The Houston Cougars’ strong defense helped stop Tennessee volunteers in Sunday’s elite eight games.
The most stinging defense in the United States lasted VOL to 15 first-half scores, the fewest of eight elite games since 1979. The 69-50 victory put Houston into the last four games for the first time since 2021.
Throughout the history of the program, the Cougars have now entered the last four times. The victory also extended the country's longest positive winning streak to 17 games.
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March 30, 2025; Indianapolis, USA; Houston Cougars exhibited after defeating Tennessee volunteers in Sunday's Midwest Regional Final. (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn image)
Houston's last two runs in the NCAA men's championship ended sweetly with No. 16, but this time coach Kelvin Sampson's team is still dancing and still has a chance to win the program's first national title.
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The Cougars will face Duke in San Antonio on Saturday, just a 3 1/2 hour drive from the campus. The Cougars have entered the national championship twice, losing to North Carolina State in 1983 and losing to Georgetown in 1984 during the Phi Slama Jama era.
Houston guard Emanuel Sharp scored four 3-pointers and Joseph Tugler got assists on Friday's decisive rim against Purdue, with nine rebounds.
Houston's J'Wan Roberts (13) beat Tennessee in the final minutes of Sunday's elite eight-round match of the NCAA College Basketball Championship in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey scored 17 points for the second-seed volunteers, who did not have the first four finals of the program. Coach Rick Barnes's team was also eliminated in last year's regional finals.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson has the Midwest Regional Championship Trophy after defeating Tennessee in an elite eight-round match in NCAA college basketball game on Sunday. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
When Walls had a chance to cut the deficit to unit numbers in the second half, the U.S.'s top three-point shooting team extended the three-pointers from the arc three-pointers, extending the profit margin to 17.
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Even in the second half, Tennessee struggled. The defense that surpassed Kentucky so thoroughly in the last round could not get enough parking, and while the offense improved, it wasn't good enough.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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