Editor’s note: John Fanta is counting down his top 15 college basketball teams leading up to the start of the 2022-23 season. Checking in at No. 3 is Houston.
The Houston Cougars are the toughest team in college basketball, and that’s not a hot take.
The way Kelvin Sampson gets his players to rise to such a high level of intensity is impressive. If it was so easy to achieve, every coach would be doing it. The 34th-year head coach has mastered a culture at Houston, and it has resulted in a golden era of consistency for the program.
Over the last four seasons, Houston is 116-22. The Cougars have been to a Final Four, an Elite Eight and a Sweet 16 in that span. In the last two years, they’ve notched 60 wins.
Ranking first among all power conference teams — and third overall — in scoring defense last season, the Cougars allowed just 58.8 points per game.
The numbers are staggering, and the wildest part is that the Cougars could be even better this season. Four of their five starters are returning. Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark, who were both off to a strong start last year before suffering season-ending injuries, are healthy and ready to go. Sasser is a preseason All-American and could end up being the best guard in the country.
All of that experience will lead to winning, but to make the Cougars that much more dangerous, Sampson acquired the highest-ranked recruit in Houston program history — five-star forward Jarace Walker.
So Houston has plenty of firepower to give opposing teams a handful, and the Cougars are always going to defend and rebound. Last year, they were first in the country with an offensive rebounding rate of 38%. In fact, according to KenPom.com, the Cougars have finished in the top three of that category nationally in each of the last three seasons.
While Kyler Edwards, Taze Moore, Josh Carlton and Fabian White are gone, Sampson has others ready to take on an increased role and freshmen who can make an immediate impact. Even with injuries hitting the Cougars hard a year ago, they somehow figured out a way to reach the Elite Eight. Health is an obvious key with a couple of players in comeback mode from significant setbacks, but if this team stays intact, watch out.
Who’s back on the roster?
Sasser’s return was the biggest news for Sampson because the 6-foot-2 guard is such an explosive offensive player. Before a toe injury ended his season, Sasser was looking like one of the…
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