Cougars don’t intend to let up in AAC tournament
FORT WORTH — When the University of Houston takes the court Friday for its farewell appearance at the American Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament, the Cougars will begin a 24-day journey they hope ends with a storybook finish.
Before a possible appearance in the Final Four at NRG Stadium, though, the top-ranked Cougars will try to state their case one last time for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As far as the Cougars are concerned, March Madness begins now.
“It’s win-or-go-home,” Allamerican guard Marcus Sasser said of the single-elimination conference tournament that runs through Sunday at Dickies Arena. “We have to go out and play like it’s our last game and leave everything on the floor.
“That’s basically how March Madness is. There are no guarantees of a next game.”
The mission is simple for the next three days: Stay healthy, win three games, and wait and see if it’s enough to convince the NCAA selection committee.
A sweep of the regular-season and tournament titles for the second year in a row would be a fitting sendoff for UH, which joins the Big 12 on July 1. The Cougars went 29-2 overall in the regular season, including a 17-1 mark that matched the best in AAC history.
“Just keep winning,” guard Jamal Shead said.
What exactly is at stake for the Cougars?
UH is considered a lock for one of the four No. 1 regional seeds. But would an early exit sway the committee’s thinking? Probably not. Could an impressive showing be enough to leapfrog Kansas and Alabama for the No. 1 overall seed? Maybe.
UH will open at noon Friday against East Carolina, a 73-58 winner over South Florida on Thursday.
“You don’t go into any game not trying to win,” coach Kelvin Sampson said this week when asked about the value of playing deep into a conference tournament. “We also know the bigger picture is the NCAA Tournament. You want to be healthy going into that tournament.”
UH is one of the hottest teams in the nation entering the postseason, winners of 11 straight games and 20 of 21 overall. The Cougars haven’t lost since Jan. 22.
UH is the overwhelming favorite to win the AAC tournament.
If the Cougars advance to Sunday’s championship game, it could be the third time to face Memphis, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, in 21 days. The Cougars won both regular-season meetings, including Sunday’s 67-65 win on Shead’s buzzer beater.
“It’s hard to beat a team twice,” Sasser said. “It’s even harder to beat a team three times.”
By Sunday, though, the NCAA selection committee will have most of the 68-team field set, with the exception of “10 to 12 contingency brackets” to account for any remaining conference championship games.
On a conference call this week, committee chairman Chris Reynolds said “a few other teams are in play for the No. 1 seed line” besides the four clear candidates (Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue) in the committee’s early bracket review Feb. 18.
Even though UH is No. 1 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Kenpom, BPI and Sagarin — all metrics used by the selection committee — it has the fewest Quadrant 1 wins (five) of any of the No. 1 seed candidates. Kansas has 15 Q1 wins and won the Big 12, the toughest conference in the nation, making the Jayhawks the favorite to land the tournament’s top overall seed.
“We’ve been dealing with that since I’ve been here as a freshman — we don’t get as much credit for wins as teams in other conferences,” guard Tramon Mark said of UH, whose only other loss was to Alabama. “People don’t think our conference is as good as other conferences. We just have to keep winning.”
Shead said the Cougars enter the postseason “a little anxious … and that’s a good thing.” When asked what advice he had for some of the younger players heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, he said: “Just don’t try and do too much. Your best is good enough. Don’t try and be something that you’re not.”
UH will leave the AAC as the most successful program in conference history. A tournament title would be the Cougars’ seventh overall championship, including four regular-season and three tournament titles.
The next few days are a chance for the Cougars to make one final statement.
Or for another AAC team to lock in a bid.
“Whoever we play, they are going to come out and play their hardest and try and punch their ticket through us,” Mark said. “We have to come out and play hard and not let that happen.”