After Purdue defeated Maryland early Sunday afternoon, it felt safe to step away from college basketball and focus on the NFL playoffs.
Temple then ruined that plan.
Owls shockingly upset No. 1 Houston 56-55 inside Fertitta Center Despite the Cougars being closed as the 19.5 point favorites. Just like that, Kelvin Sampson’s program has an ugly third quadrant loss on his resume. FYI: He has never lost a Quadrant-3 match to any other team in the NET’s Top 5.
“We weren’t able to play big,” Sampson said. “I needed something big”
Houston had multiple shots that could actually win the game in the final seconds against a Temple team that came in with an 11-9 record in losses to Wagner and the Maryland Eastern Shore. But nothing fell. This is one of the reasons he shot only 33.9% from the field for the Cougars. Another killer: Houston missed 10 of 21 attempted free throws and Temple finished 20 of 22 from the Charity Stripes.
“It’s certainly frustrating,” Sampson said. “As a team, when you go missing [free throws] As such, some of us young people in particular probably start to put pressure on. Free throws can be mental like anything else. 20 vs 22 for one team and 11 vs 21 for the other is not a fair fight. “
The surprise loss dropped Houston from No. 1 to No. 6 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 Daily College Basketball Rankings, updated Monday morning.Has won more Quadrant 1 than the Cougars When A resume featuring zero losses outside the first two quadrants. Houston’s next game is his UCF on Wednesday. Based on NET, where UCF is currently ranked 56th, the contest will be a rare Quadrant 1 opportunity for Houston in the American Athletic Conference, where he is rated the 9th best league in the country.
