MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Houston senior backup Ryan Elvin stepped to the free throw line with 17 seconds left in overtime to take a three-second lead and advance to the Sweet 16.
Irvin played a total of 60 minutes all season, almost all in garbage time. But a second later, head coach Kelvin Sampson was forced to send him to the scorer’s table when a fourth Cougar player, All-American point guard and Big 12 Player of the Year Jamal Shedd – Fouled and left the game. Houston swapped the last man off the bench for its star player, and suddenly, he was instantly the open man for an inside pass with a chance to reach the stripe and a chance to decide the game.
He missed the first one.
He did the second one.
A four-point lead was enough for Houston to beat Texas A&M 100-95 on Sunday in arguably the best game of the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend and one that highlighted even the most unsuspecting heroes. Got this.
“I was shocked he missed one,” Schade said later. “He works the same way we do. He works harder than us, honestly. This is someone we trust and a pillar of our culture.”
The win puts the No. 1-seeded Cougars into their fourth straight Sweet Sixteen, where they will face No. 4 seed Duke on Friday in the Dallas South Region.
“I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t nervous. I was very nervous,” said Irvin, who is 4 of 6 from the line this season. “It’s a testament to how our program works. We took advantage of everybody. Definitely (the biggest free throw) of my life. In the long run.”
Alvin’s crowning moment was an incredible match with an ending stranger than fiction. Houston was in control for much of the night and led throughout the second half, leading by 10 points with 1:24 left in regulation. But with just one day remaining in a 98-83 first-round win over Nebraska, the ninth-seeded Aggies rallied in dramatic fashion on a basket by forward Andersson Garcia. A three-pointer at the buzzer sent the game into overtime. Garcia made 8 of 19 3-pointers this season and then buried what coach Buzz Williams called “a shot that will go down in Texas A&M lore.”
Buzzer forces OT 🚨🚨🚨#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/mZSqICdiZR
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2024
Houston outscored A&M 14-9 in overtime despite fouling out four of its five starters, the first time since 1987 that a team has won the NCAA Tournament by that margin championship.
“It’s a perfect record for Houston to have four players foul out and still find a way to win,” Sampson said. “In all the years I’ve been doing this, I don’t know if there’s ever been a more satisfying win than tonight. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team. I’m really, really proud of this team. “
The short-handed Cougars were stuck with an already thin bench the entire game due to foul trouble, which seemed like it would spell disaster with five minutes remaining.
Instead, it was a gutsy win for a program defined by a tough culture under Sampson. Generally, this toughness is attributed to Houston’s physicality and defense. That was evident on Sunday — a little too obvious considering A&M committed 28 fouls and attempted 45 free throws. But as the game progressed, Houston’s toughness became a reflection of its resilience.
“When that (shot) went in (to force overtime), I’m sure most people’s thought process was, ‘Houston screwed up, they’re going to lose now,'” Sampson said. “That’s a wrong assumption because that’s what our children were born for.”
From the top to the bottom of the roster, this is a team that’s fighting each other. For those who are no longer with them.
Sampson, 68, who is in his 10th season with Houston, describes himself as a “forever tinkerer.” He goes into the office every day to watch film, take practice notes or review scouting reports.
“When I go in on Sunday morning, that’s my favorite time because there’s no one there,” Sampson said. “Except for one person: Ryan Irvine.”
Elvin joins the program in the same 2020 recruiting class as Shead, who comes out of in-state Cedar Ridge High School in Round Rock, near Austin. He was a first-team all-district player at the school in Class 6A, the largest class in Texas. He was the quintessential backup player: the short, scrawny kid at the end of the bench who was a good player but lacked the athleticism to play at the senior Division I level. Sampson and his staff asked Irvin to move on, recognizing the same work ethic and tenacity that has led to 125 wins (and counting) over the past four seasons and more than 100 wins over the past four seasons. More than any other D1 project in the country during the same period.
Elvin has been with the team through all 125 games, but never in such an impactful way. With two and a half minutes left in overtime, more and more fouls were committed. Sharp, who had already left the game with six fouls, looked down at Irvin on the bench and told him to be ready.
