KELVIN SAMPSON

Jared Butler scored 17 points to lead five Baylor players in double figures, and the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory over Houston in the Final Four.

Gonzaga has given fans the NCAA championship game they wanted with a shot for the ages.

Gonzaga (30-0) has been an offensive juggernaut rarely seen in college basketball. Ad“Everyone wants us to keep moving forward, but that’s not how we roll,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. That doesn’t lessen our desire to win this game, the next game or win two more games.”The next one won't be easy. The Bears were embroiled in one of the darkest scandals in college basketball history, when Patrick Dennehy was murdered by teammate Carlton Dotson in 2003. They played in the Final Four.”___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

Yes, Houston is going back to the Final Four for the first time since the famed “Phi Slama Jama” era after Monday night's 67-61 win against Oregon State. And Houston knocked down enough free throws late while holding Oregon State without a basket during a critical 3 1/2 minutes. Fittingly, it was DeJon Jarreau — the American Athletic Conference's defensive player of the year who led the effort that stymied Oregon State star Ethan Thompson — who was named the most outstanding player of the Midwest Region. “It was right there within our grasp with the effort we showed in the second half,” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. They held the Beavers to 35% shooting in the first half before Oregon State found some openings.

... Oregon State opponents are shooting just 31.3% overall and 23.1% from 3-point range in the NCAA Tournament. That Missouri squad lost a regional final to an Oklahoma team coached by Kelvin Sampson, who’s now at Houston. … Arkansas is in a regional final for the first time since 1995, when it lost to UCLA in the championship game. … Arkansas’ Justin Smith is averaging 20.3 points and 11 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games. Arizona and Indiana are both in an NCAA regional final for the first time.

Now it's taken coach Kelvin Sampson's team somewhere new: the program's deepest NCAA Tournament run since the days of Olajuwon, Drexler and the famed “Phi Slama Jama." That sent the second-seeded Cougars through to their first regional final in 37 years, earning a matchup with No. Houston (27-3) came in holding opponents to a national-low 37.3% shooting, and then harassed Syracuse (18-10) into just 28% (14 for 50). “It’s the best defense that that we’ve seen this year and they deserved to win,” coach Jim Boeheim said. Syracuse had shot at least 52% each time while making 29 3-pointers — but there would be no repeat of that unexpected 2016 Final Four run thanks to Houston's defense.

The Cougars play No. By the time the first half ended, and the Scarlet Knights had forged a 30-27 lead, Rutgers and Houston each had two regulars mired in foul trouble. AdChaney took a seat with his fourth with 15:45 left and the Scarlet Knights went on the attack. And by the time there was 10 minutes to go, the Scarlet Knights had meticulously built a 50-40 lead. UP NEXTThe Cougars play the Orange next weekend for a spot in the Elite Eight.

We wanted to be the American Conference champions.”Just more than an hour after the AAC title game ended, the Cougars (24-3) were named the No. The Bearcats won the previous two AAC title game matchups before last year’s tournaments were canceled because of COVID-19 after Houston had won its second consecutive AAC regular-season title. This title game got lopsided, like their only regular-season matchup three weeks earlier, when Houston won 90-52 at home. SMU's 15-point win over Cincinnati in 2017 had been the largest margin in an AAC tournament final. The Bearcats got to their fourth consecutive AAC tournament title game with a 60-59 win over the top-seeded Shockers in their semifinal game Saturday.

East Carolina's Jayden Gardner (1) starts to celebrate during the closing minutes of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston in Greenville, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jayden Gardner and East Carolina didn't get to savor a sea of court-storming home fans after claiming a huge upset. Gardner had 21 points and 15 rebounds to help ECU stun fifth-ranked Houston 82-73 on Wednesday night, securing the Pirates' first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two decades. East Carolina shot 47% and made 11 of 24 3-pointers — and more impressively, the Pirates led for the last 12-plus minutes against a Houston team that struggled to make much of anything after halftime. but we weren't any of those things tonight.”AdECU: East Carolina hadn't won since beating Tulane at home on Dec. 22.

11 Houston used a dominant first half to cruise to a 75-58 win over UCF on Sunday. Houston (11-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) won its fourth straight game since its loss to Tulsa. “It was a great game for us,” Houston guard DeJon Jarreau said. “They made a lot of shots to start the first half off and kind of knocked us back,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. Sampson passed former Houston coach Tom Penders.