Houston, now at full strength, is back in Final Four and doing it their way

Kelvin Sampson and Houston have gotten back to full health and been rewarded with Final Four run after injuries compromised Cougars in each of the past two seasons. (Photo by the Dallas Morning News)

By Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman)

SAN ANTONIO — It was supposed to be Houston’s year in 2023.

Marcus Sasser returned from injury to be one of the best point guards in the country. The Cougars brought in Jarace Walker, the best freshman the program had seen in many years. Tramon Mark was back, as was Jamal Shead, and the team was coming off a trip to the Elite 8.

The Final Four was in their home city, and it was the last ride for the legendary Jim Nantz, a Houston alumnus, as the voice of the NCAA Tournament.

But it wasn’t to be.

Houston got banged up by the end of the season. Aside from the Ramon Walker injury in December, Sasser wasn’t 100 percent, and the Cougars, as the No. 2 overall seed, bowed out in the Sweet 16 against a scorching hot shooting performance from Miami.

Believe it or not, that was the healthiest of Houston’s last three March runs before this season. But now, it’s been full go from day one, and the Cougars are back in the Final Four, ready to face Duke on Saturday night just a few hours from home and from where fate wouldn’t be their friend two years back.

In last year’s Sweet 16, facing the same Duke team, Shead—the All-American point guard who head coach Kelvin Sampson consistently called the player who impacts winning more than anybody else in the sport—went down hurt. The energy and life were sucked out of the Cougars, and they fell in a 54-51 slugfest.

But he wasn’t the only one that went down.

“Everybody talked about the Jamal Shead injury,” Sampson said. “But the injury that hurt us more than any other was JoJo Tugler not playing.”

A freshman last season, Tugler was extremely valuable on both ends, and as a healthy sophomore, has become one of the best defenders in the sport. He has only scored in double figures twice since January, but Houston cannot be Houston without him. He has the seventh highest block-rate in the country at 12.5, along with holding opponents to just 50.8 percent at the rim when he’s on the floor, five percent lower than without him.

His go-go-gadget arms help him play significantly taller than his 6-foot-8 frame, and have launched him onto NBA Draft boards. But for now, he’s just the consumate Houston player.

Another classic Cougar who didn’t get to play in last year’s Sweet 16, Terrance Arceneaux, has played a key part in this tournament run. He suffered a season-ending injury in December of 2023, and when he returned this season, he picked up right where he left off, helping Houston win.

Helping Houston win is what these players have been groomed to do. It’s what they were recruited for, it’s all they know. Playing that unique system of basketball, emphasizing ball screen blitzes and offensive rebounding to make the other team uncomfortable, the Cougars have been the most consistent program in the sport over the last five years.

But it’s also the charm of the Cougar program retaining and developing their guys.

“When J’Wan Roberts came to us, he was 17,” Sampson said. “Jamal Shead was 17. Ja’Vier Francis was 17. JoJo Tugler was 17. All our guys come in as freshmen and they stay.”

And their guys have stuck with them, pushing through to the Final Four. The Elite 8 win was exactly what Houston does, grinding it out and picking up a 69-50 win over Tennessee. It’s going to be much harder to do that against Duke, a team that will beat you at whatever game you want to play.

But if there’s any team that can dictate the game against the Blue Devils, it’s the Cougars.