Houston and Cincinnati are the Big 12 version of the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals. You go to be entertained, you go for the athletic feats and some silliness, but the winner is never in doubt.
Going back to the Missouri Valley Conference, as independents, in C-USA, and the first years in the American, this rivalry has always been the Trotters and the Generals. But now, it’s in reverse. The Cougars have won 13 straight games against Cincinnati. Think about that.
On the day Kelvin Sampson was hired, Cincinnati was 24-1 all-time against Houston. The Bearcats had the same number of 30+ point wins (4) as close wins (4) in the series. They were 12-0 at home against UH, a record that would eventually grow to 16-0.
The best way for me to illustrate the Houston-Cincinnati series is with an anecdote from my own life: The series with Cincinnati started the year my mom was born (1957), and Houston won its first game in the Queen City the day after I turned 40 (2019).
The following year, the Coogs lost at Cincinnati 64-62, the infamous game when DeJon Jarreau bit Mamoudou Diarra. The day was February 1, 2020. UH has not lost to Cincinnati since.
After Saturday’s game, Kelvin was talking about Cincinnati’s history when he veered, as he likes to do, to drop a truth.
“This program,” Kelvin Sampson began, as he nonchalantly dug into his pocket to check his phone, “has been one of the bell cow programs.” Correct. Between C-USA, the Big East, and the American, the Bearcats won 11 conference titles between 1997 (the season UH entered C-USA) and Sampson’s hiring. But Kelvin’s next three words were biting, and just as accurate.
“But things change.”
Yes. Yes, they do.
When the four Pac-12 schools entered the Big 12 in the summer of 2024, Cincinnati had won 99 games all-time against the other 15 conference teams, and 33 of those were against UH. The Bearcats had played just 30 total games against Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and Utah combined. That’s half the conference.
The series that was once 27-1 is now 33-18. Galen Robinson started on the team that beat Cincinnati on senior day in 2016, UH’s second-ever win over the Bearcats. The Godfather ended his career with four wins over Cincinnati.
J’Wan Roberts left with 12 wins over Cincinnati. Ja’Vier Francis went 9-0 against them. Ramon Walker and Emanuel Sharp are 10-0. Houston has been ranked in the AP top ten in 10 of the last 12 games against the Bearcats (and ranked in all 12). Cincinnati has not been ranked once in that stretch.
Things do have a way of changing.
Kelvin Sampson on Talkin’
Tonight at 8, Kelvin Sampson joins Talkin’ Bout Them Cougars:
