Houston’s 5 straight Sweet 16s are its best streak
DALLAS — Houston is home to the Lone Star State, playing as the No. 1 seed in the South Region and in the Sweet 16 for its fifth straight NCAA Tournament. Houston is in the Sweet 16 of its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament, playing as the No. 1 seed in the South Region. The Cougars, who have All-America point guard Jamal Shead, J’Wan Roberts and coach Kelvin Sampson, are in the midst of their best March Madness since they made three consecutive Final Fours in the Phi Slama Jama era four decades ago. They were the Big 12 regular-season champions this season and ranked No. 10 in the AP poll all-time. The team will face Duke (26-8) at the home of the Dallas Mavericks, about 250 miles from Houston campus. Since the last two NCAA Tournaments played without Duke, Houston has only won one game.
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DALLAS — Houston is home to the Lone Star State, playing as the No. 1 seed in the South Region and in the Sweet 16 for its fifth straight NCAA Tournament.
With All-America point guard Jamal Shead, big man J’Wan Roberts and coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars are in the midst of their best March Madness since they made three straight Final Fours in the Phi Slama Jama era four decades ago. They were the Big 12 regular-season champions this season after moving into that powerhouse conference, top 10 in the AP poll all-time and No. 1 for three weeks.
“I don’t think we’ve changed any motivation or changed what we’ve been doing all year and the last four years that I’ve been here,” Shedd said Thursday. “They had a winning culture before I got here and it was kind of instilled in me playing with guys like J’Wan for four years and all the guys that came before us.” … We’re following Coach Sampson and I think that’s the real reason we’re here.”
The Cougars (32-4) play blue-blood Duke (26-8) on Friday night at the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, about 250 miles from the Houston campus. Another Atlantic Coast Conference team, No. 11 North Carolina State (24-14), faces second-seeded Marquette (27-9) and former Texas coach Shaka Smart in Dallas’ opener.
Duke was just getting started under coach Mike Krzyzewski and wasn’t in the NCAA field when Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler led the Cougars to the first of those back-to-back Final Fours in 1982. The next year, Houston lost to coach Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack in a memorable championship game . The Cougars played for the title again in 1984, the year of Coach K’s first NCAA Tournament appearance with the Blue Devils.
Since then, there have only been two NCAA Tournaments played without Duke, which has five national championships. Second Blue Devils coach John Scheier won the title as a player in 2010 and was an assistant coach for their last in 2015.
Meanwhile, the Cougars went 34 years before even winning another March Madness game, going just four appearances short of a first-round victory in 2018. The following year began their active run of Sweet 16s that is matched only by region No. 5 seed Gonzaga in the Midwest.
“This (Houston) group is together for more than just this year. It’s been a few years in the making,” said Scheier. “You’re playing against a team that expects to win. Coach Sampson, the job he’s done, the staff, the program, they’ve developed that edge and that belief. That’s something I’ve known. I don’t know any other way since I was a Duke player. It’s no different since I’ve been an assistant coach here, head coach. We expect to win.”
Houston’s 125 wins with Shead and Roberts are the most in a four-year span in school history. The last was 100-95 in overtime against Texas A&M, in which they survived Shedd and three other starters being fouled while Roberts finished with four fouls.
The Blue Devils lost their regular season finale at home to North Carolina, costing them a share of the ACC regular season title. Then they dropped their first conference tournament to NC State, which won its third of five games in as many days, just to make the 68-team March Madness field.
“We knew how good we were, but with the two losses we haven’t been able to win for about two weeks. It can get a little tentative,” Duke guard Jeremy Roach said. “I think getting that first (NCAA) win against Vermont was a big thing, and then it just leads us to … where we are right now. I just have to keep that confidence going.”
The only double-digit seed still playing is NC State, the same No. 11 seed Smart’s VCU team had during its improbable Final Four run in 2011.
NC State has played in elimination games since entering the ACC Tournament, losing seven of nine. The Wolfpack won five games in five days against past national champions for the league’s NCAA automatic bid, then defeated Texas Tech and Oakland.
“We went into this postseason with the attitude that it’s a new season. … Every game was its own championship, literally,” Wolfpack guard Casey Morsell said. “It’s the same approach we had in this tournament.”
Marquette hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since making three in a row from 2011-13. It’s Smart’s first regional semifinal in his 10 NCAA appearances since hosting VCU. He made four more appearances with the Rams, three in six years with Texas and three after returning to his home state to coach the Golden Eagles.
“I try not to dwell too much on the past,” Smart said. “Because then suddenly you’re doing something really, really fun and exciting, and the overwhelming emotion is a relief.”