Story by
Houston stays hot in March Madness by dominating Tennessee to reach men's Final Four
- Story by
- Houston stays hot in March Madness by dominating Tennessee to reach men's Final Four
Houston is headed home to Texas, but it's to San Antonio for the NCAA men's tournament Final Four.
The Cougars, who lead the nation with the fewest points allowed, had another exceptional defensive performance to defeat Tennessee 69-50 in the Midwest Region championship game and earn its first Final Four trip in four years.
Advertisement
Houston got contributions from everyone that got onto the court. Eight players scored, led by 17 points from Big 12 player of the year L.J. Cryer. The guard shook off a shaky performance in the Sweet 16 with 10 first half points. Emanuel Sharp had 16 points, including a couple of important 3-pointers in the second half as Tennessee tried to trim its deficit below double digits late in the second half.
It's the third trip to the Final Four for Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. He led Oklahoma to the national semifinals in 2002 and took the Cougars in 2021.
"It's all about journey to me," Sampson said. "We always talk about prepare for the moment when nobody's around for the moments when everybody is. And now everybody knows about Houston basketball."
Houston guard L.J. Cryer (4) celebrates a play against Tennessee during the Midwest Regional final of the 2025 NCAA men's tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Points were expected to be at a premium given how both teams were elite defensively. Tennessee is eighth in points allowed and fifth in field-goal percentage defense. But things got out of hand very quickly with Houston playing efficiently on offense, while Tennessee was struggling to score.
Advertisement
The Cougars started the game on a 9-2 run. The Cougars were blocking shots near the bucket and not giving up easy looks around the perimeter. The Volunteers missed their first 14 3-point attempts in the first half and shot just 6-for-28 (21%) from the field in the first half.
Houston led by as much as 22 points in the first half and went into halftime with a 34-15 lead. The 15 points was the lowest ever scored in the first half of a NCAA men's tournament game for a team seeded No. 1 or No. 2.
Tennessee's offense had much more purpose to start the second half. The buckets started to go down and it got to the foul line as the pro-Volunteer crowd started to make some noise to get the team back in the game. Jordan Gainey scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. Chaz Lanier also had 17.
However, Houston's offense never shuttered and maintained a comfortable distance from the Volunteers. The lead never got lower than 10 points in the second half.
Advertisement
Tennessee's Final Four drought remains intact as the Volunteers are denied in the Elite Eight for the fourth time and for the second consecutive season.
The Cougars finally get to the Final Four as a No. 1 seed. The first appearance in the national semifinals since 2021 is redemption for Sampson's team after the past two seasons as a top seed ended in the Sweet 16.
Sampson said maturity of the team's leaders was the key to Houston's success.
"They care more about winning than they do statistics," Sampson said. "They allow me to coach them the way I want to coach them. I think that's important. We recruit these young men because of their high character and we tell them it's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard. But they have to choose hard, and they do. And that's why I love them."
Advertisement
Houston advancing means at least three No. 1 seeds will be in the Final Four, the first time since 2015. Awaiting the Cougars in the Final Four will be No. 1 seed Duke. Auburn has the chance to make it an all No. 1 seed Final Four, which would be the first since 2008.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Houston furthers March Madness run to Final Four with Tennessee win
