’re profitable.”
Houston (31-5), the American Athletic Convention event champion, had not overwhelmed a single-digit seed within the event for the reason that 1984 Ultimate 4, when Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler have been the Cougars’ stars. Illinois (23-10) misplaced within the second spherical for the second straight yr after being among the many high seeds. In 2021, it was upset by Loyola Chicago as a No. 1 seed.
Three of final yr’s Ultimate 4 groups have superior to the spherical of 16, with Gonzaga and U.C.L.A. having gained Saturday. Baylor misplaced Saturday to North Carolina, that means the defending champion has now misplaced earlier than the spherical of 16 for 5 years straight.
Sampson misplaced all 5 of final yr’s starters, who both moved on or suffered accidents. Quentin Grimes, a key participant on final yr’s crew, now performs for the Knicks. The junior guard Marcus Sasser, who scored 20 factors in final yr’s nationwide semifinal, went down with a season-ending damage, as did the sophomore guard Tramon Mark.
Nonetheless, Houston has maintained its trademark defensive depth, and it typically appears as if it has seven defenders on the ground as a substitute of 5. The Cougars restricted Illinois to 34 p.c capturing from the sphere. Houston used an 11-0 run to go forward, 65-49, and put the sport out of attain.
Offensively, the senior guard Taze Moore was terrific within the open courtroom, ending with 21 factors and seven rebounds. Jamal Shead scored 18 and Kyler Edwards, a member of Texas Tech’s 2019 Ultimate 4 crew, had 15 factors, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
