Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson sure did his best to try and dodge the barrage of water that was coming his way. But it was to no avail in a jubilant locker room on Wednesday.
Following Houston’s 67-59 win at Central Florida that clinched a share of the regular-season Big 12 championship, Sampson tried to stay as dry as possible as players showered him with water during a locker room celebration that featured hugs, joyous yells, and House of Pain’s “Jump Around” blaring in the background.
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It was the first of what Houston hopes are several title-clinching celebrations this season, the next of which could come Saturday when the Cougars host No. 14 Kansas.
Even though Houston has share of the conference title in its pocket, Saturday’s 3 p.m. tip should be an electric atmosphere not only because it’s the last home game of the season at Fertitta Center, but because there is plenty more to earn.
Here is what Houston can achieve with a win:
- An outright conference title. Houston certainly wants the regular season title all to itself without sharing with second-place Iowa State. A Houston loss to Kansas and an Iowa State win at Kansas State would produce that tie for the title.
- Earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The conference tournament is often just a moneymaking showcase or a chance for teams on the fringe of NCAA tournament consideration to strengthen their resumes. But it never hurts to make the path to a conference title easier on yourself, and Houston can do just that by earning the top seed.
- Continue to make the case for No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. A win over Kansas would be yet another Quad 1 win (Houston enters Thursday with a nation-leading 12 of those), which should only enhance the case for the Cougars to be the top seed overall in the NCAA tournament.
- Earn payback against Kansas. Houston only has three losses on the year, but one of them was on Feb. 3 at Kansas by a score of 78-65. The Cougars definitely would like some revenge.
- Finish the season unbeaten at home. Houston enters with a 16-0 mark at Fertitta Center, and what better way to send what should be a raucous crowd home happy than to beat Kansas and win the conference title outright. Besides, this has been a great group of seniors that has led the program back to national prominence. Do they really want to go out losing their last home game? Obviously not.