It was a week packed with upsets in the wild world of college basketball. Minnesota over Michigan, Temple over Memphis, Creighton over UConn, Vanderbilt over Tennessee, Xavier over Marquette, West Virginia over Iowa State, Santa Clara over Gonzaga and several more. Nineteen of the nation’s top 25 teams went down, but the Houston Cougars were not one of them.
Kelvin Sampson’s squad was at risk of joining the upset party. It trailed 38-30 to UCF at halftime before storming back to secure a thrilling 69-68 victory. Sixth-year forward J’Wan Roberts hit the go-ahead layup with one second remaining. The Cougars are now 14-3 (6-0 in the Big 12) and have won 10 games in a row. Their patented suffocating defense has been the best in the country, holding opponents to just 55 points per game. Their offense has improved since last year, when they finished 32-5 and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are ranked third in the NET.
Sampson undoubtedly has another national title contender on his hands, and yet it seems as though his team continues to go overlooked. Why? Houston is 2-3 in Quad 1 games thus far. That stat often gets thrown around with little context, so here you go: Those three losses came by a combined 13 points. One of them was to now-No. 1 Auburn during opening week. Another was to No. 4 Alabama in overtime at the Players Era Festival.
It has been almost two months since the Cougars last tasted defeat and they are confident that their early-season issues have been fixed. “Mainly we just got back to our identity,” junior guard Emanuel Sharp tells Hoops HQ. “I think we didn’t really have any leadership. The leadership has been better on all the vets’ parts. We weren’t as connected. Whenever we would go through adversity, we would separate.”
Those problems are understandable considering the Cougars lost their point guard and primary leader, Jamal Shead, to the NBA. Houston’s win over UCF on Saturday was clear evidence of its growth. Adversity hit in a major way in a hostile road environment. Sharp, who is averaging 13.9 points per game and shooting 45.9 percent from three (ninth in Division I), was scoreless at the break. Senior guard L.J. Cryer, the team’s top offensive weapon, struggled to get into a rhythm as well. Down by as many as 12, the Cougars stuck together and found a way to win, pounding the offensive glass and holding the Knights to just 30 points in the second half.
Milos Uzan, Shead’s replacement, was crucial to the comeback. The junior transfer from Oklahoma has played much better of late, as he has become more comfortable in Sampson’s system. “That’s not an easy role to step into, year one,” says Sharp. “But us bringing him along and getting on him and bringing the best out of him, along with Coach, has really helped this team. Because when he’s playing better, we’re playing better.”
No, Houston hasn’t faced the dreaded SEC gauntlet, but its schedule hasn’t been a complete breeze, either. UCF has three Quad 1 wins and could very well make the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars destroyed BYU, 86-55, and easily beat West Virginia, which upset No. 2 Iowa State over the weekend.
The spotlight has evaded this team for far too long. It is time we start recognizing Houston for what it is: a true threat to claim the program’s first-ever NCAA championship.
Here’s a crazy stat for you: the Alabama Crimson Tide missed 21 threes and still scored 102 points in their win over Kentucky on Saturday. Roughly a quarter of the teams in Division I don’t even attempt 21 threes per game. The Tide have connected on only 32.4 percent of their shots from behind the arc this season, yet they have the highest scoring offense in the country. Nate Oats’ team doesn’t need to shoot the lights out to win. It just has to take care of the basketball and play with the same level of effort and aggression that it did against the Wildcats.

The Tide shot poorly in their 74-64 loss to Ole Miss earlier in the week, but that’s not why they lost. Nor was it their defense, which held the Rebels to 38.6 percent shooting from the field. Alabama lost because it turned the ball over an appalling 21 times and did not control the paint the way it normally does. Offensive rebounding was a huge point of emphasis in the offseason, and for the most part, the Tide have excelled in that area. They got away from that against Ole Miss, finishing with just four offensive boards. Oats called it “the most disappointing [part] of the night” in his postgame presser.
On Saturday, Alabama had spurts of red-hot shooting, but it toppled Kentucky because it turned the ball over only 10 times (three below its average), attacked the rim with force (34 free throw attempts) and corralled 15 offensive rebounds. We tend to think of the Tide as perimeter-oriented — content to live and die by the three. That’s not who they really are. This is a tough, physical, imposing team that can make it to another Final Four regardless of if those threes start falling at a higher clip. And if they do, well, good luck to everybody else.
A quick note on everyone’s favorite subject: replay reviews. In the Florida-Missouri game on Tuesday, which was stopped several times down the stretch so the referees could go to the monitor, one crucial play was not reviewed. Missouri guard Caleb Grill drilled a clutch three-pointer with 2:18 left to give his team a 78-71 lead — only it wasn’t a three-pointer. Replays clearly showed that Grill’s toe was on the line, yet the game went on and it never got looked at. The final score: Missouri 83, Florida 82.
I’m not saying that the result would’ve been different; Missouri played great and Florida hit a meaningless three at the buzzer to make it a one-point loss. I just can’t believe that such a mistake could happen in today’s game, when it feels as though plays are constantly being reviewed. It was tough to catch in the moment, so shouldn’t the officials have gone straight to the monitor? And how did no one bring it to their attention when they were spending all that time at the scorer’s table?
