Houston men’s basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson was all class Saturday after his team beat Gonzaga.
The top-seeded Cougars outlasted the 8th-seeded Bulldogs 81-76 in their second-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. Despite coming into the contest as heavy underdogs, Gonzaga gave their opponents all they could handle.
Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle drained two clutch free throws to get Gonzaga within one point with 21 seconds left. After Houston made two free throws on the other end, Battle had a chance to tie the game with a three. But the Gonzaga senior was swallowed up by Houston’s defense and failed to get a proper shot off.
khalif battle; gonzaga vs houston; #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/tWJ0FyruGr
— ◇ (@H00DH3R0) March 23, 2025
Battle was in tears after the final buzzer sounded. Sampson made sure to give his opponent a shoulder to cry on. The 69-year-old head coach came over to comfort Battle, who had his face fully buried in his jersey. The two then shared an emotional embrace.
Houston HC Kelvin Sampson consoled Gonzaga's Khalif Battle after the Zags' close loss ❤️#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/jKhson0qTS
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025
During his postgame interview, Sampson had nothing but praise for Gonzaga and his coaching counterpart Mark Few.
“Let’s stop and congratulate Mark Few and Gonzaga for a while,” Sampson said. “What they’ve accomplished has been such a shining light for basketball programs and basketball coaches for a long, long time. There’s nobody I respect more than Mark Few, and there’s not a basketball program I respect more than Gonzaga.”
Battle led his team with 17 points on 5/16 shooting in the final game of his NCAA career.
Four of Gonzaga’s top five scorers, including Battle, are seniors. Only top scorer Graham Ike has a remaining year of eligibility left. The Bulldogs will have a completely revamped rotation next season.
But given Few’s track record, it’s a safe bet that Gonzaga will make the NCAA Tournament again in 2026. Since Few took the reins in 1999, the Bulldogs have never failed to make it to March Madness.
