Texas Tech basketball fans typically don't care for Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson. After all, he's been a thorn in the Red Raiders' side for almost two decades given his current run at Houston and his long successful tenure as the Oklahoma head coach many years ago when the Sooners were a conference rival as well.
Regardless of whether or not fans like Sampson, though, there is no denying that the man knows basketball. That's why his remarks following the Red Raiders' 82-81 win in Houston on Saturday night were so telling to Texas Tech fans.
Following the game, the media seemed to be focused on Houston and the end of their 33-game home winning streak. However, Sampson quickly turned the tables to Texas Tech, upon whom he heaped loads of praise.
"The story of the game is Texas Tech," he said. "They were awesome. I mean, they were awesome. Let's give them a little credit. They lose their best big, they come into this gym and go to the free throw line. 34 times, make 12 threes, and play great.
"You know, we're at the free throw line to go up five. They come down and knock [down] a three to tie to go to overtime. Every time they needed a big basket, they got it and we were guarding them. Walton made two threes. I thought we had fouled him on the shot. That's how good he was."
One area where Houston almost always has the edge is in toughness and competitiveness. However, Sampson said that Tech was better in that regard.
"So I'm not disappointed we lost," he said. "I'm not disappointed we lost. I'm disappointed that we didn't fight harder or compete harder. That was one of the few times I thought the other team out-competed us, and that's why I say guys give Texas Tech credit. You know, people that don't know whether on foot, horseback, a runner, trying to figure out what's wrong with us, maybe they, maybe they should start giving the other team a little credit.
"That team was great tonight, and they're really good. That is a really good team, extremely well coached."
Sampson acknowledged that life in the Big 12 is brutal and that every team is going to get tripped up. He summed up those remarks with a funny analogy.
"We're going to play in the Big 12, and you play 20 games, don't get nicked," he said. "Texas Tech's lost two home games. They lost to Central Florida and they lost to Iowa State, but they haven't lost on the road yet. They're 5-0 on the road. We were five and oh on the road. Now we lost a home game.
"Every team in this league is gonna go through the same thing. That's the best. If you want to play in this league, you can play teams that are good enough to beat you. We've been very fortunate. We could have lost the Central Florida game too, but we didn't. We could have lost the Kansas game, but we didn't. And we could have won this one, but we didn't. So gonna play 30-some games, some nights you can be the statue, and some nights you're gonna be the pigeon."
For his career, Sampson has won 780 games. What's more, he's got a .688 winning percentage as a head coach.
Of course, the job he's done at Houston has been remarkable. He's taken them to five NCAA Tournaments in a row and he'll do so for a sixth time this season.
During that run, he's reached the Sweet 16 every time. What's more, in 2021, he got the Cougars to the Final Four and in 2022, he got them to the Elite 8.
Sure, Sampson can be gruff, intimidating, and less than friendly. He suffers no fools and doesn't have the most likable demeanor on the sidelines.
However, he is one of the best college basketball coaches in the nation and few people know the game better than he does. Therefore, Texas Tech fans should revel in the credit he gave to the Red Raiders on Saturday night, even if Sampson is not a beloved figure in West Texas.