The Houston Cougars like mixing it up — and turning things ugly. Their hard-nosed defense has been a staple throughout coach Kelvin Sampson's 11-year tenure, and it served them well again in Indianapolis against two teams with much larger fan bases,

The University of Houston is playing just 200 miles from campus, but tickets to get inside San Antonio's Alamodome are expensive.

Duke enters Final Four as a worthy favorite, but how can you ignore Houston's experience, defense and grit? Beware the upset!

Now they'll be the underdog. The Boilermakers get No. 1 seed Houston on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. A time has not yet been announced. Here's what you should know about the Houston Cougars ...

The No. 1 Cougars beat the No. 2 Volunteers, 69-50, in the Elite Eight on Sunday after amassing a 34-15 halftime lead. Tennessee’s fourth basket of the game came on its 23rd shot attempt. And that shot by Jordan Gainey simply cut a 21-point lead into a 29-10 advantage for Houston with 3:37 to play before the break.

Tennessee veterans Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack were part of the Volunteers team that lost to Purdue in the Elite Eight last year. They could have left to explore their professional basketball opportunities, but decided to return to Tennessee for another opportunity like the one they have today.

A Final Four berth is on the line during the Midwest Regional final Sunday afternoon. Here are our Tennessee vs. Houston predictions, picks and best bets for the Elite 8.

Despite turning his left ankle and suffering a right elbow injury, Johni Broome finished with 25 points. His health will be massive for Auburn against the Gators. Florida beat the Tigers 90-81 at Auburn on Feb. 8. Auburn won the regular-season SEC title but Florida won the SEC tournament.

Purdue's Braden Smith has made history all season but might've saved his best for last – this Sweet 16 loss to Houston. And "last" could be literal.