Kelvin Sampson delivers touching life lessons after Houston's unthinkable Final Four win

To echo the words of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, don't sleep on the Houston Cougars. In a game where the Cougars were down six with less than a minute left, and everyone thought Duke was going to walk right into the National Championship, Houston had other plans. A clutch three-pointer, solid defense, and calm shooting from the free-throw line are the reasons the Cougars came back and won 70-67 to claim the final spot in the National Championship.

Houston is heading to their third-ever National Championship, their first under Sampson as the long-time head coach finally makes it past the Final Four to get to the big game. Pure determination and hard work are what got the Cougars to the championship game, and Sampson, in his post-game comments, gave every athlete out there some great advice on how to succeed in sports.

"No one ever loses at anything as long as you don't quit," Sampson said. "When you quite, I don't care, you have lost."

Kelvin Sampson credits the hard work of his team as to why they are in the National Championship

As a long-time coach in college basketball, Sampson has always had great teams at Houston that win because of their hard work, gritty defense, and elite shooting. The Cougars won the Big 12 Championship because of that hard work, defense, and shooting. They earned the one-seed in the NCAA Tournament because of that hard work. They made it to the Final Four because of that hard work, defense, and shooting, which has also led them to the National Championship.

Sampson knows how to coach his teams, and his teams don't often let the lights get too bright. While the Cougars trailed for most of their Final Four game against Duke, the Cougars knew they just needed to make the plays that mattered when it mattered most.

"We felt like if we could get it close enough to put some game pressure on them, then something could happen," Sampson said.

Emanuel Sharpe hit a huge three-pointer when the Cougars were down by six with 33 seconds left to cut Duke's lead down to three. Great defense on the inbound allowed the Cougars to retain possession again, take a three-point shot that was off, but yet another offensive rebound, one of 18, allowed Houston to get a put-back to make it a one-point game.

Duke was able to inbound the ball after the made shot, and Duke guard Tyrese Proctor was fouled, sending him to the line. Proctor missed the front of the rim, sending the ball high in the air, and a foul was called on freshman star and Wooden Award winner Cooper Flagg, sending sixth-year senior J'Wan Roberts to the line for a 1-and-1 shot.

Roberts hit both shots to give Houston their first lead since they led 6-5 early in the first half. Duke drew up a play for Flagg, but he missed, and Houston was able to handle the rebound and was fouled and sent to the line, sealing their win.

Sampson continued to drop the life lessons on everyone in his post-game comments.

"It is not lucky that they do what they do because that is work," Sampson said. "They trust their work, they trust their teammates."

It all comes down to teamwork and banding together, adn that is exactly how Houston was able to get the win and advance to the National Championship. The Cougars will take on the Florida Gators in the National Championship on Monday, April 8, at 8:50 p.m. EST on CBS.