Three things to know about Houston, Michigan's next opponent

Houston guard Rob Gray celebrates after making the game-winning basket in a first round NCAA Tournament game against San Diego State.

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson coached his 900th career game in Thursday’s 67-65 win over San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament, and game No. 901 will be Saturday against Michigan in the next round. Here are three quick things to know about the Cougars.

1. This is Sampson’s first head coaching job after a disastrous ends at Oklahoma and Indiana. Oklahoma faced sanctions for violating NCAA rules, and the Hoosiers were placed on watch as well. He spent six seasons as a consultant and NBA assistant before coming to Houston four years ago.

2. Houston leading scorer Rob Gray averaged 24 points per game in the American Athletic Conference tournament, about 6 points better than his season average. He also leads the team in assists and hits nearly 81 percent from the free throw line. Against San Diego State, he scored 39 points, including the go-ahead bucket with 1.1 seconds to play.

3. The Cougars haven’t been dancing in a while; this is their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2010. Before Thursday, the Cougars hadn’t won in the tournament since 1984, when Houston advanced to the championship game.