NCAA Tournament 2021: Tennessee basketball’s five toughest matchups in Midwest Region
No. 2 seed
Onto our third straight team Tennessee basketball wouldn’t face until the Elite Eight, the Houston Cougars are red-hot after winning the American Athletic Tournament Championship. Kelvin Sampson’s team enters ranked No. 6 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.
More from Vols Basketball
- Tennessee Volunteers News: Midweek Recap, Food City Center, Students Back & More
- Tennessee Basketball: Which teams have the Volunteers never beaten?
- Former Tennessee Vols’ Star Grant Williams Dominated Game 4 of ECF
- 10 best Tennessee basketball NBA careers ever
- Tennessee Basketball: Phillips in Transfer Portal, New Transfers Join Vols
The funny thing about Houston being on here, though, is that Sampson doesn’t have a great NCAA Tournament track record. He’s not much better than Rick Barnes on that front, and he may even be worse. Like Barnes, he has one Final Four, and Barnes has more Elite Eight appearances. Also, like Barnes, his Final Four was with a Big 12 school. He led the Oklahoma Sooners there in 2002.
Anyway, Houston is on here because they are a talented team that, again, uses a style the Vols struggle with. The Cougars also average over eight steals and over four and a half blocks a game, showing their aggressive defense. On offense, they are in the top 30 in three-point shots made per game with just over nine.
Related Story. Five Tourney players Vols need to watch for in first weekend. light
There is one thing about them that the Vols can exploit. Since none of Houston’s starters are taller than 6’7″, the Vols can just chuck it inside and slow it down if John Fulkerson is good to go. That would almost put them below Syracuse, but raw talent counts for something, and Houston has it.