by Dick Weiss
ORLANDO, Fla. - Houston showed yesterday there is a third team from the American Athletic Conference other than Cincinnati and Wichita that can make waves in the NCAA tournament.
And the Cougars' Rob Gray showed he can play with anyone in this league.
Houston's 6-1 senior point guard and first team all-conference selection scored 33 points and completely took over the game at the end as the 20th-ranked Cougars (25-6) defeated 11th-ranked Wichita States, 77-74, at the Amway Center to advance to the championship game of the conference tournament Sunday against Cincinnati.
Gray, who made just two field goals in the first half, exploded for four 3s in the second half and gave Houston the lead for good at 75-74 when he made a steal and fed Galen Robinson Jr. for a layup with 1:29 to play. He also had another critical defensive play when Wichita State had a chance to win the game following a timeout with six seconds to play. But Robinson stepped in front of an inbounds pass for a steal and got the ball to Gray, who nailed two free throws.
Gray was everywhere, making it difficult for Wichita State to get the ball up the floor on the final possession that ended with Shockers' guard Landy Shamet, a future pro who scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, missing a three pointer from the right wing with two seconds remaining.
"Yesterday (in Houston's quarterfinal win over UCF) I went 0-for-5 from the 3 and then in the first half today I went 0-for-3 from the 3," Gray said. "So, when the first one fell, it relieved me of the pressure. The first three I hit put us up one or two. So, I kind of got my swag back from beyond the arc. It's kind of like street ball, just instincts taking over and just trying to play my game and be as effective and efficient as possible to help us win."
Gray left a huge impression. "He's a good player," Shamet admitted. "Especially when he's shooting it well like he was tonight. Part of it was on us not really pressuring the ball enough. Not taking anything away from him, he's a hell of a player, first team all-conference for a reason, and we just didn't defend him well enough and he made some big plays down the stretch. We knew that's what he does."
Houston was considered a lock to make the NCAA field before this game. Most bracket gurus had them as a No. 6, behind both Cincinnati (29-4) and Wichita State (25-7).
"In this conference, you hear a lot about Cincinnati and Wichita State and we like to think that we have a good program as well," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "We know they're ranked eighth and 11th and we're sitting at 21. But as far as seeding goes, it's a big deal to come down here and make it to the championship and even win, because it changes the perception that maybe the selection committee may have about our program and country."
This is Sampson's fourth year at Houston. He has been successful building programs at Washington State and Oklahoma, taking the Sooners to the NCAA Final Four in 2002. Now, he has taken Houston to another level.
The Cougars may not be overwhelmingly big, but they have shooters and they have the grit to win close games.
"It wasn't just this game. We're down 57-50 against SMU at home," Sampson said. "We were down against Connecticut the other day. We had a lot of blowouts this year, but if you play 30-plus games, you're going to have three or four on either side - three or four where you're probably not as good as you play and you're probably going to going to have three or four where you're probably not as bad as you play. That's just the way it is, unless you got a team full of All-Americans and NBA guys, but we don't have that.
"What we do have is a culture. Sometimes that's an overused word. Our kids understand it. And that's what is important. Touching every line in a suicide drills, being on time, going to class, treating people with respect. Culture has a lot to do with everything in their lives, not just basketball. I think karma comes into play there, too.
"So there was a calmness, a lot of poise, a lot of composure in our huddles tonight. We knew exactly what we wanted to do."