Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson cheers his players on during an NCAA basketball game against Utah held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsBrandon JuddThu, February 12, 2026 at 4:00 AM UTC·7 min readAlex Jensen and his Utah basketball team got a first-hand look at the kind of program he is hoping to turn the Runnin’ Utes into when No. 3 Houston came to town Tuesday night and won 66-52 at the Huntsman Center.
Kelvin Sampson has turned the Cougars into one of the most determined defensive squads in the country, thanks to the culture he’s built at Houston since taking over that program ahead of the 2014-15 season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s led to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in the past eight seasons, a projected No. 1 seed this year, four straight 30-win seasons and a national runner-up finish a year ago.
Houston (22-2, 10-1) has built another powerhouse team this season.
The Cougars have lost just once since Thanksgiving, and on Tuesday, Sampson’s team took care of Utah by excelling in two areas, turnovers and offensive rebounding, that exemplify the effort and attitude that Houston’s head coach preaches.
Kelvin Sampson, Alex Jensen share praise for each other
“I have admired Kelvin. I don’t know him well, but he’s one of the few coaches that you, he started at Montana Tech — a lot of coaches nowadays don’t work their way up from that place,” said Jensen, Utah’s first-year coach.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“He’s won wherever he’s gone, and you’re not trying to mimic them, but it’s a great learning thing, because they have a culture. He recruits a particular type of player. He lays out expectations before they get there. And I would say, you know, all of his guys are high-character guys and are part of the group.”
Sampson, likewise, had high praise for Jensen and the Utah program, while also sharing confidence that Jensen, who played under Hall of Fame coach Rick Majerus at Utah, can turn things around for the Utes (9-15, 1-10).
“I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about the kind of person (Alex) is, the guy that he played for is one of the greatest coaches ever. Coach Majerus was so good for this game. He was a giant in this game. He came along at a time where he was different, and he allowed other people to think differently,” Sampson said.
Fans reacts after Houston guard Emanuel Sharp (21) hit a 3-pointer against Utah during an NCAA basketball game held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsHow Houston beat Utah on Tuesday
In Houston’s win over the Utes, the Cougars turned 13 Utah turnovers into 20 points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe biggest example of how that disrupted Utah’s momentum came early in the second half. After the Utes ended the first half on a 7-1 run to climb within nine at halftime, Houston came out of the break and forced three straight Utah turnovers and scored a field goal off each one.
From there, Utah never got the game back within single-digits.
That defensive tenacity is something Sampson has ingrained into his players since Day 1 — and it’s a similar philosophy that Jensen has preached since arriving back in Salt Lake City. He wants Utah’s tough-minded defense to create offensive opportunities, something that Majerus established during his time at Utah.
Senior Emanuel Sharp led Houston with 27 points against Utah, after hitting eight 3-pointers.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSampson, though, turned the attention to one of his veteran’s defensive efforts when asked about Sharp’s outstanding offensive night.
“It’s mainly what our coaches have preached to us since we got here. You know, they give us the formula for winning, and you know it starts on the defensive end,” Sharp said. “Our offense isn’t always going to be there, but we can take our defense wherever.
“All that is just our attitude and our effort. Offense is a night by night thing. They’ve just hammered that into us since we got here.”
That attitude and effort also translated over into offensive rebounding, as Houston outrebounded Utah 12-5 on the offensive glass and, conversely, turned that into a 12-4 edge in second-chance points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo of Utah’s players, Keanu Dawes and Seydou Traore, reflected on what they can learn from Houston.
“It’s good practice for the stretch of games that we have to finish the season, obviously the best defensive team in the country, or in my opinion, at least that we played,” said Dawes, who led Utah with 15 points and eight rebounds. “So just to be able to kind of get that out the way and have a clear vision going forward is good.”
Traore pointed to that defensive mindset that is instilled in Houston as something the Utes can learn from.
“It’s a great program — just going out there playing against that type of style of play, they take pride in defense. I was talking to some of the guys after the game, and that’s their MO,” Traore said. “Playing a team like that for 40 minutes is definitely a good test, not only for me, but for the team.”
Utah head coach Alex Jensen calls out to his players during a game against Houston held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsWhy Kelvin Sampson believes Alex Jensen can lead Utah to success
Sampson, for his part, shared why he believes Utah will find success under Jensen — and he linked it to their past.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile the Utes are going on 10 years since their last NCAA Tournament appearance, Utah played in the 1998 national championship game (Jensen was on that team) and was a tournament regular under Majerus.
“Utah can turn around quickly. You know, it’s a lot of tradition here. And I think Alex is the right guy. He’s a Ute.”
Kelvin Sampson on Alex Jensen
The Utes also won the national championship in 1944 and have had coaches like Jack Gardner, Jerry Pimm and Vadal Petersen turn the program into a household name.
“Utah has great basketball DNA. They’ve had a lot of success here,” Sampson said.
“... Utah can turn around quickly. You know, it’s a lot of tradition here. And I think Alex is the right guy. He’s a Ute. He’s come from the NBA — that’s important to him — and these kids will, as he builds this program, I think he’s gonna do a great job.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCould Utah follow a similar trajectory to Houston?
Sampson’s career has taken him from the NAIA level at Montana Tech through the power conference ranks with Washington, Oklahoma and Indiana, and even time as an NBA assistant before he landed in Houston.
He reflected on that first year in charge of the Cougars and how that team went 13-19, but how it also set up the building blocks for the program that Houston has become today.
“We just kept doing the things that I knew culture-wise would get us there eventually. That was, recruit good kids, build a good program, and went with effort and attitude,” Sampson said. “Attitude and effort is important, man. Talent is great. There’s a lot of really, really talented teams that never make the tournament.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSampson sees the character building that Jensen is doing at Utah, even as the Utes struggle through his first season at his alma mater.
“He doesn’t have the team he’s going to have eventually, but he’s building character, he’s building culture, he’s building a program,” Sampson said. “And you’re not going to win in this league, you’re not going to come in here and have great success your first year.
“We went 13-19 — that was about as good as we could do. Next year, next couple years, we just got better and better and better and eventually if you do it the right way, and if you do it brick by brick, and you do it with good kids and get good enough players, you’re going to have a good program.”
That’s what Jensen wants for his program, the same thing he saw on the opposite bench Tuesday night — where the team is built on attitude and effort.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We want to do the same thing here — get those guys, and build it where it kind of attracts that type of player, too,” Jensen said.
Utah forward Keanu Dawes (8) lays the ball up while guarded by Houston forward Kalifa Sakho (14) during a game held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret NewsAdvertisementAdvertisement
