Ever since joining the Big 12, Houston basketball has absolutely dominated. Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars have absolutely owned the rest of the conference over the last two seasons, winning the regular season title in both years.
In 2024-25, Houston took it to a new level. It finished the conference slate 19-1, with its only loss coming in overtime against second-place Texas Tech. Houston went 10-0 on the road in conference play, which is an incredible feat considering it took trips to Kansas, Arizona and Texas Tech during the season.
Now, Houston is cruising through the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City as well. A day after beating Colorado in the quarterfinals, Sampson and company crushed a very good BYU team 74-54 to advance to the championship game. However, the longtime Cougars head coach doesn’t think that’s where the conference title is decided, via Will Kunkel of FOX 26 Houston.
Kelvin Sampson says the Big 12 Tournament is nothing more than a 3-day tournament to showcase the conference.
Houston won the Big 12 Championship in the regular season.
Kelvin Sampson: “The regular season decides the Big 12 Champion –that’s why you play 20 games.”… pic.twitter.com/OAm6zoFnHX
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) March 15, 2025
“The game tomorrow night doesn’t determine the Big 12 champion,” Sampson said after his Houston team won the regular season title. “The regular season determines the Big 12 champion. That’s why you play 20 games. We played a game on December 30th and we played the last one on March 8th. Over the course of 20 games, we decided who the Big 12 champion was. This three games in three days is an awesome chance for the Big 12 to show how great this conference is, but at the end of the day it’s a three-day tournament.”
Houston will take on Arizona in the title game after the Wildcats picked up a pair of impressive wins against Kansas and Texas Tech in the quarters and semis. The two teams matched up just once in the regular season, with Houston taking home a 62-58 win down in Tucson.
It will be a much more neutral crowd on Saturday night than it was in that one, but Houston is still at a disadvantage. Star big man J’Wan Roberts is dealing with an ankle injury and will sit out the title game as he gets ready for the NCAA Tournament, which is a big blow against a huge Arizona front line.
Sampson will still have this Houston basketball team ready to go try to lift the trophy. Roberts also missed the semifinal and that didn’t stop Houston from absolutely smothering BYU, so the Cougars will be hoping for a similar result as they seek a sweep of the conference titles during this historic season.
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