MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Houston's Kelvin Sampson has the South Region's No. 1 seed and the second-ranked team in the country.
The veteran coach knows neighbor Texas A&M has the locker room he'd rather be in Sunday night before the teams meet in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I would much rather be in theirs before the game because they have the advantage of revenge,” Sampson said of the ninth-seeded Aggies (21-14). “It’s not going to be hard to motivate their kids. They’re going to want to come in here and get some payback.”
Sampson and his Cougars beat Texas A&M 70-66 on Dec. 16 in Houston. With a Sweet 16 berth in Dallas on March 29 awaiting the winner, Sampson said these Aggies are much better now than in December.
He's not wrong. The Aggies were 7-4 after that game, and they went through a five-game skid to end February, starting with a one-point loss at Vanderbilt. Coach Buzz Williams put Manny Obaseki into the starting lineup, and Texas A&M is 6-1 since, including a 98-83 rout of Nebraska on Friday night.
Sampson said he sees the Aggies as a better rebounding team than his Cougars (31-4). Texas A&M also knocked down 13 3s, and Sampson called the Aggies probably the best team in the Southeastern Conference.
“They’re a team that can get to the Final Four,” Sampson said. “They’re that good.”
Williams has been a longtime fan of Sampson's. The Aggies coach knows Houston, which opened with a rout of No. 16 seed Longwood, is a popular pick to not only reach the national championship for the third time in the Cougars' history but to win it all in their 25th tournament appearance.
“It’s two Texas teams trying to play in Texas next week,” Williams said. “We’re just doing it in Memphis. So our group has been somewhat used to playing road-game environments. And I anticipate that’s what it will be again.”
Folks wanting on the Aggies' bandwagon also can stay off.
“We lost to Vanderbilt and we lost to all these teams, everybody was kind of counting us out,” guard Jace Carter said. “We’re here now, and it’s a different product now.”
How the Cougars and Aggies stack up
MATCHUP: Texas A&M Aggies (21-14, 11-10 SEC) vs. Houston Cougars (31-4, 17-4 Big 12)
PLACE/TIME: Memphis, Tennessee; Sunday, 7:40 p.m. CDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cougars -10; over/under is 134.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Houston and Texas A&M play in the NCAA Tournament second round.
The Cougars' record in Big 12 games is 17-4, and their record is 14-0 in non-conference play. Houston has a 27-4 record against opponents above .500.
The Aggies' record in SEC play is 11-10. Texas A&M ranks fifth in the SEC giving up 71.2 points while holding opponents to 42.6% shooting.
Houston is shooting 43.8% from the field this season, 1.2 percentage points higher than the 42.6% Texas A&M allows to opponents. Texas A&M averages 7.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 more made shots on average than the 6.0 per game Houston gives up.
TOP PERFORMERS: LJ Cryer is scoring 15.4 points per game with 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Cougars. Jamal Shead is averaging 13.5 points, 7.6 assists and 2.1 steals over the past 10 games.
Wade Taylor IV is shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc with 2.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Aggies, while averaging 19 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals. Tyrece Radford is averaging 17.4 points and 8.4 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 9-1, averaging 72.1 points, 31.2 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 10.2 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.9 points per game.
Aggies: 6-4, averaging 78.6 points, 41.8 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 40.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.5 points.
