No. 1 Houston Cougars suffer first loss of season in rematch with No. 8 Alabama
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The No. 1 UH Cougars suffered their first season loss against an Alabama Crimson Tide team that wanted to take another college basketball power program down this season.
The video above is from a previous report.
The Coogs took an early lead but fell 65-71 in Saturday's game.
Their next matchup will be Tuesday, Dec. 13, against North Carolina A&T.
Setting the stage
The Cougars entered the game as the top-ranked team in the nation for the second week.
They played in front of a record crowd of 7,603 at the Fertitta Center.
"It's nothing like I've ever experienced," UH student Julia Bennett said. "I started here during COVID, and there was nothing like this. It feels so alive and a huge family that's here together."
"It's electric out here tonight," student Daniel Okoh explained. "It feels good. We got a sold-out stadium. Everybody out here is repping their Cougars. I love that."
The match-up was historic as it was the first time two top-ten teams played at the University of Houston. That last time: the Cougars played UCLA at the Astrodome in 1968, dubbed "The Game of the Century."
Cougars won that game.
Although they loss on Saturday, but it didn't deflate fans' spirits. "You should be proud to be a Cougar and live in this town," Evan Mcghee said.
They were undefeated through their first nine games of the season, which, depending on who you ask, has been a cupcake-type of non-conference schedule to this point. The Men's College Basketball Power Index ranks UH 234th in strength of schedule.
Coach Kelvin Sampson's bunch has had two games - Kent State and Saint Mary's - in which they won by just five points. The rest of their opponents were double-digit victories.
So a challenge in the form of the eighth-ranked team in the country is warranted for the Coogs, who have dreams of lifting up a national championship after the tournament final in Houston.
Some could argue that UH's No. 1 ranking doesn't happen without Alabama, which defeated previous top-ranked North Carolina earlier this season. The Coogs were No. 2 at the time.
But, of course, these two programs have fresh history against each other.
A 'garbage' no-call?
Saturday's game serves as a rematch of last December's non-conference matchup in Tuscaloosa, where 'Bama survived an uncalled goaltend at the end of the game to defeat the Coogs.
The close matchup fueled tensions that literally spilled out on the court.
The game may be remembered more for how some Coogs players and staff left a mess behind heading off the court. A player was caught on camera tossing a garbage can to its side.
However, almost immediately after it, then-sophomore guard Jamal Shead picked up the spilled trash, which was a moment that went viral.
SEE MORE: Houston Cougars sophomore Jamal Shead praised for picking up trash spilled after loss at Alabama
Houston Cougars brass apologized for the scene. Kellen Sampson, Kelvin's son who is also a UH assistant, was remorseful for seemingly causing part of the mess.
UH-'Bama is a hot ticket
If you're looking for tickets to a game between two college basketball juggernauts, prepare to stand for a couple of hours.
UH's event ticketing site shows standing room only and student section tickets.
A search of StubHub on Friday afternoon showed tickets in the alumni section going for $158 each, which is the lowest available.
StubHub's most expensive seats are in the lower bowl, second row, priced at $1,800 each. For context, a lower bowl, fourth-row ticket to Sunday's Rockets-Bucks game at Toyota Center is selling for $310 each.
We won't find out how far U of H will drop in the rankings until Monday. Most likely, Virginia will become the top team.
It's perfect timing for the Cougars because next Saturday, they travel to Virginia, and this time, they can spoiler on the road potentially against the top-ranked team.
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