The University of Houston is heading to San Antonio for the NCAA men’s tournament ‘Final Four’ for the first time in four years, after defeating Tennessee 69-50 in the Midwest Region championship game on Sunday.

With 17 points from Big 12 player of the year L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp with 16 points, the Cougars led by as much as 22 points in the first half and went into halftime with a 34-15 lead;

Coach Kelvin Sampson said maturity of the team’s leaders was the key to Houston’s success: “They care more about winning than they do statistics. They allow me to coach them the way I want to coach them. I think that’s important. We recruit these young men because of their high character and we tell them it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be hard. But they have to choose hard, and they do. And that’s why I love them.”

The Cougars will face Duke next weekend to try and advance to the men’s national championship.

**
Auburn beat Michigan State 70-64 on Sunday and complete the sweep of No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four. The South Region champion Tigers, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, became the last of the No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four — joining Florida, Duke and Houston.

Johni Broome had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help Auburn earn its second Final Four trip, led by head coach Bruce Pearl (who also led Auburn to its only previous Final Four appearance in 2019).

Auburn will face Florida (who defeated Texas Tech 84-79 in the West Region final) on Saturday in San Antonio.

Editorial credit: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com