By: George Ahearn

The Houston Cougars have been knocking on the door of a national title appearance the last two years, and the knocks have only been getting louder.
Two years ago, the Cougars traveled all the way to the Final Four, where they were defeated by eventual national champion Baylor.

This squad was led by eventual NBA talents Quentin Grimes and Dejon Jarreau, but two integral pieces of this team were young studs Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead. The following season, the Cougars traveled to New Orleans to compete in the Final Four, where they eventually fell to No. 2 seed Villanova. Three integral pieces of this squad: Marcus Sasser, Jamal Shead and Tramon Mark.

Unfortunately for this Cougars team, Sasser, who was averaging 17.7 points per game, was ruled out for the season in late December with a season-ending toe injury. On top of this injury, Walker was sidelined for the rest of the 2021-22 season due to shoulder surgery in late December as well. Despite these injuries to key players, head coach Kelvin Sampson was still able to lead his team all the way to the Final Four.

All of these successful tournament teams were supported and led by outstanding upperclassmen, yet all three of these young guns – Mark, Sasser and Shead, have been able to experience outstanding tournament success – an invaluable trait in the chaos that is March Madness.

This season, the combination of Sasser, Shead, and Mark – coupled with outstanding play from freshman Jarace Walker and junior J’Wan Roberts – has the Cougars sitting at No. 2 in this week’s AP Poll with a 23-2 season record. Their only losses on the season came to newly-ranked No. 1 Alabama and a tough loss to conference foe Temple by a score of 56-55.

This year, Houston will look to finally kick down the door and win a national title, and they have as good of a chance as anyone. They currently sit as the favorites to win it all at +700 – being trailed by Alabama, Arizona and Kansas, respectively. Oftentimes, people discount the Cougars due to their weak conference schedule. While yes – the AAC is not on par with other top conferences – the Cougars would unquestionably thrive in any conference in the nation, and their recent tournament success demonstrates this belief.

Thankfully for the Cougars, they will join the B12 following this season and can silence their critics while picking up more valuable in-conference experience before entering the tournament.

Getting over the hump in college basketball is extremely difficult – maybe more difficult than any other sport – as the nature of a 68-team, single elimination tournament makes it nearly impossible for the best team to win it all. So, Houston putting together back-to-back deep runs – despite facing major injuries – is quite telling.

What it tells us is that whatever Kelvin Sampson has been building in Houston has the potential to win the whole thing, and this might his best opportunity ever. Sampson may be the best coach in the nation to never win a national title, as he’s been to the tournament 18 times and reached two Final Fours.

He has the pedigree and the experience to understand what it takes to win in March.

The Cougars are fully healthy and will almost certainly earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament – possibly even the No. 1 overall seed – placing them in a favorable region. Their tenacity on defense is palpable, as they are the best defensive team in the nation – only allowing 55 points per game to opponents.

They have every ingredient a title team needs: a top-tier head coach, talented veterans, exciting freshman, a forceful defense, and a hunger that no other team in nation can match.

Houston is one of my final four teams, and I genuinely hope Kelvin Sampson can capture that elusive national title to add to his resume – cementing the 67-year old’s legacy.