“Because you never know what’s going to happen,” Irvin said in the locker room after the game. “Then something crazy happened,”
Irvin is a fitness junkie, and on Sunday morning Sampson was busy tinkering and shooting hoops by himself. He goes on extra sprints, takes teammates to practices, cooks meals in his apartment and invites teams over.
“Ryan is a leader,” Claire later said. “People may not see it because he doesn’t get (playing time), but he comes out and shows he’s a big part of the team.”
It was part of the struggle on and off the court that endeared Irvin to the team and the fans. In October 2021, just before the start of Ervin’s sophomore season, Ervin’s father, Scott, passed away after a long illness. Sampson said Scott is Ryan’s biggest fan.
“This is a huge loss to our program,” Sampson said.
This isn’t the only one. Sampson has spoken in recent weeks about four key players the group must replace from last year’s roster: Marcus Sather, Jarras Walker, Tramon Mack and Reggie Chaney. Sasser and Walker were first-round picks in the NBA draft. Mark transferred to Arkansas. Chaney, who graduated after three seasons with the Cougars, died of an accidental overdose last August.
He’s a 6-foot-8, tough-as-nails boxer — the quintessential Houston big man. Sampson once called him his security blanket, telling Chaney, “Some days it’s hot and I might not need you, but if there’s a little chill in the air, it’s nice to know I have that blanket.”
The head coach mentioned Chaney in his postgame press conference, and the team also wore the No. 32 patch on their uniforms this year, but Sampson said Sunday that it was the first time all season that he had to wear the No. 32 patch at halftime all season. Chaney was mentioned in the locker room. .
“He mentioned Reggie, and I kind of started tearing up,” Shedd said. “That guy is a warrior. He’s got broken knuckles, stress fractures in his knees, back spasms. So when (the coach) asked, ‘What would Reggie do?’ “Reggie will fight. I thought we did that in the second half.”
Jamal Shead led the way for Houston as usual — until he fouled out. (Stacey Revere/Getty Images)
Shedd has been fighting all season. The senior captain was not only Houston’s best player, but one of the best in the country, leading the Cougars to the Big 12 regular-season title in his first year in the league and becoming another No. 1 player in the tournament. seed. On Sunday, he once again played a key role, scoring when needed, grabbing rebounds, dunking and creating for teammates.
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Some of his 10 assists went to 6-foot-3 wing Emanuel Sharp, who scored a career-high 30 points. Sharpe’s role became even more important after Terrence Arseno tore his Achilles in December. J’Wan Roberts received seven stitches earlier this month and is wearing a bandage on his right hand, where he has been battling a shin injury since the Big 12 Tournament. He lasted the entire 33 minutes and was the only starter without a foul, despite getting his fourth ball with nearly eight minutes left in regulation. Houston’s frontcourt was thin earlier this month when freshman forward Joseph Tugler suffered a broken foot. Backup guard Ramon Walker Jr. tore his meniscus in mid-February. Sampson hoped to redshirt freshman center Ced Lath this season, but he was forced to serve amid nagging injuries.
“We just pieced it together,” Sampson said.
Russ and Walker completed a key offensive comeback with 70 seconds left in overtime, joining Irvine on the court. After the win, Walker left the court with tears streaming down his face, thinking about Chaney.
“To be able to finish this game and get the win is a testament to how close we are as a team,” he said. “Everyone from Jamal to Ryan is ready to play.”
Before overtime began, Sampson reminded the players in the crowd of the overtime win over Baylor on Feb. 24, when the Bruins came back from 15 points down and the crowd went wild, only for the Cougars to lose in overtime. The score opened up again during the game. Meeting. A team built on resilience — one that has stayed ahead in rankings, standings and metrics all season long, despite injuries and other factors — was in action again on Sunday, playing well with each other and Inspired by those who are no longer with them. So they can play another game.
The challenges don’t stop. Duke, which scored 93 points and hit 14 of 28 3-pointers in a second-round win over James Madison, awaited the Cougars in Dallas with at least a home crowd advantage. But another Final Four, like the program’s in 2021, will require more of a collective, culture-filled effort.
“Survive and move forward” is a popular cliché this time of year. That was life in Houston on Sunday.
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(Photo of Emanuel Sharp and Ramon Walker Jr.: Petre Thomas/USA Today)
