It’s been a decade since Kelvin Sampson led a team to an NCAA Tournament berth. Houston is the fourth different school he will coach in the tournament. As crazy as it sounds, this team might be one of his best overall teams. 

San Diego State no longer has Steve Fisher on the sidelines, but his assistant has implemented the same philosophy. He used a strong emphasis on defense and led the Aztecs to recent success in the tournament. Can they do it without Fisher?

Can one of these teams be a bracket-buster in the next round?

Who do you think will win? 

Do you have #6 Houston Cougars or #11 San Diego State Aztecs?

Kelvin Sampson was once one of the best coaches in all of college basketball, but then he called some recruits too much, fired and was an assistant in the NBA for awhile. He’s been at Houston since 2014 and has been slowly building a contender since. He made the NIT the last two years, but this year everything came together. They’ve beaten Wichita State (twice) and also has a win versus Cincinnati. Houston’s perimeter shooting is top-notch with Rob Gray, Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks making threes regularly.

Steve Fisher left San Diego State’s program in the hands of his longtime assistant Brian Dutcher. He has relied on defense during the Mountain West conference tournament. SDSU comes into the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak. The Aztecs starting-five spread the ball around and they often get the best shot. They also like to feed the ball in the paint to slow down the game, but can score in bunches if they are force to run.

San Diego State is a very good team, but they got an unlucky draw with Houston. Sampson has built the program and this team would rival some of the teams he had back at Oklahoma. The Cougars will be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament.

Prediction: #6 Houston Cougars

**Check out the rest of our NCAA Tournament picks** 

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.