Houston’s relentless defense confused and harassed Tennessee and carried the Cougars into their seventh Final Four and first since 2021.

The No. 1 Cougars beat the No. 2 Volunteers, 69-50, in the Elite Eight on Sunday after amassing a 34-15 halftime lead. Tennessee’s fourth basket of the game came on its 23rd shot attempt. And that shot by Jordan Gainey simply cut a 21-point lead into a 29-10 advantage for Houston with 3:37 to play before the break.

With wins by Houston and Auburn on Sunday, next weekend’s Final Four will have all four No. 1 seeds for the second time in NCAA Tournament history.

UH reached the Final Four for the first time since 2021. The Cougars will face Duke, a five-time national champion, on Saturday in San Antonio.

With a 69-50 win over Tennessee that perfectly captured everything Sampson's program is about, Houston is on its way back to the Final Four

Houston's relentless, harassing defense had Tennessee's shooters dancing around. Now, the Cougars are two-stepping it back to Texas. L.J. Cryer finished with 17 points, Emanuel Sharp scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and the nation's stingiest defense delivered a historic NCAA Tournament performance,

Madness is set. No. 1 Houston locked up its bid in the foursome early Sunday with a dominant win over No. 2 Tennessee. It was pretty much over at halftime as the Cougars held the Vols to just 15 points before the break.