Houston's 1 for 20 three-point shooting looms large in 50-44 loss to Villanova in Elite Eight

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UPDATED: March 26, 2022 -- 10:50 p.m. CT

POSTED: March 26, 2022 -- 9:06 p.m. CT

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- (AT&T Center)

The 5th-seed Houston Cougars men's basketball team lost 50-44 to 2-seed Villanova in the South Regional Final of the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

Houston (32-6) struggled to make shots and never led in the ball game. Villanova advances to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 and becomes the first 2-seed to defeat a 5-seed in an Elite 8 matchup. The 5-seed was 4-0 in previous meetings.

Today's loss is the first loss in the Elite 8 in Houston Cougars men's basketball history. Houston won the first 6 trips to the Elite 8.

Neither team shot the ball at a high percentage from the floor; but, a key difference is Villanova made 5 (of 21) three-point shots to Houston's 1 (of 20) three-point attempts.

Houston shot 29.8% (17 for 57) from the floor while Villanova shot 28.8% (15 for 52) from the floor.

"But, if you'd have told me before the game that we're going to hold them to 28 percent from the field," Kelvin Sampson, Houston Head Coach said after the game. "They're going to shoot 23 percent from the three-point line, and we'd lose, I wouldn't have believed you."

Coach Sampson was not upset with the shots his players took in the game.

"You don't get on kids for missing shots. That's ridiculous," Coach Sampson remarked. "Nobody's trying to miss, especially ones that are open. What I got on our kids about at halftime was the lack of offensive rebounding. I thought Villanova was the aggressor in the first half the way they blocked out.

"Second half, we got on them. We got home on the boards. I think we wound up with 15 offensive rebounds, but my God, we missed 40 shots."

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Villanova scored the first 5 points of the game and were more active and aggressive than Houston to start the game.

"We just didn't come out aggressive, like Coach said," Fabian White, Houston graduate forward said after the game. "There wasn't really nothing that shocked us. We just had to buckle down really on defense. They scored their first two points pretty easily, but after that, I feel like the game was pretty much neck and neck, just again we weren't making any shots really."

Houston trailed by as much as 11 (21-10) with 6:03 left in the opening half. Houston clawed within 7 (27-20) at halftime.

Villanova out-rebounded Houston 19-17 in the first half.

Villanova led by 10 twice early in the second half; but, Houston's J'Wan Roberts scored a second-chance layup to bring Houston within 6 (35-29). However, Justin Moore sank a tough 3-pointer and Jermaine Samuels followed with a layup off a Houston turnover to give Villanova an 11 point lead (40-29) again.

Houston responded with a 11-2 run as Taze Moore got hot with 6 points on attacks to the basket. Houston trailed 42-40 with 5:25 remaining in the game; but, Collin Gillespie hit a tough pull-up jumper for a 44-40 lead.

Houston missed 3 consecutive shots before Villanova secured the defensive rebound. Villanova's Caleb Daniels missed a step back jumper but Justin Moore got the rebound. The Wildcats used more time off the clock before Moore was fouled before the shot clock expired.

Moore made both free throws for a 46-40 lead. Jamal Shead made a floater in the paint with 1:25 on the clock to cut Houston's deficit to 4. Houston didn't closer than 4 the final 85 seconds. Houston missed its last 5 field goal attempts. Shead's basket was Houston's only basket out of 11 attempts in the closing minutes.

Taze Moore led Houston with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jamal Shead was next with 9 points. J'Wan Roberts scored 7 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.

Today's loss does not erase a very successful season for Houston.

"We had a lot of opportunities. They didn't go in," Coach Sampson commented. "That happens. I'm disappointed we lost. I felt this was a game we could win. Not should win, but could win. We had to earn it.

"Disappointed we lost, but I'm not disappointed in anything else."

Coach Sampson concluded Houston's press conference saying, "Our fans, I think, mirror the growth of our program. When we first got to Houston, we couldn't get anybody to come to our games, students, anybody. But now look at us today. Our fans were awesome. I can't tell you how proud I am and thankful we are that we have a fan base. So my message to our program and to our fans, people that support us, is thank you. Our kids poured their hearts out. We're not going anywhere. We'll be back."

CLICK HERE for The HRR's write-ups of Coogs' men's hoops games.