All Kelvin Sampson could do was stand there, hands on hips with a blank look on his face, as the ball bounced loose and Houston’s latest chance at a national title bounced away, too.

After a night spent locking up college basketball's hottest shooter, Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., the roles reversed for Houston guard Emanuel Sharp on the biggest play of Monday night's national championship game.

Houston, in its seventh Final Four, is a program with a rich history and a proud lineage that features Phi Slama Jama, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Elvin Hayes. It's a history that does not include an NCAA championship.