Houston’s defense is at its suffocating best in bouncing Syracuse to advance to Elite Eight
“I think the lower the program was, the better for me,” Sampson said earlier this week. “And we started from the ground and built it up.”
This project that began with Sampson’s hiring in 2014 turned into a years-long effort defined by incremental improvement. On Saturday night in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Sampson guided the second-seeded Cougars to a height the program hasn’t reached in decades. Houston and its lockdown defense bounced No. 11 Syracuse from the tournament with a commanding 62-46 win in the Sweet 16, sending the Cougars to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1984.
As for what this win means for Houston men’s basketball? “It’s hard for me to answer that right now,” Sampson said. “I feel exhausted.”
When asked whether he could enjoy this moment, Sampson said: “My mother always told me I was no good at that. She was smarter than me. I don’t know how to do that. Never been much for vacations. Just always thought we needed to outwork everybody, just outwork people.”
And that led him here. When Sampson took over the Houston program, the Cougars had gone three decades with just four NCAA tournament appearances. They lost in the first round each time. Sampson’s 2019 team reached the Sweet 16, and this group took that step forward with a decisive performance at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Cougars’ defense, one of the best in the nation, ensured nothing came easily for the Orange. Syracuse shot just 28 percent from the field and 5 for 23 (21.7 percent) from three-point range. Buddy Boeheim, the junior Syracuse guard who had averaged 28.3 points in his team’s past four postseason games, scored just 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting. Houston’s DeJon Jarreau, who dealt with a hip injury this week, guarded Boeheim most of the night and led his team’s staggering defensive effort.
“We have a great defensive team,” Jarreau said. “We trust in ourselves. We trust in the system that our coaches have built here.”
The Cougars had to weather a couple Syracuse pushes to get to the finish line. The Orange cut Houston’s lead to four points with 12:39 to go, but redshirt senior forward Justin Gorham responded with a layup and junior guard Quentin Grimes splashed a three-pointer to restore their team’s comfortable lead. The Cougars later had to navigate Syracuse’s press before securing a matchup with No. 12 seed Oregon State on Monday.
Grimes finished with 14 points in a performance that included a 4-for-12 mark from three-point range, but he drilled critical shots down the stretch and had a key steal with 4:15 to go. That takeaway led to a basket from Gorham, who was fouled on the shot and completed the three-point play to power the Cougars ahead by double digits. From there, Houston’s lead never wavered and the celebration in the stands could officially begin. Gorham, who played high school ball at Calvert Hall in Baltimore, combined with Grimes to fuel the team offensively by scoring 13 points, and sophomore guard Marcus Sasser added 12 points with a pair of three-pointers. But the collective highlight for Houston was its defense, which held Syracuse to a season-low scoring output.
“Our defense was solid all night,” Sampson said. “Holding that team to 46 points is not easy. So hats off to my kids. I’m really proud of them.”
The Cougars controlled the game early, but they let that lead briefly slip away. Syracuse tied the score when Boeheim was fouled on a three-point shot and he made all three free throws late in the first half. But the Orange could never secure the lead. Houston responded with a 10-0 run to close the half, while Syracuse’s offense struggled. The Orange didn’t make a basket during the final 7:08 of the half — all five of their points during that stretch came from the foul line — and Houston held Syracuse scoreless for nearly five minutes before the break.
Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense has long been praised for how it flusters opponents, particularly at this time of year when opponents unfamiliar with the Orange have little time to prepare. But when Syracuse won its first two games of this year’s tournament to advance to the Sweet 16, the Orange shot better than 50 percent from the field in each outing. Houston entered this matchup with the second-best scoring defense across Division I, giving up 57.9 points per game, and Syracuse fell victim to a stifling effort.
Houston has won its last 10 games, including a run to the American Athletic Conference tournament title earlier this month. The team’s three NCAA tournament wins have only come against opponents with double-digit seeds. But Saturday’s victory is a defining one that shows the program’s growth. Before the players left the court, they acknowledged their exuberant fans, soaking in a summit the school had never reached during their lifetimes and knowing this win gives them a chance to earn more.
“We know the excitement we’re bringing to the city of Houston and to the university,” Jarreau said. “We’re very happy for that. But we have a mission to accomplish. And we’re just trying to do our best to try to go as far as we can. We know we’re making history.”
