Tuesday night on CATS!, our postgame podcast, a couple of different conversations came up that I can’t get out of my head. One was, “Are Houston fans spoiled?” Immediately, I answered yes. The current era results are so far beyond what UH invests in basketball and what fans should reasonably hope for. Winning at a blue-blood level is now expected.
The second conversation, which we barely touched on, is that this is the golden era of Houston Basketball. I don’t think there is any question about that. The Elvin Hayes/Don Chaney era went to back-to-back Final Fours, Phi Slama Jama went to three-straight Final Fours, but what this program has achieved since 2019 is unmatched in school history.
The Houston Cougars are currently No. 4 in the NCAA NET with the fourth-best record against Quad One teams (7-2). UH is 3rd in the AP and Coaches polls, and most bracketology sites have UH battling for the fourth No. 1 seed.
As of today, Houston is 238-38 since the start of the 2018-19 season, a full 200 games above .500. That’s mind-blowing, but that’s not all. Since the 2018-19 season, Houston has:
– Won six regular-season conference titles and is primed to win a seventh. Before the American title in 2019, UH had won seven regular-season titles in its history (UH was an independent from 1961 to 1975). Since Kelvin Sampson was born in 1955 until he became UH’s coach, the Coogs had won four regular-season conference titles and just one since he became a Division I head coach in 1987.
– Made the Sweet 16 six years in a row. UH won a game (or more) in four-straight NCAA Tournaments from 1965-1968 and in 1970 and 1971. Phi Slama Jama won games three years in a row.
– Won 18 NCAA Tournament games, the most in the country. Adding in the first-round win in 2018, UH has 19 NCAA Tournament wins in the last seven years. Houston had 26 NCAA Tournament wins in its history before 2018.
– Played 27-straight games as a one-seed in postseason tournaments (American, Big 12, NCAA).
– Played 15-straight games as a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. UH had been a one-seed once in school history before the current run (traditional tournament seeding began in 1979).
– Gone 44-5 in Big 12 play. Iowa State and Texas Tech are closest to the Cougars, both at 34-15.
– Won 89.8% of their Big 12 games in three seasons. Arizona is closest to UH in winning percentage. The Wildcats have won 77.4% of their games in in two seasons. In three seasons, Iowa State and Tech are closest at 69.4%.
– Finished in the top-5 of the NCAA NET for five-straight years (four-straight years at No. 1 or 2).
– Finished in the top-5 of the KenPom rankings five-straight years (four-straight years at No. 2).
Wednesday night, Kelvin Sampson was named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. What he’s been able to produce at Houston is Hall of Fame worthy in itself. Sampson took Houston from an empty, dilapidated arena to the top of the college basketball world. He has built Houston’s golden era.
