WICHITA, Kan. — Kelvin Sampson has stolen my pen now, and he’s diagramming Houston’s defensive monster in the post. This is Sampson in his natural habitat. He’s a teacher and it has become clear in his rebirth at Houston, if it wasn’t already, that he’s one of the best teachers in all of college basketball.



On Saturday at Koch Arena, Sampson’s team put on a defensive clinic in a 65-54 win over No. 16 Wichita State that reminded everyone why Houston, after losing its two leading scorers and a four-year starter at point guard after last season’s Sweet 16 run, received the most first-place votes in the American Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll.



It’s Sampson.



The path to get here, looking like the AAC favorite now and stealing that title right from Wichita State, just had a few bumps.



Sampson admits his team wasn’t very good in November, when it lost two of its first four.