Houston bowed out of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday after losing to Illinois, 65-55, in the Sweet 16 at Toyota Center.
Not even having a homecourt advantage helped the No. 2 Cougars, who shot only 34% from the field and were outrebounded, 43-34. They only had two free throws compared to the 21 attempts of the No. 2 Fighting Illini.
Houston trailed by as much as 18 points.
The Cougars entered March Madness hoping to avenge their loss to Florida in last year's national title game. Fate, however, had a different plan.
Their exit begged the question: Will coach Kelvin Sampson retire? After their loss to Illinois, Sampson issued a cryptic message, as reported by SportsTalk 790.
“I still like (coaching), but we all have our time. Coaches need to understand when their time is. We all know this is a young man's game. I haven’t really thought about that (retiring), at least that's what I can share. But I also won’t get in someone else's way,” said Sampson.
The 70-year-old Sampson, who recently lamented Houston's low budget, started coaching in 1980 as an assistant at Montana Tech. After successful stops at Washington State, Oklahoma, and Indiana, he was hired by Houston in 2014.
He has tallied a 329–91 record with the Cougars, steering them to two appearances in the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. They won the title in this year's Big 12 Tournament, Sampson's first with Houston.
He said he was proud of the “kids' effort” against Illinois. But he admitted that they “didn't play good enough,” as quoted by the Associated Press.
Emanuel Sharp led the Cougars with 17 points. Kingston Flemings was held to 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
