“Mark (Few) is a Hall of Famer. Not just Hall of Fame coach. He’s a Hall of Fame everything: Father, husband, friend. He’s one of those guys that makes our profession look good. Mark is a great guy.” Kelvin Sampson, in a press conference, praised his long-time rival ahead of the clash against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. But the friendly environment soon changed as during the same presser, the Houston coach called out a reporter. Not just that the HC completed the rant with a personal anecdote which included his mother.

The Cougars, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, take on the No. 8-seeded Bulldogs Saturday night in Wichita. But Kelvin Sampson turned his attention towards a reporter who mispronounced Gonzaga as Gon-zawg-ah. “Gonzaga,” Sampson said in response to correct the pronunciation. The 69-year-old continued, “It always burns me up when people say that. It’s like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin.” Later, he would add his mother’s anecdote to drive the point home.

“People used to see my name and say ‘Hey, Kevin.’ And [my mom] would say, ‘Don’t let people call you Kevin. Your name is Kelvin. Make sure they pronounce your name right.” The Houston head coach continued, “So that’s why my antennas go up with that. Same with Gonzaga. They were our neighbors [in Spokane, Wash.]. It’s not Spo-cane, and it’s not Gon-zawg-ah. It’s Gonzaga and it’s Spo-can.”

Despite their long and storied careers, Sampson and Few have faced off only once before as head coaches—back in 2007, when Sampson’s Indiana Hoosiers defeated Few’s Gonzaga Bulldogs 70-57 in a non-conference game. That was nearly two decades ago, long before Houston’s resurgence under Sampson and Gonzaga’s transformation into a perennial powerhouse under Few. Saturday’s game marks just their second meeting, but it carries far greater weight: a trip to the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, pitting two of the most successful active coaches against each other in a high-stakes elimination scenario.

Pronunciation probably isn’t going to help Sampson contend with Gonzaga on Saturday. The Bulldogs, like Houston, are a top-10 KenPom team. It’s going to be an absolute classic, no matter how you pronounce that school from the state of Washington.

Looking back at the history of Kelvin Sampson and Mark Few

In the first round, the No. 1 seed Houston side was able to crush No. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville 78–40 on Thursday. On the other hand, Gonzaga had an 89–68 victory over No. 9 seed Georgia. Now both teams fight and only the best will survive the round of 32 clash. It’s now the first time either that both coaches have led their team to the second round and beyond in March Madness.

For Sampson and Few, reaching the second round is routine—Sampson has guided Houston past the first round in all seven of his NCAA appearances with the Cougars, all of which have advanced at least to the second round. While Few has led Gonzaga to 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, won his last 16 first-round games with Gonzaga. What’s rare is this collision course: two coaches with a combined 1,462 wins, four Final Fours, and zero national titles as of March 2025, now fighting to keep their Sweet 16 streaks alive.

That’s why the Cougars Coach denied the comparison with the Gonzaga program. “Yeah, well, we’ve only been doing this for about seven or eight, eight or nine years, whatever it is. Mark has been doing this a lot longer, so don’t compare us to Gonzaga.” So, he wants to achieve that consistency like his rival, but this season that can only be achieved if he is able to beat them.