Jared Butler scored 17 points to lead five Baylor players in double figures, and the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory over Houston in the Final Four.

As he prepares for the Final Four game against Baylor, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson grew emotional talking about his father.

Somebody will be doing a joyful Texas two-step after Baylor and Houston meet Saturday night in the Final Four.

Yes, Houston is going back to the Final Four for the first time since the famed “Phi Slama Jama” era after Monday night's 67-61 win against Oregon State. And Houston knocked down enough free throws late while holding Oregon State without a basket during a critical 3 1/2 minutes. Fittingly, it was DeJon Jarreau — the American Athletic Conference's defensive player of the year who led the effort that stymied Oregon State star Ethan Thompson — who was named the most outstanding player of the Midwest Region. “It was right there within our grasp with the effort we showed in the second half,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. They held the Beavers to 35% shooting in the first half before Oregon State found some openings.

The Houston Cougars are into the Elite 8, making history Saturday with a 62-46 thrashing of 11th-seed Syracuse. The Cougars are favorites to advance, but this Oregon State team won’t be easy to knock off. Keys for the CougarsDefense is the name of the game for the University of Houston and they’ll need another stellar effort Monday night. UH has the best defensive field-goal percentage in the nation and has held opponents to just under 60 points per game. Ethan Thompson (15 ppg) has dominated on both ends and his physical play will be tested when he faces UH.

... Oregon State opponents are shooting just 31.3% overall and 23.1% from 3-point range in the NCAA Tournament. That Missouri squad lost a regional final to an Oklahoma team coached by Kelvin Sampson, who’s now at Houston. … Arkansas is in a regional final for the first time since 1995, when it lost to UCLA in the championship game. … Arkansas’ Justin Smith is averaging 20.3 points and 11 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games. Arizona and Indiana are both in an NCAA regional final for the first time.

Now it's taken coach Kelvin Sampson's team somewhere new: the program's deepest NCAA Tournament run since the days of Olajuwon, Drexler and the famed “Phi Slama Jama." Quentin Grimes scored 14 points and Houston's defense locked down on surging Buddy Boeheim, helping the Cougars beat Syracuse 62-46 on Saturday night in the Sweet 16 while holding the Orange to their lowest point total in an NCAA Tournament game. That sent the second-seeded Cougars through to their first regional final in 37 years, earning a matchup with No. “It’s the best defense that that we’ve seen this year and they deserved to win,” coach Jim Boeheim said. Syracuse had shot at least 52% each time while making 29 3-pointers — but there would be no repeat of that unexpected 2016 Final Four run thanks to Houston's defense.

Gorham scored Houston’s last six points on a nifty one-handed reverse layup and four free throws, and the Cougars held off Memphis for a 76-74 semifinal win Saturday. That was only seven days after losing in Houston on a game-ending banked 3-pointer after tying that game with 1.7 seconds left. The whole season we’ve been working to try to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Ellis said. Cincinnati (12-10) won the last two AAC title games over Houston, 69-57 in 2019 and 56-55 in 2018. Memphis hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2014.

Houston guard Tramon Mark, right, celebrates his game-winning 3-point basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Memphis, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Houston. 9 Houston a 67-64 win over Memphis on Sunday. The Tigers shot 47%, including 8 of 21 on 3-pointers. AdBIG PICTUREMemphis: The Tigers missed a chance to improve their NCAA Tournament chances with a marquee win. … Memphis shot 10 of 20 from the free-throw line.

HOUSTON – HOUSTON (AP) -- Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 33 points and had six rebounds to help No. 12 Houston beat Western Kentucky 81-57 on Thursday night. “You can’t play 21, 22, 23 minutes, whatever it was when we took the lead,” Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said. Western Kentucky got no closer than 12 the rest of the way. Western Kentucky, which leads the Conference USA East Division, played its third game since Jan. 24 and first since Feb. 13.

11 Houston used a dominant first half to cruise to a 75-58 win over UCF on Sunday. Houston (11-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) won its fourth straight game since its loss to Tulsa. “It was a great game for us,” Houston guard DeJon Jarreau said. “They made a lot of shots to start the first half off and kind of knocked us back,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. Sampson passed former Houston coach Tom Penders.