Big 12 champion Houston is a giant among giants

Today, I am having trouble coming up with something to write.

I want to talk about what winning the Big 12 title in our first year means to our fans. I want to talk about what this title means for this basketball program. I want to talk about how it feels to finally answer that question we have all heard over the years, “What would they do in a real conference?”

There will be a time to talk about all those things, but that will have to come later because the only thing to discuss is this incredible team and this incredible moment.

the daily #219 | 3/10/2024 | Archives
 

This past year has been a whirlwind of emotion. From the disappointment of falling short of the dream Final Four in Houston to saying goodbye to two first-round draft picks and another starter to the transfer portal. We also watched our beloved head coach deal with the loss of his sister and the heartbreak of losing one of his basketball sons, Reggie Chaney.

This year was supposed to be different for most people outside the program. UH would no longer benefit from the cakewalk through a supposed inferior league. Some thought UH was primed to be exposed under the bright lights and immense pressure of the Big 12.

I have to admit, I even expected a much tougher road and would not have been surprised if we lost up to seven games in Big 12 play. To my surprise, the Big 12 media thought differently, and UH was picked to finish 2nd in their preseason poll.

2023-24 Big 12 Preseason Poll

But nothing changed in the basketball lab at the corner of Cullen and Holman. It was business as usual—heads down, focused on player development, and building chemistry with new guys. The only difference between this year and any other is that more people are paying attention.

The non-conference went as expected: UH won the Charleston Classic, beating Towson, Utah, and Dayton. They won their matchup with Xavier in the Big East-Big12 Battle and beat Texas A&M in the Halal Guys Showcase. A few more cupcakes, and it was on to Big 12 play, where it was time to get real.

UH opened Big 12 play with a blowout win against West Virginia and was set for its first Big 12 road test at Iowa State. Besides going to Phog Allen, there was no tougher place to start the road campaign than Hilton Coliseum. UH learned that Hilton Magic is real, losing late to a Cyclone team that eventually had a chance to split the conference title on the final day. The next game was also on the road, this time at TCU. This new and improved TCU is a quality team, and UH lost another late-game thriller and got to witness a good old fashioned court storming.

“Welcome to the Big 12,” they all said. “Fraud watch,” if you will. It sure wasn’t a warm welcome, but I get it. This is the big time, and this is the #1 basketball conference in the country. It was also a blessing in disguise.

It would have been easy to chalk up the late-game loss at Iowa State as Hilton Magic claimed another victim. But Schollmaier Arena at TCU isn’t Hilton. UH was taught a lesson that it takes more to win on the road in this conference. Everyone can lose on the road, as Kansas proved the first week when they lost at UCF.

Sitting at 1-2 in the conference, some teams might get rattled. Some teams might let two losses turn into four, shake their confidence, and bury their season. But not Kelvin’s Cougars.

They went back to work and dialed it up another level, blowing out Texas Tech and UCF and grinding out their first Big 12 road win against a new and improved BYU.

The next 3 games were ones GoCoogs.com circled as the meat grinder of the season. Kansas State and UT were coming off Elite 8 appearances and blue-blood powerhouse Kansas in a 7-day span.

UH demolished Kansas State, then went to Austin and took UT’s best shot before walking away with an overtime win.

Kansas was next, and it got ugly early. Kansas put on a show at Phog Allen and had one of their best offensive nights in the Bill Self era. Of course, “Welcome to the Big 12” was back. But UH finished 6-3 in the first half of conference play.

Little did anyone know that blowout was doing the Coogs a favor because it was one of those nights where nothing you could have done would have changed the outcome. There was no chance to linger on that loss. Circle March 9th for the rematch in Houston and move on.

The Cougars didn’t let it affect them and rolled off a perfect 9-0 in the second half of the season. After some bad Big 12 officiating garnered headlines, Kelvin Sampson was tossed from the Oklahoma State win and Mylik Wilson had his coming-out party in a win at Cincinnati.

The winning continued with a 21-point pasting of Texas in what might be the last time UH plays them in the regular season. That’s two Ls for the Horns; turn them upside down, and you can taste Rodney Terry’s tears.

Houston avenged the loss to Iowa State in a game where the crowd played a major role. UH bussed to Baylor and won an overtime war that vaulted them to #1 in the country. They came home and had to win ugly over a pesky Cincinnati team before the Sampson homecoming in Norman and a big money last-second victory at OU. Houston finished the road schedule 6-3 in the league, clinching a share of the Big 12 title at UCF.

Which brings us to yesterday, March 9th. UH needed a home win against Kansas or an Iowa State loss to take sole possession of the Big 12 Championship.

Friday, while I was working on adding video from our last game against Kansas to Jayme Hollingsworth’s great scouting report of the game I texted him this:

As the fictional UH legend Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) said in Tin Cup, “When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment or the moment defines you.”

Jamal Shead grabbed that moment on the first defensive possession of the game. He was a man on a mission.

Two possessions later, Shead hit a 3 from the corner to take a 5-2 lead. Then Ja’Vier Francis picked off a pass and headed down the floor for a dunk that brought the house down. It was 9-2 at the first media timeout when the news that Iowa State lost boomed over the PA at Fertitta. The University of Houston had won the Big 12 title outright.

The game was over but Kansas didn’t know it yet. It didn’t take long, though: UH blew their doors off, jumping out to a 34-9 lead with 5:34 before going to the half with a 19-point lead. It wouldn’t get any better: KU cut the lead to 18 but that lasted only 25 seconds before an Emanuel Sharp three. The Cougars cruised to a 30-point victory, winning the league by two games.

Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Kansas' loss to Houston was the Jayhawks' first 30-point Big 12 loss since 2000. It was the first time Kansas scored fewer than 50 points against a Big 12 opponent and the first time they've done so vs. a conference opponent since Feb. 9, 1982 vs. Missouri.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 9, 2024

This was a historic victory on many levels. But more than that, this year WAS different. This is the year that The University of Houston answered every question, accepted and overcame every challenge, and staked its claim as a giant among giants.