Should Kentucky fans want Houston or Ohio State as the Cats’ next foe?
When Kentucky takes the court Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinals in Kansas City, Mo., we know this:
There will be a familiar head coach on the opposing sideline. We will find out Sunday evening who that will be.
No. 2 seed UK (29-6) advanced to the round of 16 with a hard-fought 62-56 victory over No. 7 Wofford at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Next up for the Cats will be either No. 3 seed Houston (32-3) or No. 11 Ohio State (20-14).
The Cougars are coached by former Indiana head man Kelvin Sampson.
OSU is coached by Kentuckian Chris Holtmann, a standout on Jessamine County High School’s 1990 Boys’ Sweet Sixteen team.
Houston and Ohio State will decide the matter at 8:40 p.m. Sunday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., in a game that will be telecast on TNT.
Which opponent should UK backers prefer?
Know the Cougars
Houston has obviously enjoyed a better overall season than Ohio State. The American Athletic Association regular-season champions will take a 3-0 record against Power Five conference foes into the meeting with Ohio State.
From Dec. 1 through 12, the Cougars beat Oregon 65-61, won at Oklahoma State 63-53 and, most impressively, beat SEC regular-season champ-to-be LSU 82-76.
UK backers best know Sampson from his ill-fated, two-year (2006-08) stint as Indiana’s head coach. In two meetings vs. the Cats at IU, Sampson went 1-1, losing to Tubby Smith’s final Kentucky team in Rupp Arena and beating Billy Gillispie’s first UK squad in Assembly Hall the following year.
As a head coach, Sampson did his best work at Oklahoma, taking the Sooners to the 2002 Final Four.
Houston is a vintage Sampson team, winning with suffocating defense (foes are shooting only 36.7 percent vs. UH) and pounding the glass (plus-7.3 rebounding margin).
The Cougars start three guards. Point guard Corey Davis (16.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists), a senior who transferred to Houston from San Jacinto Junior College, is the star.
In Houston’s 84-55 demolition of No. 14 seed Georgia State in the round of 32, Davis was brilliant — 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists with no turnovers.
The leading rebounder for UH, interestingly, is 6-3 junior guard Armoni Brooks (6.5 rebounds to go with 13.6 points).
Houston’s starting post players are 6-7, 230-pound Fabian White (6.0 points, 3.7 rebounds) and 6-8, 260-pound Breaon Brady (6.1 points, 4.0 rebounds).
UK leads its all-time series with Houston 3-1, though the Cougars won the most recent meeting, 83-69, in 2007-08.
Know the Buckeyes
After an up-and-down season that included the late-in-the-year suspension of its best player, Ohio State faced Indiana in its first game in the Big Ten Tournament in what many viewed as a NCAA tourney elimination contest.
Buoyed by the return from suspension of star Kaleb Wesson, a 6-9, 270-pound wide body, the Buckeyes bested IU 79-75 and, ultimately, earned an NCAA Tournament invite.
In its round of 64 game, the Buckeyes upset No. 6 seed Iowa State 62-59 behind 21 points and 12 rebounds from Wesson.
Guard Keyshawn Woods (8.0 points per game), a graduate transfer from Wake Forest, backed Wesson with 19 points.
Like Houston, OSU starts three guards, the best of whom is senior C.J. Jackson (11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists).
Starting alongside Kaleb Wesson (14.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 50.7 field-goal percentage) up front is his brother Andre (8.7 points, 4.0 rebounds), a 6-6, 220-pound junior.
Ohio State’s season statistics befit a squad with a so-so record. The Buckeyes are barely out-shooting foes (43.6 percent to 42.1); barely outrebounding them (34.9 to 33.4); and barely outscoring them (69.4 to 66).
Holtmann has proven to be quite an effective NCAA Tournament coach. With the victory over Iowa State, the Nicholasville product has now won at least one game in the Dance five straight seasons — three times at Butler, the past two seasons at OSU.
In 2017, Holtmann led Butler to the round of 16, before falling to eventual NCAA champ North Carolina.
Historically, Kentucky leads its all-time series with Ohio State 11-9, but the Buckeyes have caused UK much heartache in March Madness.
OSU is 5-1 all-time vs. Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. However, with Ohio State as the 2011 NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed, Kentucky upset the Buckeyes 62-60 in the round of 16 on Brandon Knight’s pull-up jumper with 5.4 seconds left.
Who should you root for?
You never know in a one-and-done tournament, but, on paper, Houston looks like it would be the tougher out.
This story was originally published March 23, 2019 at 9:07 PM.