Generally, I’m okay with replay reviews (the idea, not the execution). But either everything up for debate in the final few minutes needs to be looked at or nothing should be. Confirm all the calls are right or let’s keep it moving.
Game of the Week: UMass 120, Fordham 118 (3 OT)
Three overtimes, 79 personal fouls, 122 free throw attempts, 119 rebounds. This was the highest scoring game in the 100-year history of the Rose Hill Gymnasium in the Bronx. An NCAA record nine players fouled out. UMass senior guard Rahsool Diggins dropped a program-record 46 points and hit the game-winning layup with 10 seconds remaining in triple OT. Tip-off was at 7:00 p.m. and the final buzzer didn’t sound until around 10:45 p.m.
Upset of the Week: Santa Clara 103, No. 16 Gonzaga 99
Santa Clara entered this game as a 14.5-point underdog, having not won in Spokane in nearly 18 years. The Broncos knocked down 18 three-pointers, the second most in school history, to pull off the shocking upset. It was the program’s first true road victory over a top 25 team since 1993. Senior guard Tyeree Bryan led the way with a career-high 35 points on 13 of 21 shooting from the field. Gonzaga has lost back-to-back conference games for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
Team of the Week: Michigan State
The Spartans remained undefeated in the Big Ten with impressive victories over Penn State and No. 19 Illinois. Tom Izzo’s team, which has won 11 straight, is incredibly well balanced, with seven players averaging at least 7.5 points per game. Much has been made about the lack of outside shooting on this roster, but if Michigan State continues to defend at a high level, score in transition and get to the free throw line, it has a great chance to win the conference.
Player of the Week: J’Wan Roberts
The aforementioned Roberts put the Cougars on his back this week, averaging 21.5 points (on 66.7 percent shooting) and six rebounds to lead his team to two more Big 12 wins. Roberts, a 6-foot-8 versatile forward, scored 17 points in the second half alone in Houston’s 69-68 victory over UCF, including the game-winning bucket.
Highlight of the Week: Dawson Garcia
The Gophers got their first Big Ten win of the season in dramatic fashion on Thursday night. Tied with No. 20 Michigan, 81-81, as time wound down in overtime, Minnesota senior forward Dawson Garcia caught a pass just over half-court, set his feet on the “M” logo and launched a 35-footer at the buzzer… Onions! Extra points for the court storm as well.
Lowlight of the Week: Indiana
It has been a rollercoaster of a season for the Hoosiers, to say the least. Things reached a new low on Tuesday when they got destroyed by Illinois, 94-69, on their home court. It was the most points a visiting team has ever scored in Assembly Hall. Chants of “Fire Woodson!” rained down from the student section during the first half and many fans left at the break. Indiana did bounce back with a 77-76 overtime win over Ohio State on Friday.
NBA Draft Watch
- After a sensational start to the season, BYU freshman Egor Demin has gone ice cold. The 6-foot-9 guard has shot below 38 percent from the field in seven consecutive games, five of which the Cougars have lost. Since November 28, Demin has hit five of his 41 attempts from behind the arc.
- Stanford senior Maxime Raynaud has been steadily climbing draft boards all season. The 7-foot-2 big man helped the Cardinal take down North Carolina on Saturday, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Raynaud currently leads the ACC in scoring and rebounding.
- A few weeks ago, an NBA scout told me to keep an eye on Oregon State junior forward Michael Rataj as a potential sleeper for the upcoming draft. “He has very good feel at both ends of the court,” the scout said. “He can make an open three. He’s a really quick decision maker. On the perimeter, he catches, he jabs, he goes. On the defensive end, he knows where everybody should be.” Rataj scored a career-high 29 points on 9 of 15 shooting in the Beavers’ upset win over Gonzaga on Thursday, also adding seven rebounds, a block and a steal.
Five Games to Watch This Week
Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2: Texas A&M at Ole Miss
Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET on FS1: Maryland at Illinois
Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET on FOX: Michigan at Purdue
Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN: Houston at Kansas
Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN: Tennessee at Auburn
Additional Notes
- If coaches want to cultivate a stronger fan base, they should follow Pat Kelsey’s lead. On Saturday, the first-year Louisville head coach called a longtime Cardinals supporter to personally thank him for his loyalty. When the fan didn’t pick up, Kelsey sent this text message. Awesome stuff.
- In its two wins over Kansas State and Arizona this week, Texas Tech held both teams scoreless in the last five minutes of game time. The Red Raiders are ranked in the top 40 in both offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom.
- DePaul won its first Big East contest since January 18, 2023, taking down Georgetown, 73-68, at Capital One Arena. The Demons had lost 39 straight conference games heading into the weekend.
- Wake Forest has won five games in a row, as senior guard Hunter Sallis has really hit his stride. Sallis has averaged 23.8 points on 55.6 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from three over that stretch.
- Temple senior guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. helped the Owls upset Memphis on Thursday, then notched a season-high 32 points on 12 of 16 shooting in a win over Tulane on Sunday. Mashburn ranks sixth in the nation in scoring.
- Stanford beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 72-71, on a game-winning jumper by senior guard Jaylen Blakes, a transfer from… Duke. Blakes is averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 assists for the Cardinal.