Second-seeded Houston lost in the NCAA title game last season and is primed to make another deep run this year.
But don’t dare ask Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson about a potential rematch against top-seeded Florida — last year’s champion — in the South Region final.
Sampson flat-out refuses to look past the opening contest, which is slated for Thursday night against No. 15 seed Idaho at Oklahoma City.
“I don’t focus on what’s ahead of us,” Sampson said with an edge on Monday. “I focus on what’s in front of us. I don’t start coaching differently because we’re in this tournament. Our next game is Idaho.”
The Vandals (21-14), the winners of five straight games and seven of their past eight, certainly have Sampson’s attention.
Sampson is well-versed when it comes to Idaho as he coached approximately nine miles to the West at Washington State for seven seasons (1987-94) early in his career.
He’s not willing to accept that the Cougars (28-6) are guaranteed an easy time in their opener.
“You’re playing a conference champion or a team that had a great year,” Sampson said of how first-round matchups work. “This isn’t an invitational tournament. You have to earn your way into this tournament. Whoever you play, whatever seed they are, you start with respect.
“We respect Idaho. To win four games in five days in the Big Sky tournament, you have to be tough.”
Houston went just 5-4 down the stretch, including a 79-74 setback against Arizona in the Big 12 tournament title game.
All six of the Cougars’ losses this season have come against ranked foes. They also have six victories by 30 or more points.
Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings leads Houston in scoring (16.4 points per game), assists (5.3) and with 53 steals.
Senior guard Emanuel Sharp has knocked down a team-best 89 3-pointers while averaging 15.3 points per game. Sharp (301) is the only player in school history to top 300 career treys.
Idaho is part of the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 1990. The Vandals have one all-time March Madness victory, that coming in 1982 in overtime against Iowa.
The team isn’t lacking for confidence after running through the Big Sky tourney as a No. 7 seed.
“To play Houston is honestly going to be so exciting and so fun,” Idaho guard Isaiah Brickner said. “I’m really excited to play a high-level team like that and show what we can do on the court.”
The Vandals didn’t appear to resemble a possible NCAA Tournament team for most of the season. They were 14-13 with six losses in eight games before the impressive finishing kick.
“The year was kind of up and down,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “They had to be a resilient group, They had to stick together. They had to stay with the process and it clicked at the right time for us.”
Forward Jackson Rasmussen agreed with his head coach.
“The tournament was the best we’ve played this season,” Rasmussen said, “but it’s not the best we can play and we know we can play better.”
Rasmussen leads the Vandals with a 13.9 scoring average with Kolton Mitchell (team-best 70 3-pointers) right behind at 13.7. Biko Johnson (12.4) and Brickner (12.1) also average in double digits.
This is the second meeting between the schools and the first was also held in Oklahoma City. Houston knocked off Idaho 76-61 on Dec. 27, 1963 in the All-College Tournament.
The winner of Thursday’s game will face either No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s or No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday.
