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Kelvin Sampson consoles crying Khalif Battle following Houston win over Gonzaga

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•03/22/25•

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Kelvin Sampson and Khalif Battle
Screenshot courtesy of @CBSSports/X

In what turned into a thriller Saturday night in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Houston held on to avoid an upset loss to Gonzaga. Afterward, the emotions flowed from Khalif Battle, and Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson consoled him.

With the loss, Battle’s college career came to an end. This year marked his sixth season of college basketball after starting his career at Butler, Temple and Arkansas before arriving at Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs mounted a furious charge to make things interesting in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough. Their season is over – and, with it, Battle’s career. The tears flowed as he walked off the court, which is when Sampson was there to give him a hug.

Sampson isn’t shy about his admiration for the Gonzaga program and reiterated it after the game. He credited Mark Few for building the Bulldogs into the power they are and said that adds to the magnitude of Saturday’s win.

“Let’s stop and congratulate Mark Few and Gonzaga for what they’ve accomplished,” Sampson said on the TNT broadcast. “They’ve been such a shining light for basketball programs and basketball coaches for a long, long time. There’s nobody I respect more than Mark Few, and there’s not a basketball program I respect more than Gonzaga. We beat a hell of a program tonight. That makes it even more significant.”

Kelvin Sampson also spoke highly of the Gonzaga program ahead of Saturday’s matchup. He noted the job Dan Monson did making the program nationally relevant and how Few picked up the baton after Monson left for Minnesota. Sampson also said Gonzaga set the bar for what he wants Houston to be.

“Gonzaga was somebody we’ve always looked up to,” Sampson said. “When they start rolling with Mons and Mons left and took the Minnesota job, right? Then Mark came in. Now all these years later, it’s one of the – he is not one of the best coaches in our game, he’s one of the best coaches our game has ever seen. Mark is a Hall of Famer. Not just Hall of Fame coach. He’s a Hall of Fame everything: Father, husband, friend. He’s one of those guys that makes our profession look good. Mark is a great guy.”

Houston is now heading to the Sweet Sixteen in the Midwest Region and will now get ready to make the trip to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Cougars will take on Purdue next week.