Fans go wild as Houston Cougars locker room erupts in celebrations after beating Red Raiders: "I can't sleep, I am too fired up"

Coach Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders 69-61 on Monday evening, avenging their only Big 12 conference loss earlier in the season. The win ensured that the Cougars retained a share of their Big 12 regular season championship, which they won last year as a new team in the conference.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a Red Raiders alum, attended the game, adding to the raucous atmosphere in Lubbock as the Cougars sought revenge after Texas Tech broke their 33-game winning streak on Feb. 1.

With this victory, the Cougars became the first team since the 1922-23 season to win a major conference championship in their first two seasons in the conference, a feat previously achieved by Idaho. The team's celebrations were showcased in a clip posted on Houston's X account.

During his postgame news conference, Sampson spoke about how tough the win was and that his team would not celebrate too much due to their upcoming games.

“That crowd and that old Red Raider quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) that showed up had to be worth at least 10 points. As far as celebrating, nah,” Sampson said. “We’ve won a few conference championships. We’ll celebrate when the time comes. But right now, it’s more about rest and get ready for Saturday. We need the rest. They need to recover. Get our legs, get our wind. Take a deep breath.”

College basketball fans on X had mixed reactions to Houston's celebrations after the win.

Cougars fans were fired up online after the big win:

"Admin I can’t sleep, I am too fired up," one fan tweeted.

"respect to Coach being a defensive team like a real one in this offensive era of basketball is special," another fan said.

"This one feels different, folks! Go COOGS!! On to bigger and better accomplishments," one fan added.

Kelvin Sampson's Houston praised by former NBA star

The Houston Cougars under coach Kelvin Sampson hold the longest active streak of being ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll with 102 consecutive weeks.

During Tuesday's segment of "The Field of 68," former NBA star Randolph Childress praised Sampson for taking over the Big 12 despite being newbies in the conference (Timestamp: 25:50):

"So much respect for coach Sampson and what he's done," Childress said. "He's come in and taken over a league that Kansas has reigned for quite some time. To do what he's done in back-to-back years, credit to him. I do think that this team is one of the few teams that can win it (national championships)."

The Houston Cougars can clinch the Big 12 title outright if they win against the Cincinnati Bearcats in a home game on Saturday. They are also still in the running to be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming March Madness tournament, where they will be among the favorites to win the national title.