Houston's Kelvin Sampson: Being Favored vs. Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse 'Sacrilegious'

Houston men's basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson was confused by his team being favored over No. 8 Kansas at home following the Cougars' 78-65 loss on Saturday.

"Someone told me we were favored in this game," Sampson said after the defeat, per reporter Jeff Goodman. "That's sacrilegious."

The Jayhawks have been dominant once again at Allen Fieldhouse during their 2023-24 season, owning a perfect 12-0 record at home after Saturday's victory.

Under legendary head coach Bill Self, Kansas has been nearly impossible to beat at home. Since Self took over the program in 2003, the Jayhawks own a record of 320-17 at Allen Fieldhouse. Their last home loss was in Jan. 2023, a surprising 83-60 defeat at the hands of TCU.

Despite Houston entering the contest as the No. 4-ranked team in the country, it's even more surprising that the Cougars were favored given the team's struggles on the road this season. Entering Saturday's action, both of Houston's losses in 2024 have come away from home. The Cougars barely escaped with a road win in their previous game, a narrow 76-72 victory over Texas in overtime on Monday.

Houston was unable to find any shooting rhythm as a team, as its 65 points scored was tied for the squad's third-lowest mark of the season. The Cougars shot just 36 percent from the field and 31 percent from behind the arc, routinely misfiring on lightly contested looks. It's evident that the Jayhawks crowd played a factor in the game, although Sampson was dismayed with his team's lack of energy.

"I told them I was disappointed in their effort," he said after the loss, per Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle. "That's not who we are."

The Cougars will attempt to right the ship in their next game, a matchup with Oklahoma State on Tuesday.