Houston is home in the Lone Star State, playing as a No. 1 seed in the South Region and in the Sweet 16 for the fifth NCAA Tournament in a row when it faces blueblood Duke on Friday, March 29. The game will be live streamed on Sling (half off first month), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and fuboTV (free trial and $20 off first month).
With All-America point guard Jamal Shead, big man J’Wan Roberts and coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars are in the midst of their best March Madness run since they made three consecutive Final Fours in the Phi Slama Jama era four decades ago. They were Big 12 regular-season champions this season after moving into that power conference, top 10 in the AP poll throughout and No. 1 for three weeks.
The Cougars (32-4) play Duke (26-8) on Friday night at the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, about 250 miles from the Houston campus.
Duke was just getting started with coach Mike Krzyzewski and wasn’t in the NCAA field when Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler took the Cougars to the first of those consecutive Final Fours in 1982. The following year, Houston lost to coach Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack in a memorable championship game. The Cougars made the title game again in 1984, the year of Coach K’s first NCAA tourney with the Blue Devils.
Since then, there have since been only two NCAA tournaments played without Duke, which has five national championships. Second-year Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer won a title as a player in 2010, and was an assistant coach for their most recent in 2015.
The Cougars, meanwhile, went 34 years before even winning another March Madness game, with only four appearances until an opening-round victory in 2018. The next year started their active run of Sweet 16s, which is matched only by Midwest Region No. 5 seed Gonzaga.
When is Houston-Duke?
Houston and Duke play at 8:49 p.m. (9:49 p.m. ET) on Friday, March 29.
Will game be live streamed?
Sling
Sling Orange is $40 a month (half off the first month) and offers ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.
There are four options of DirecTV Stream:
The Entertainment Package, which consists of 65+ channels, is $69.99 until the promotion runs out April 30. It’s the basic package for can’t-miss entertainment – including ESPN, TNT, Nickelodeon and HGTV.
The Choice Package has more than 90 channels and is $84.99 during the promotion. The channels in ENTERTAINMENT, plus MLB Network, NBA TV, college sports networks, and more. Enjoy Regional Sports Networks with no additional fees.
The Ultimate Package has more than 130 channels and is $114.99 during the promotion. Everything in CHOICE, plus Oxygen, Golf Channel, NHL Network, Universal Kids and more.
The Premier Package has more than 140 channels and is $159.99 during the promotion. Everything in ULTIMATE, plus HBO Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax and more.
DirecTV Stream offers a free trial that doesn’t require much effort.
To sign up, enter a phone number, email address and credit card, and you’ll receive five days of the service without charge.
In addition, enhance your experience with the DirecTV Stream device. While it doesn’t include a free trial, it give you access to thousands of apps like Netflix and more on Google Play. You can search using the voice remote with Google Assistant, and you can enjoy a traditional live TV channel guide. It is sold separately.
FuboTV
The game will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo pro” package, which comprises 146-plus channels for $74.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.
There is also the “fubo elite” package, which comprises 205-plus channels for $84.99 per month. It comes with fuboExtra (48 more channels) and News Plus (11 more channels). Plus, more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.
The “fubo premiere” package is “fubo elite” with the addition of Showtime for $94.99 per month.
Will game be televised?
Duke and Houston will be televised on CBS.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.