Maybe this will be the year for Kelvin Sampson.
After coming oh so close a season ago, falling to Florida in the national championship game, maybe Houston can go all the way.
In this week’s March Madness edition of Mussatto’s Minutes, we break down the first-round matchups for the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State women, give you reasons to root for each of the eight tournament teams in OKC and highlight a local school making a run in the Division II Tournament.
But we start with Sampson and the No. 2 seed Cougars, who will open the tournament here in Oklahoma City against No. 15 seed Idaho at 9:10 p.m. Thursday.
Houston has been one of the best programs in men’s college basketball since the turn of the decade. The Cougars have either been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in five of the last six NCAA Tournaments. Houston has advanced to the Sweet 16 or further in each of the last five seasons.
2020-21: Lost to eventual-champion Baylor in Final Four
2021-22: Lost to Villanova in Elite Eight
2022-23: Lost to Miami in Sweet 16
2023-24: Lost to Duke in Sweet 16
2024-25: Upset Cooper Flagg and Duke in national semifinal, lost to Florida in final
This isn’t Sampson’s best Houston team, but these Cougars (28-6) could absolutely be the ones to break through. Houston trounced Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament before a close loss to Arizona (my national title pick) in the championship game.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemings will be a top-10 pick, maybe top-five, in the upcoming NBA draft. Senior guards Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp and junior forward Joseph Tugler have been around forever. Freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. is another projected first-rounder.
And Sampson, of course, is one of the game’s best coaches. The former OU coach of 12 seasons is now in Year 12 at Houston. He’s flanked on the bench by his son, former Sooner guard Kellen Sampson, and an all-time Sooner in Hollis Price.
Kelvin Sampson is showing zero signs of slowing down, but at 70, he’d become the oldest coach to ever win a national championship. UConn’s Jim Calhoun was 68 when he led the Huskies to the 2011 title.
Florida’s Todd Golden, at 39, became the ninth-youngest coach to win a title when his Gators beat Sampson’s Cougars last March.
Among active coaches, only Tom Izzo (59), Bill Self (53), John Calipari (50), Mark Few (44), Rick Pitino (40) and Rick Barnes (33) have more NCAA Tournament wins than Sampson (31).
Few, Barnes and Sampson are still looking for their first championship. Maybe this will be the year for Sampson.
Reasons to root for each of eight tournament teams in OKC
Eight teams from the South Region are bound for Oklahoma City, where they’ll play first-and second-round games on Thursday and Saturday at Paycom Center.
Looking for a team to adopt? Here’s a reason to root for each of the eight.
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy
Nebraska: You might have heard this, but Nebraska has never won an NCAA Tournament game. The Cornhuskers are the only power conference team with that dubious distinction. Nebraska is 0-8 all-time in the tournament. Want to witness history? Pull for Big Red. Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort is the younger brother of Thunder two-way player Payton Sandfort.
Troy: The Trojans, like the Huskers, are winless in the NCAA Tournament (0-3). Coach Scott Cross has done a remarkable job in leading Troy to back-to-back Sun Belt titles. Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow, a cousin of Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is on Troy’s roster, but Gilgeous-Glasgow hasn’t played this season.
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 McNeese State
Vanderbilt: Former Sooner guard Duke Miles is averaging 16.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He led the SEC in free throw percentage (89.4%) and steals per game (2.6). Vanderbilt hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2012. Vandy feels like an underdog even when it’s not.
McNeese State: At least Will Wade is gone. Bill Armstrong, a Wade assistant, got the head job when Wade left for North Carolina State. The Lake Charles, Louisiana, school is nicknamed the Cowboys. A team for our local Pokes, perhaps.
No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Texas A&M
Saint Mary’s: The West Coast Conference school in Moraga, California, has been a perennial tournament contender under longtime coach Randy Bennett. The Gaels always have a handful of Aussies on their roster. I assume some neutral observers will be cheering for Saint Mary’s just because they’re anti-A&M.
Texas A&M: Ten years ago, here in OKC, the fighting Alex Carusos had one of the craziest comebacks in tournament history in their win against Northern Iowa. Expect to see a handful of Caruso Thunder jerseys when the Aggies play. Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan is the namesake for “Bucky Ball.” The Aggies play fast and they score a lot of points.
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 15 Idaho
Houston: Houston coach Kelvin Sampson will remind you of when OU men’s basketball was fun. Sampson, who coached the Sooners from 1994-2006, is second on the program’s all-time wins list behind Billy Tubbs. Hollis Price, the star of OU’s 2002 Final Four team, is in his 12th season as a Houston assistant. Kellen Sampson, who also played for the Sooners, is his dad’s lead assistant and the Cougars’ head-coach-in-waiting. Former OU guard Milos Uzan starts for Houston.
Idaho: Like cheering for the little guy? Idaho is a 23.5-point underdog against Houston. The Vandals, winners of the Big Sky, are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990! Idaho beat Washington State in a regular-season game that season. Washington State’s head coach? Kelvin Sampson. And don’t let his name fool you, Idaho’s Isaiah Brickner is a knockdown 3-point shooter.
OU women's basketball: What to know about Idaho
Twenty-four hours after the Idaho men play an NCAA Tournament game at Paycom Center, the Idaho women will play an NCAA Tournament game at Lloyd Noble Center.
The No. 4 seed Sooners will host the No. 13 seed Vandals at 9 p.m. Friday.
Here are three things to know about the Vandals:
1. Arthur Moreira is the first-ever Brazilian head coach in Division I history, according to his school bio. Idaho has three Brazilians on its roster. It also has players from Estonia, Portugal, Serbia and Sweden.
2. Idaho is on an 18-game winning streak. The Vandals beat Montana State in the Big Sky championship game.
3. Idaho ranks fourth nationally in rebounds per game. Debora Reis Dos Santos is averaging a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game despite coming off the bench and only playing 19 minutes per game.
OSU women's basketball: What to know about Princeton
Under Jacie Hoyt, the Cowgirls have made the NCAA Tournament in three of their last four seasons. OSU has yet to win a tournament game, though, in Hoyt’s tenure.
No. 8 seed OSU will play No. 9 seed Princeton at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
Here are three things to know about the Tigers:
1. Princeton is making its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the last five of which have come under coach Carla Berube. Princeton beat Harvard 63-53 in the Ivy League championship game.
2. All five Princeton starters are averaging at least 10 points per game. Senior guard Madison St. Rose leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game.
3. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Princeton beat OU by 14 points two seasons ago.
Oklahoma Baptist men’s basketball advances in DII Tournament
Oklahoma Baptist University recently advanced to the third round of the Division II men’s basketball NCAA Tournament.
OBU beat Harding (AR) 77-68 in the first round before topping Central Missouri 75-63 in the second round.
The Shawnee school faced Minnesota-Duluth on Tuesday in Topeka, Kansas. The winner advanced to the Elite Eight.
The Bison (29-3) are led by Birmingham, Alabama, native Terry Coner Jr., who’s averaging 19.8 points per game. Five of OBU’s 16 players are from Oklahoma. Jason Eaker, from Altus, is in his eighth season as coach.
OBU has won two national championships (1966, 2010), both at the NAIA level. OBU joined Division II a decade ago.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Is this the year for Kelvin Sampson, Houston in NCAA March Madness?