No Conference for Old Men: Houston & Big 12 College Hoops

Welcome to Episode #80 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. This is our 1st offseason episode of season 3.  And just like with the previous 2 years, the 3 old men  discuss the major Portal commitments and roster decisions made after Week 1 of the Portal season.  The Houston coaching staff clearly had a plan and executed it flawlessly.  As they quickly retained  all 3...

Welcome to Episode #79 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Our Houston Cougars end their season at 30-7 after a 10 point loss to Illinois in the Sweet 16.  We knew this matchup was going to be a tough one for this year's team, and Illinois made things extremely uncomfortable for the Coogs on the offensive end.  But we turn the page to next season, as Coach Kelvin Sampson reaffirmed...

Welcome to Episode #78 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Our Houston Cougars are now 30-6 after a pair of 31-point demolitions over Idaho & Texas A&M in the 1st 2 rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  And it's back to the Sweet 16 again, with Cougar Fans completely spoiled at this point with our 7th straight advancement into the 2nd week.  And the beauty this year?  The Co...

Welcome to Episode #77 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Our Houston Cougars are now 28-6 after beating BYU & KU in the XII Tourney, but come up just short in the Finals vs AZ to ready themselves for the real Tournament.  Now it's March Madness time, with the brackets out and Houston as the top #2 Seed assigned to the South Region.  And most importantly, the Cougars have the...

Welcome to Episode #76 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. That’s now 3 consecutive wins to end the regular season to gain a bit of momentum.  With a season sweep of Baylor 77-64 at home coupled with a workman-like 82-75 win at Oklahoma St this past week.  But more importantly, the team's solidified the bench heading into the post-season w/ McCarty & Miller establishing themsel...

Welcome to Episode #75 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. After our 3rd consecutive loss at Kansas 69-56, the Coogs got some rest, made a few offensive adjustments, & righted the ship with a 40 point shellacking of Colorado 102-62 at home.  Now there's a final 2 regular season games left vs Baylor &  Oklahoma St to build momentum going into post-season play.  The team...

Welcome to Episode #74 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. After 2 consecutive losses at Iowa State 70-67 & then at home to Arizona 73-67, it’s gut check time w/ a quick turnaround trip to Kansas for Big Mon. The team is now 23-4 & 11-3 in Big 12 play, and alone in 2nd in the XII standings.  This last of a brutal 3-game stretch in Lawrence may determine whether Houston can hold...

Welcome to Episode #73 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Critical wins for the Coogs over Utah & KSU this past week.  And the team is now 23-2, 11-1 in the Big 12, & alone atop the Big 12 standings.  But now the killer stretch begins vs Big 12 elite Iowa State & Arizona, right before a visit to KU to complete the trifecta of brutal conference games.  These are th...

Welcome to Episode #72 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. HUGE pair of wins for the Coogs over UCF & BYU this week!  And the team is  now 21-2, 9-1 in the Big 12, and should be up inside the top 5 in the AP Poll later Monday morning.  Up next are a pair of games against Big 12 "bottom-feeders" Utah & KSU, where the Coogs can fine-tune some things in preparation for th...

Welcome to Episode #71 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. After a week of regrouping for the Coogs with workman-like wins over TCU & Cincy, the team is  now 19-2, 7-1 in the Big 12, and up to #8 in the AP Poll.  Now a Brutal Feb awaits, where the Big 12 has historically loaded up on marquee games for the projected contenders.  The challenge comes hard & fast this week...

Welcome to Episode #70 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. After a tough loss in Lubbock this past week, the Coogs are now 17-2, 5-1 in the Big 12, and #10 in the AP Poll.  An important week ahead with a sneaky good TCU up next, as well as a rematch vs Cincinatti.  6 games into Big 12 conference play, the 3 old men discuss  "Who will/needs to become the X-Factor for a Final 4...

Welcome to Episode #69 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. After the total destructions of WVU & ASU this past week, the Coogs are now 17-1, 5-0 in the Big 12, and tied with Arizona atop the conference standings.  Now a critical rematch w/ Texas Tech awaits in Lubbock.  5 games into Big 12 conference play, the 3 old men discuss whether "Chris Cenac has turned the corner for thi...

