Houston has advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the third No. 1 seed to do so.
The Cougars, the top seed in the Midwest Region, held off second-seeded Tennessee, 69-50, to extend Division I’s longest active winning streak to 17 games. Houston is bound for the Final Four in San Antonio, joining fellow top seeds Duke and Florida, which won Saturday.
There’s a possibility a fourth top seed, Auburn, could join them later Sunday, when the Tigers face second-seeded Michigan State in the South Region. Only once in tournament history, in 2008, have all four top seeds advanced to a Final Four.
Tennessee was plagued by a horrific offensive performance in which it had scored 15 points by halftime while trailing by 19. The 15 points were the fewest ever scored in the first half in an NCAA Tournament game by a top-two seed, according to ESPN research.
After having made just six of its first 32 shots — including an 0-for-14 start on 3-pointers — Tennessee made four of its next eight 3-pointers midway through the second half to eventually trim its deficit to just 10 with 5:41 left.
The comeback was attempting to buck decades of history, as teams that trailed by 19 or more points at halftime were 0-243 all-time in NCAA Tournament history.
Yet the rally never truly threatened Houston, which advanced to its seventh Final Four despite shooting only four free throws, in part by committing just five turnovers.
Houston shot 28-of-66 from the floor, while Tennessee mustered just 15-of-52, including 5-of-29 from beyond the 3-point arc. LJ Cryer led Houston with 17 points. For Tennessee, Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey each scored 17 points.
Next weekend, the Cougars will face Duke for an opportunity to advance to the men’s national championship.
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