March seems to bring out the emotions in coaches who otherwise appear even-keeled. Houston's head coach Kelvin Sampson was the epitome of this during his team's celebration in the locker room after advancing to the Sweet 16.
The #5 seeded Houston Cougars' 68-53 second-round win over the #4 seeded Illinois on Sunday in Pittsburgh puts them in the Sweet 16 for the third straight time. Sampson met his players in the locker room who were eager and armed with water bottles that they planned to spray on their coach once he arrived. They did just that, dousing their coach in an H20 bath, including Cougars center Josh Carlton dumping a large cooler of Powerade all over Sampson while the 66-year-old was completely shirtless while soaking up the moment.
Although the Cougars are no strangers to success in March, Sampson has turned a once-proud program into a consistent top-25 contender. Before his arrival on campus in 2014, the Cougars only reached the big dance once in the last 25 seasons.
Houston is now only two wins away from reaching the Final Four for the second consecutive time. When the Cougars reached the Final Four last season, they were trounced by the eventual national champion Baylor Bears 78-59.
The Cougars will face the #1 seeded Arizona Wildcats Thursday night at 9:59 p.m. EST on TBS in San Antonio.
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