Kelvin Sampson calls out the media hype around Duke after thrilling Final Four win vs Cooper Flagg and Co: "Don't sleep on Houston"

Kelvin Sampson and Houston shocked the basketball world on Saturday night after defeating Duke 70-67 in what was a thrilling Final Four contest. Houston's win placed them in their first national championship game since 1984.

The Blue Devils were the overwhelming favorites heading into the matchup, with every betting site pegging Jon Scheyer's squad to defeat the Cougars. Led by freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, Duke was the media darling heading into the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Sampson wanted to make sure that his team got the credit he felt they deserved. He spoke with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson shortly after the game ended to set the records straight.

"It's lucky to have them, but it's not lucky that they do what they do, because that's work," Sampson praised his players (at 1:01). "They trust their work.

"I hear what people say, 'Duke this, Duke that.' Duke’s great. Jon Scheyer is awesome. But don’t sleep on Houston...We weren’t 34-4 playing in the toy poodle league. We were 19-1 in the Big 12. Playing in the Big 12 helped us."

Kelvin Sampson's squad finished first in a loaded Big 12 conference featuring the likes of Texas Tech, Kansas, BYU, Baylor and Arizona. They lost just one game in conference play and went on to win the Big 12 Tournament.

In March Madness, before Duke, Houston defeated Gonzaga, Purdue and Tennessee to advance to the Final Four.

The media has certainly been warned not to discount the Cougars in the NCAA Finals.

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Kelvin Sampson praises team's resilience after intense late-game rally

With less than nine minutes to go, Duke led by 14 points and looked poised to close out the game. However, Houston did not go away quietly as they kept knocking on the door. Four minutes later, the Cougars trimmed the deficit to just four points.

The Blue Devils pushed the lead back up to nine points with 2:15 remaining. The score read 67-61 with less than a minute left on the clock, and it appeared as if Houston's season was nearing its end.

However, junior guard Emanuel Sharp drained a 3-pointer with 33 seconds to go, which was the start of an improbable 9-0 run to close out the game.

"No one ever loses at anything as long as you don't quit. You quit, and I don't care if you've lost," coach Kelvin Sampson said in the same interview with CBS.

"It's not like we're down 20. It's not like we were playing great. We felt like if we could get it close enough to put some game pressure on them, then something good could happen."

Houston will take on the Florida Gators in the championship game on Monday.