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Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead (1) reacts after scoring a basket during the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones at Fertitta Center. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Houston men's basketball continues to roll in first Big 12 season

By Max Rego | Last updated 2/20/24

New conference, same Houston. Not even No. 6 Iowa State, winners of seven of eight in the rugged Big 12, could prevent the No. 2 Cougars from getting it done again.

At times on Monday, it appeared that the Cyclones might. On multiple occasions in the second half, Iowa State cut Houston’s lead to just a couple possessions. But the hosts, led by 26 points from veteran guard Jamal Shead and 20 from his backcourt mate, Emmanuel Sharp, pulled away ever so slightly down the stretch.

By the final buzzer, the scoreboard at the Fertitta Center told the story: Houston 73, Iowa State 65.

"Just impressed with our kids' tenacity and toughness, and just kinda hung in there," head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters after the win.

Following Monday's win over #6/6 Iowa State, @CoachSampsonUH spoke with @notthefakeSVP on @espn

See what Coach had to say#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/8t9UAEYJor
— Houston Men's Hoops (@UHCougarMBK) February 20, 2024

Now, Houston (23-3, 10-3 in the Big 12) holds a one-game lead over the Cyclones (20-6, 9-4) for first place in the conference. Baylor (19-6, 8-4) and Kansas (20-6, 8-5) are 1.5 and two games back of the Cougars, respectively, as the regular season begins to wind down.

Obviously, Houston is no stranger to leading its conference. Under Sampson (who was hired in April 2014), the program won the American Athletic Conference regular-season title in 2018-19, 2019-20 — when it shared the crown with Cincinnati and Tulsa — 2021-22 and 2022-23.

As the cherry on top, Houston also won the conference tournament in 2021 and 2022. If you haven’t noticed already, Sampson has built a machine in the Lone Star State.

But this season marked a new era for the Cougars, as they left the AAC behind for the best conference in the country, the Big 12. Knocking off respectable programs, such as Memphis and Cincinnati (the latter of whom also joined the Big 12 this season), is one thing.

But a spot in the Big 12 comes with an endless supply of marquee matchups against the likes of Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Texas. The league boasts two of the last three national champions in the Bears (2021) and Jayhawks (2022), with four other programs — Oklahoma (twice), Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech — reaching the Final Four since 2000.

For Houston to enter this conference, one that Sampson said in October was filled with “German shepherds”, and pick up right where it left off in the AAC is quite the achievement. The Cougars, ranked first at KenPom, are a projected No. 1 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology breakdown, a distinction that (if it holds) doesn’t come with any accolades, but is still impressive nonetheless.

Of course, Houston still has work to do in league play, as the beauty of the Big 12 is that nabbing crucial wins only makes the next game more important. The Cougars face No. 11 Baylor on the road this Saturday, then host Cincinnati, play at Oklahoma, at UCF and host No. 9 Kansas on the final Saturday of the regular season on March 9.

So this conference race is far from over. But, before that ramps up, let’s take a second to just appreciate the team currently on top.

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