The Houston Cougars have been to this stage before in recent history. Four years ago, in fact. That team, led by Marcus Sasser and Quentin Grimes, rode a stifling defense to the Final Four, where the inconsistent offense finally came back to bite them in a loss to eventual champs Baylor.

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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,

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.

What you need to know about the Houston Cougars' Final Four semifinal against Duke, a rematch of last year's Sweet 16.

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.

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

It was obvious early that Tennessee was in trouble against Houston's defense as the Volunteers had no one who could beat a Cougars defender one-on-one.

Madness odds for Houston Cougars vs Duke Blue Devils Final Four NCAA Tournament game, including point spread, moneyline, over/under for betting.