Houston basketball’s Kelvin Sampson won’t blame refs after Texas Tech ‘kicked our a**’

As No. 6 Houston basketball fell to JT Toppin and the No. 12 Texas Tech Raiders on Saturday, 90-86, it garnered the reaction of Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson. Despite Houston basketball freshman Kingston Flemings scoring 42 points, it still resulted in a loss to the Red Raiders, and Sampson isn’t making any excuses for it.

A reporter would ask Sampson after the game about the fouls called against the Cougars, but the head coach is not a bit worried about how the whistle was blown. Instead, Sampson would be blunt and say that Texas Tech “kicked out a**” when it came to offensive rebounds, where they lost that battle, 21-11.

“I’m not going to sit here and b**** about the referees when they kicked our a** the way they did on the offensive glass,” Sampson said, via Fox College Hoops. “So, I’m not into that narrative. I don’t even care about the whistle right now. I care about getting our guys better at the things that we can get better at.”

"I'm not going to sit here and b**** about the referees when they kicked our ass the way they did on the offensive glass."

Houston HC Kelvin Sampson after the Cougars' loss to No. 12 Texas Tech. pic.twitter.com/4mVNi40j76

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 24, 2026

Houston basketball’s Kelvin Sampson on what the loss came down to

Though it was a historic game for the Houston basketball freshman in Flemings, it was also a dominant showing for the Red Raiders star in Toppin, who recorded 31 points and 12 rebounds. However, Sampson would say the game didn’t center around Flemings and Toppin, once again mentioning losing the rebounding battle and the second-chance points that the team gave up.

“The game didn’t come down to either one of them,” Sampson said, via Sports Illustrated. “Kingston happened to be scoring, and Toppin happened to be scoring, but we’ve got enough guys that if Kingston wasn’t shooting, somebody else can score. We’ve got a bunch og guys that can score.”

“The game came down to one area, and that’s where they were really good. When they shot and missed the ball, they scored 22 points off their misses,” Sampson continued. “That’s an area that, whatever you think of our program, that’s a big reason why we’ve been so successful.”

The Cougars look to bounce back when visiting TCU on Wednesday night.

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