by Dick Weiss, for The American

PHILADELPHIA -- Houston is building momentum as the American Athletic Conference regular season roars down the stretch.

The Cougars (21-5, 11-3 American) remained in a tie with Wichita State, just a game behind Cincinnati in conference play after surging to a 80-59 victory over Temple on Sunday before a crowd of 7,270 at the Liacouras Center.

And, with four games left, Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson is not about to let the Cougars take their foot off the pedal. After Houston defeated fifth-ranked Cincinnati, 67-62, last Wednesday at its temporary home court at nearby Texas Southern, Sampson scheduled two difficult practices after the Cougars arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday and again at 9 a.m. Sunday morning, just seven hours before tip off.

“We had a good workout Friday afternoon in Houston. We flew up here and really got after it for an hour, hour and a half from 6 to 7:30 Saturday night,” Sampson said. “We had a tough practice. We really got after it. You send a message just by the way you practice. When you come out, tape up and hold guys accountable for rebounding, defense, ball screens, they leave the floor ready to compete. We came out here Sunday morning and had another spirited workout. So, I knew we were ready to play.

“So, I knew when the kids got on the bus at 10 o’clock, we were ready to play. And we were ready to play.

“After that Cincinnati game, when they’re not around me, they’re around somebody who’s telling them how good they are, slapping them on the back, telling them, ‘You guys are having a great year.’ And it’s my job to get them grounded and get them ready to play.  I was proud of them today.”

The Cougars no longer need to audition a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Like Wichita State and Cincinnati, they are playing for seed.

Junior guard Corey Davis Jr. scored 20 points and made six of eight threes, while senior forward Devin Davis finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Cougars, who have won five consecutive games, put away Temple quickly, racing to a 15-0 lead behind three 3-pointers by Davis Jr., who leads The American in three-point goals made per game.

Houston’s defense stepped up, holding Temple without a field goal for the first 5:26 of the game. The Cougars built their lead to 41-20 at half and cruised to the finish line.

This is Sampson’s best team since he took this job in the spring of 2014. The Cougars may not be big up front, but they out-rebounded Temple, 53-22. “I Think Jay Bilas told me we were the 318^th shortest team in the country,” Sampson said. “I never thought about that. I know we start three little guards -- Galen Robinson, Corey Davis and Rob Gray -- and our four is about 6-5. But it never crossed my mind that was important. What’s that old saying, ‘If size was important, what happened to the dinosaurs?’

“Our biggest thing against Temple was holding them to one shot and chasing rebounds at the other end. We’re 15^th in the nation in offensive rebounding going into today. Our guys are always looking at how many missed shots to we get. We also chart tips. We tell our kids it takes two guys to get an offensive rebound -- one to keep it alive and one to go get it.”

In the first half of the game, the Owls missed 20 shots from the field. Houston took control of 19 of them. Houston missed 20 first-half shots, but regained possession on 11 of them. “I just think their speed and quickness and basketball IQ was way better than ours today,” Temple head coach Fran Dunphy said. “And they beat us to the ball way too many times. It seemed like every time they needed an offensive opportunity, we played a decent defensive set, they got an offensive rebound and reset it. It broke our back.”

Houston has improved throughout this season and part of the reason is the fact Sampson finally has a team that can go five-on-five. When he first got to Houston, he was plagued by players transferring. “My first year, we only had five scholarship players,” he recalled. “We have competitive practices.”

The Cougars also have plenty of shooters. Davis Jr. and sophomore guard Armoni Brooks have had nine games where one of them has made at least five threes. Davis, who matriculated to Houston from San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College, leads The American in three-pointers made with 76. “I never really became a three-point shooter until my second year in junior college,” he said. “In high school, I was more of a traditional point guard -- penetrate and kick it out. I guess I just gained confidence. A lot of that comes from endless work and coach giving me confidence.”

Brooks had seven threes just 10 days ago against SMU. In addition, Devin Davis is arguably the best mid-range shooter in the conference. The Davis duo’s emergences as offensive threats allowed Sampson to move Rob Gray, his leading scorer, to the point, where he is averaging 4.3 assists per game.

Much of the Cougars’ late-season success has to do with consistent work ethic. “A lot of teams at this point of the season are getting tired, injuries pop up,” Davis Jr. said. “We’ve been able to maintain our focus. Coach does an amazing job of humbling us.”

On Monday, Houston cracked both national polls for the first time since the days of Phi Slama Jama. “We’ve come a long way,” Sampson said. “We’ve beaten Wichita State and Cincinnati and we’re right there with them.”