Welcome to Episode #68 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. After shutting down in-state rivals Texas Tech & Baylor this past week, the Coogs are now 15-1, 3-0 in the Big 12, and ranked #10 in KenPom.  After some stellar team defense in the 2 wins, "Is Jojo Tugler now back to last season's DPOY-levels?"  2 more conference games await the team this week in West Virginia & Ari...

Welcome to Episode #67 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Happy New Year everyone!  After 2 critical wins over Arkansas & Cincy (with a 3rd sloppy MTSU win sandwiched in between), this Cougar team is 13-1 & 1-0 in XII play.  It was a statement win on National TV vs Calipari's Arkansas team, where the Cougar offense was fast, flowing, & in peak form.  Followed were...

Welcome to Episode #66 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Another dominant win, this time over a tricky New Orleans team.  But is this Houston Cougars squad truly equipped to win the XII for a 3rd straight season?  The Coogs are now 10-1, ranked #8 in the AP, and rounding into form on both sides of the ball with XII play right around the corner.  But a final big test awaits t...

Welcome to Episode #65 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. 2 convincing wins over FSU & Jackson St, but are the Houston Cougars a Final 4 / National Championship contender this season?  Our Coogs are now 9-1 and ranked #7 in the AP & #10 in the KenPom rankings.  But lots of Twitter/X postings this week around how every National Champion since 2004 has been in the Top 12 of...

Welcome to Episode #64 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Like last season, it was a mixed bag for our Houston Cougars at the Players Era Festival.  With lots of "wisdom & learnings", as Coach Sampson described, for this year's Cougars team.  The team won 2 games over Syracuse & Notre Dame, but suffered a close loss in between to a tough Tennessee team looking for payback...

Welcome to Episode #63 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Our Houston Cougars win a big one over Auburn in Birmingham to go 4-0 for the season, in a game where all 3 freshmen balled out on the big stage!  But ultimately it was the Kingston Flemings Showcase, where he's staked an early claim as the alpha on this season's Cougars team.  "Feast Week" games await after playing Rider o...

Welcome to Episode #62 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. Our Houston Cougars start the '25-'26 season 2-0 after beating Lehigh 75-57 to open the season, and then pull away from a pesky Towson late 65-48.  An Oakland team that stayed within 10 with Purdue is up next, and then the 1st big challenge of the season awaits in Auburn. Please have a listen as the 3 Old Men weigh in and discus...

Welcome to Episode #61 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. The 3 Old Men are back with our preseason previews of the Big 12 & what we call our "National Top 8+1 List" of national championship contenders for the season.  Have a listen as we talk through the teams fans need to be aware of as our Houston Cougars Men's Basketball team marches through their schedule during the '25-'26 se...

Welcome to a bonus installment in our "Coaches Series" (episode #60) on the No Conference for Old Men Podcast - our very 1st WBB-focused episode! All 3 Old Men had the privilege to sit down and chat with new WBB Head Coach Matthew Mitchell.  Coach Mitchell was high energy, articulate, & super generous with his time for almost a full hour to describe what he envisions for our WBB program....

Welcome to our Season 3 kick-off & Episode #59 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. The 3 Old Men bring back fellow GoCoogs.com contributor, Jayme Hollingsworth, to preview the Houston Cougars Men's Basketball team heading into the '25-'26 season.  Our Cougars are "running it back part 2", with 3 returning starters to go along with their 3 5-star freshmen incoming class.  The re...

Welcome to the final installment in our offseason "Coaches Series" (episode #58) on the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. 2 of the 3 Old Men had the privilege to sit down and chat with top Assistant Coach Kellen Sampson (UH MBB Head Coach-in-Waiting).  Coach Sampson was extremely generous with his time, sitting down with us for almost a full hour in covering topics far & wide as we dive...

Welcome to the 4th in our offseason "Coaches Series" (episode #57) on the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. 2 of the 3 Old Men had the privilege to sit down and chat with Coach Hollis Price (UH MBB Assistant Coach / Special Assistant to the Head Coach).  We cover things far & wide as we dive into coach's background, his journey as a player at OU & then playing professionally across m...

Welcome to the 3rd in our offseason "Coaches Series" (episode #56) on the No Conference for Old Men Podcast. The 3 Old Men had the privilege to sit down and chat with Coach Mike Ekanem (UH MBB Assistant Coach).  We cover things far & wide as we dive into coach's background, his journey as a player at Texas Lutheran & then playing professionally in Europe, how he transitioned into coac...