The Houston Cougars are headed to their seventh Final Four in program history, and their second in four years under Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars did it in style, too, showing off their trademark tenacious defense in a 69-50 win over the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.
But while Houston is no stranger to this rarefied air, they're still looking to finally get over the hump and cut down the nets: The program has lost three times in the semis and three more times in the national title game, including twice in a row during the Phi Slama Jama days in the early 1980s.
With a semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed Duke and star freshman Cooper Flagg on tap, the road won't be easy. But at least Houston will have some home cooking at their disposal.
Where is the 2025 men's Final Four located?
The Final Four of the 2025 men's NCAA Tournament will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, a site that's become very familiar to college hoops fans over the years. This will be the fifth time the venue will play host to the Final Four, all five of which have come since 1998.
But none of those previous four featured a team from Texas, with champions in Kentucky (1998), UConn (2004), Kansas (2008) and Villanova.
When's the last time a team played for NCAA basketball title in home state?
As you might imagine, a team playing in the Final Four in its home state is pretty rare; it's happened just 14 times in over 80 years of the NCAA Tournament. And it's become much rarer as time has gone on and parity has reigned supreme in March: We've only gotten a home-state game twice in the 21st century, with Butler in Indianapolis in 2010 (lost to Duke in the title game) and Michigan State in Detroit in 2009 (lost to UNC in the title game). Prior to that, you have to go back to 1994, when Duke played in the Final Four in Charlotte, and those are the only three times it's happened since 1980.