Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars are one of the best stories of the college basketball season. After seeing their season end in heartbreak in the NCAA tournament last season on Jordan Poole’s infamous buzzer-beater, the Cougars this year by winning their first 15 games despite the loss of last year’s senior star Rob Gray.
Houston basketball’s undefeated season ended in heartbreak with charge call
Temple ended Houston’s undefeated season with a charge cal.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Houston entered the night as one of the three undefeated teams left standing alongside Michigan and Virginia. That streak was put on the line on the road against Temple on Wednesday, which turned into a defensive slugfest that came down the wire.
Houston trailed by two on the last possession. Senior guard Corey Davis drove to the hole for the game-tying layup, but Temple took a charge and the Cougars’ unbeaten season ended on contact.
Charge calls are often derided in college basketball, but this one is legit. Davis made the shot and conceivably could have gone to the foul line to win the game for Houston, but the refs clearly made the correct call.
Temple picks up a huge win — star wing Quentin Rose popped off for 22 points — and Houston takes first L. All Sampson could do is fall to the floor:
The AAC is tough this year, with UCF, SMU, and this Temple team posing legitimate threats to Houston in conference.
The Cougars will get a shot at redemption when they host Temple on Jan. 31.
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