Sampson: Jamal Shead Injury Made Houston's Loss to Duke Not Feel Like a 'Fair Fight'
March 30, 2024
Houston's season came to an end in devastating fashion on Friday night with a 54-51 loss to Duke in the Sweet 16 in which the Big 12 champs had to play most of the game without Jamal Shead when he suffered a sprained ankle in the first half.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson said the game didn't "feel like a fair fight" when they lost their best player.
"You would have to take maybe two of theirs to equal one of Jamal," Sampson added. "That's how good he was. He's a first-team All American. You don't have another one of those. You don't have the best defensive player in the Big 12. You don't have a guy that made all the big shots at the end."
Shead was injured 13 minutes into the game when he rolled his ankle on a drive to the basket. He had to be helped off the court and to the locker room.
Prior to the injury, Shead and the Cougars had a 16-10 lead over Duke. They only managed to score 35 points over the final 27 minutes without him.
It was a defensive slugfest with both teams shooting just 40.8 percent from the field. The two key differences were Houston's inability to make free throws (9-of-17) and the Blue Devils making four more three-pointers (six to two).
Houston announced Shead's X-rays came back negative and he was diagnosed with a "badly" sprained ankle. The team also said he would attempt to return "at some point" in the second half.
Shead told reporters after the loss he did attempt to go back in, but he "could barely walk."
Jason Bristol @JBristolKHOUJamal Shead tried to return to the game after his ankle sprain, but "I could barely walk."<br><br>"If I played it probably would have been a different outcome," Jamal told <a href="https://twitter.com/zacktKHOU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zacktKHOU</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/KHOU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@khou</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/LqT4ES6XZ8">pic.twitter.com/LqT4ES6XZ8</a>
Houston's forte is a swarming defense and getting enough offense. Sampson's team led the nation in scoring defense and defensive rating this season. Two of their three tournament opponents were held under 55 points.
Shead, the Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, is the driving force for everything the Cougars do. He led the team in assists (6.3), steals (2.2) and ranked second in scoring (12.9) this season.
Given the slim margin of victory for the Blue Devils, it's not unfair to say a healthy Shead might have led to a different result.
Instead, Houston lost as a No. 1 seed in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season.