HOUSTON (AP) — When veteran coach Kelvin Sampson took over at Houston in 2014, the Cougars had made the NCAA Tournament just once since 1992.
“There was no success. There was no hope. There was no aspirations,” Sampson said Tuesday, recalling the culture he inherited. “No, there was a lot of just empty words.”
Now in his eighth season, Sampson has transformed the program into a tournament mainstay as the fifth-seeded Cougars prepare to open March Madness on Friday against UAB.
Houston is making its fourth straight NCAA appearance, the school's longest streak since the Phi Slama Jama teams led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler also went four years in a row from 1981-84.