Houston overwhelms Texas A&M to cruise into Sweet 16 as a title contender playing at home
Houston advances to the Sweet 16 and a South regional that will be played in ... Houston.
With 7:43 remaining in the first half on Saturday, No. 2 Houston held a 25-24 lead over No. 10 Texas A&M.
Then Houston put the clamps down. The Cougars reeled off 18 straight points and ended the half on a 21-4 run to take a 46-28 lead into the break. At that point, the game was effectively over, and Houston cruised to an 88-57 win to secure its seventh straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Once it gets there, it’s very much a contender to advance to the Final Four and compete for the program’s first national title. The Cougars have cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, following up Thursday’s 78-47 first-round thrashing of Idaho with Saturday’s 31-point win. Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season Houston advances with momentum and 1 unique edge It’s not just the scoring margins that point to Houston’s strengths.
It’s how the Cougars are building those margins. Houston’s profile is that of a championship contender — elite guard play, strong rebounding, Kelvin Sampson’s trademark smothering defense and NCAA tournament experience. Houston returns three starters from last season’s Final Four team in Emanuel Sharp, Joseph Tugler and Milos Uzan.