"That's a silly question": Kelvin Sampson on how Houston plans to stop Cooper Flagg in Final Four match-up vs Duke

Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars will face their toughest test yet in this year's NCAA Tournament on Saturday when they lock horns with Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four at the Alamodome. Sampson spoke about Flagg in an interview with Colin Cowherd during Tuesday's episode of "The Herd."

Cowherd asked Sampson what his mindset would be when facing a complete player like Flagg. The Houston coach acknowledged it won't be easy dealing with Duke's talented freshman.

"How do you stop Cooper Flagg?" Sampson asked (Timestamp 4:58). "Well, that’s kind of a silly question. You don’t [but] you have to be the best version of yourself."

"We played in the Big 12 the last two years and whether it’s Kansas or Iowa State or Texas Tech, there’s a lot of really good teams and all those teams had a best player. So we’ll come up with something."

Kelvin Sampson said there's no guarantee his game plan against Cooper Flagg will work but the Cougars will do their best to get the job done in the Final Four.

"Will it be good enough? I don’t know. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But at the end of the day, every team has to focus on what they do good and try to be their best version themselves," Sampson said.

Stopping Cooper Flagg is easier said than done as he has been phenomenal in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Duke star is averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 boards and 5.3 dimes in this year's March Madness. Flagg's best performance in the Big Dance came against Arizona in the Sweet 16, recording 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds in Duke's 100-93 win.

How Kelvin Sampson's Houston reached the NCAA Final Four

The top-seeded Houston Cougars opened their campaign in this year's NCAA Tournament with a 78-40 win over No. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville. Milos Uzan stepped up for Kelvin Sampson in that contest, scoring a game-high 16 points.

Houston then faced No. 8 seed Gonzaga in the second round, with the Cougars recording an 81-76 win. L.J. Cryer led all scorers with 30 points. He shot 8-for-15 from the field, including 6-for-11 from deep. He also went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars cuts the net down following his team's 69-50 victory against the Tennessee Volunteers in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Photo: Getty

The Cougars continued their March Madness run with a Sweet 16 showdown against the fourth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. Uzan scored 22 points in Houston's 62-60 victory, including the game-winning layup with 0.9 seconds remaining.

Cryer helped Houston reach the Final Four for just the seventh time in program history, leading the Cougars to a 69-50 victory over No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight. He finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.