Houston survives late run from Oregon State, heads to first Final Four since 1984

Yahoo Sports College reporter Pete Thamel takes you through Houston’s Elite 8 win over Oregon State behind suffocating defense and offensive rebounding. The Cougars are headed to their first Final Four since 1984, when the legendary ‘Phi Slama Jama’ team did it.

Video transcript

PETE THAMEL: The easiest path to the Final Four in the history of the NCAA tournament came the hard way for Houston. The Cougars knocked off number 12-seed Oregon State 67-61 to advance to the school's first Final Four since 1984. Houston beat a 15-seed, a 10-seed, an 11th seed, and now a 12th, by seed, the easiest path ever.

But the game didn't come without drama. Houston jumped out to a 17-point game. It looked like they were going to cruise. But Oregon State vaulted back to the game in the second half, actually tied the score in the final minutes. And Houston made it three straight possessions where they grabbed offensive rebounds and forced free throws to inch ahead at the end.

As usual for Kelvin Sampson's Cougars, the star of the game came on the defensive end. Dejon Jarreau, the senior guard, held Oregon State's star Ethan Thompson to 3-12 shooting, 0-2 from three-point. Ethan Thompson, of course, has been the star of this six-game do-or-die Oregon State bench that brought the number 12 Beavers to the cusp of becoming the first number 12 seed to reach the Final Four.

Houston needed a pair of three-point shots by Quentin Grimes that eventually solved and loosened up Oregon State's vexing 1-3-1 zone weaves. Once that happened, the old fashioned rugged Kelvin Sampson basketball took over. Offensive rebound and offensive rebound yielded a trip to the line, and Houston figured out a way to gut out a few more stops, none more important than Jarreau diving on Thompson with 47 seconds left to force a turnover, essentially ending the game.

The Cougars will now advance to play the winner of tonight's game between Baylor and Arkansas. The Southwest Conference is alive tonight here in Indianapolis. I'm Pete Thamel at Lucas Oil Stadium.