Houston's Kelvin Sampson is enjoying the chase of making it back to the Final Four

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson joins Jon Rothstein to talk about the start of this season for Houston, the difference between this year's team and last year's team, and what he's looking forward to about the Players Era 8. They also dive into his excitement around playing at Madison Square Garden, how many bids he expects the Big 12 to receive in the NCAA tournament and more.

0:00 Intro & The value of early season buy games

0:55 Houston’s defense + Other improvements to be made 

1:52 Difference between last year and this year + Why they were intentional in the portal

5:13 Why he'd rather play in the Sweet 16 on the road 

7:48 How he knew he wanted to return for this season

11:53 On enjoying the process more than the end result? 

15:42 How Houston is different from Indiana, Oklahoma

17:53 How the Players Era Tournament has changed early-season tournaments in CBB 

21:07 Excitement around a possible matchup with No. 1 Florida

23:10 On the magic of Madison Square Garden: “Get to play where Frank Sinatra sang”

24:36 Why the next Big 12 Commissioner has “big shoes to fill”

26:30 How many bids should the Big 12 expect in the 76-team NCAA tournament? 

28:16 Health is the most important factor for a deep Houston tourney run in 2026-27

30:00 How many of Mrs. Sampson’s chocolate chip cookies has he eaten in one sitting?