Kelvin Sampson’s Warning to College Basketball After Houston’s Final Four Win Over Duke

 The No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars entered Saturday’s Final Four matchup against the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils as 4.5-point underdogs.

And while most college basketball analysts were picking Duke and National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg to cruise to the national title game, Houston and head coach Kelvin Sampson had other plans.

Despite trailing by as much as nine points in the second half, Houston went on an 11-1 run in the final minutes to pull off a 70-67 comeback win to end Duke’s season and advance to the third national championship game in school history.

Though Flagg had a big game—he scored a game-high 27 points and added even rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals—Houston was able to pressure him in crunch time, and Flagg ended up getting called for a crucial foul in the waning seconds that sent the Cougars to the foul line for what turned out to be the game-winning baskets.

Speaking to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson after the win, Sampson sent a message to the rest of the college basketball world after the Cougars’ come-from-behind upset.

“Don’t sleep on Houston,” Sampson said. “Don’t sleep on Houston. We weren’t 34-4 and playing in the toy poodle league. We were 19-1 in the Big 12. Playing in the Big 12 helped us. Shout out to my Big 12 brethren.”

While he may have been speaking in generalities, Sampson’s message likely hit Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden right on the nose.

Florida, which pulled off its own 79-73 comeback win against No. 1 Auburn just hours earlier, will play Houston in the national title game on Monday.

Houston’s 35 wins are the most in school history, and in 11 seasons under Sampson, the Cougars have a 299-83 record with seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including one national title appearance, two Final Four appearances, and three Elite Eight appearances.