LAWRENCE, Kansas - It’s been a rough stretch for the Houston Cougars this past week, losing three straight to Iowa State, Arizona, and Kansas.
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - FEBRUARY 23: Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars walks back to the bench during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 23, 2026 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Get …
In their most recent loss to the Kanasas Jayhawks, the Cougars lost 69-56 with many key players not playing much in the second half after going down by a sizable amount.
It’s the first time since January 2017 that the program has dropped three consecutive games.
Houston now sits third in the Big 12 standings and fifth in the AP top 25 rankings with the possibility of dipping further down.
With last year's loss in the NCAA Men's National Championship game lingering , the Cougars and Coach Sampson will look to get the team back on track going into March.
Staying the course
While the team appears to be in a rough spot, Head coach Kelvin Sampson isn’t fazed much by his squad’s shortcomings, telling reporters after their first home loss to Arizona that losing has never bothered him that much." Losing is a part of the journey," Sampson added.
The team struggled the most on offense, and particularly with three-point shooting, as the Cougars have shot 29.7% from deep over this 3-game losing streak.
A competitive streak of games against the top teams in the conference can factor into the slumps on offense.
Sampson admitted to keeping Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan on the bench during most of the second half against Kansas due to fatigue from heavy minutes. " I took Milos and Emanuel out for a reason. They had nothing[…] Tonight we just ran out of steam".
What needs to change
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - FEBRUARY 23: Forward Flory Bidunga #40 of the Kansas Jayhawks drives as he is defended by guard Kingston Flemings #4 of the Houston Cougars in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 23, 2026 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by …
The Cougars have to hang their hat on defense again for the offense to get better. Houston plays better when their half-court defense leads to offense on the fastbreak, which hasn’t happened as of late.
As the regular season winds down with three games remaining, Coach Sampson believes the losses can serve as valuable lessons. "These games, even though we lost them, aren’t the end of the by any stretch," Sampson said. "We can use these opportunities to help us in March."
The Source: These comments were from the post-game pressers by Kelvin Sampson.