Purdue now has its foe for the Sweet 16 next Friday. Kelvin Sampson and the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars handled business against 8th seeded Gonzaga, 81-76, on Saturday to make it out of the first weekend, where Matt Painter and the Boilermakers will be waiting on Friday in Indianapolis.
The Cougars were tested by the perhaps under-seeded Bulldogs, but held a lead for the totality of Saturday night's Round of 32 matchup between March Madness stalwarts. After being down by as much as 14, Gonzaga cut the deficit to just one in the final minute.
Houston struggled with turnovers down the stretch, but free throws connections by Mylik Wilson, Milos Uzan and L.J. Cryer were enough to ice the victory down the stretch. The Cougars rode the hot hand of L.J. Cryer to hold off the Zags, as the senior guard scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the second half of the victory.
The nation's number one defense, according to KenPom, surrendered its highest total since February 1st, when Texas Tech scored 82 in what was Houston's last defeat. Houston extended its winning streak to 15 straight with the win on Saturday night, which also included a 78-40 victory over SIU Edwardsville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Houston clinched a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season this March and have made it to the Sweet 16 for a sixth tournament in a row (2020 excluded) under Kelvin Sampson. The last two NCAA Tournaments have seen the Cougars fall in the Sweet 16, however, which came after trips to the Final Four (2021) and Elite 8 (2022). Sampson has helped return Houston to national relevancy, owning the best winning percentage of any college head coach since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Sampson has a history against the Boilermakers, as he was 2-1 against Purdue in his less than two season stint at Indiana between 2006-2008. Matchups between Purdue and Houston have been few and far between, meeting just three times before next Friday's duel. Purdue holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, with the last coming in an 86-53 win in 1998.
Purdue will look to advance past the Sweet 16 for a second straight season for the first time in school history, but a tall task stands in the way of that pursuit. Boiler Upload will have more on the matchup, including quotes and videos from both teams throughout next week.
