The Houston Cougars’ formidable defense helped keep the Tennessee Volunteers in check during Sunday’s Elite Eight game.
The nation’s stingiest defense held the Vols to 15 first-half points, the fewest in an Elite Eight game since 1979. The 69-50 victory secured Houston’s first trip to the Final Four since 2021.
The Cougars have now advanced to the Final Four seven times throughout the program’s history. The victory also extended the country’s longest active winning streak to 17 games.
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Houston’s past two runs in the NCAA men’s tournament ended in the Sweet 16, but this time coach Kelvin Sampson’s team is still dancing and still has a chance at winning the program’s first national title.
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The Cougars will face Duke on Saturday in San Antonio, just a 3 1/2-hour drive from campus. The Cougars have reached the national title game twice, losing in 1983 to North Carolina State and in 1984 to Georgetown in the Phi Slama Jama era.
Houston guard Emanuel Sharp made four 3-pointers and Joseph Tugler, who made the assist on Friday’s decisive basket against Purdue, had nine rebounds.
Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey scored 17 points apiece for the second-seeded Volunteers, who again fell short of the program’s first Final Four appearance. Coach Rick Barnes’ team was also eliminated in a regional final last year.
When the Vols had a chance to cut the deficit to single digits in the second half, the nation’s top 3-point shooting team made three straight from beyond the arc to extend the margin to 17.
Even in the second half, Tennessee struggled. The defense that outplayed Kentucky so thoroughly in the previous round couldn’t get enough stops and while the offense improved, it wasn’t good enough.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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