WICHITA, Kan. — Kelvin Sampson used to have a boss back in his early days of coaching who would look for innovative plays in a magazine and install them immediately, convinced they could work for his team. “It ain’t the plays, hoss,” Sampson used to tell him.
“You need to execute better.” Sampson prefers the simple, and there are few better coaches in college basketball at finding advantages for his players and running simple sets on a loop until you prove you can stop them. Advertisement Blessed with his full arsenal of talent for the first time since 2021 in the NCAA Tournament, Sampson might have his best chance yet to win a national title.
Top-seeded Houston, long known for its defense, put together an offensive clinic in an 81-76 win over Gonzaga on Saturday on the way to the Sweet 16. In the first half, Sampson ran leading scorer LJ Cryer off screens and let him do his thing as an elite shot maker — he scored 16 of his (career-high matching) 30 points in the first half. LJ Cryer buries a pair of quick threes 🏹 #MarchMadness @UHCougarMBK pic.
twitter.com/vWDyELmXjn — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025 Gonzaga gave Houston’s guards some trouble in the first half with its ball screen hedges. The Cougars weren’t really gaining an advantage and weren’t hitting the roll.
In the second half, Sampson went to a steady diet of ball screens set by power forward J’Wan Roberts. The Houston guards continually hit Roberts on the short roll, .
