As Houston and Tennessee clashed in the Elite Eight, the spotlight extended beyond the court to two of college basketball’s most respected coaches—Kelvin Sampson and Rick Barnes. Their relationship, spanning nearly 40 years,

The journey began for Kelvin Sampson in Butte, Mont., arguably as far from college basketball’s grandest stage as one could get. Forty-four years later, he has the University of Houston just 40 minutes away from its — and his — first national championship in Monday night’s title game against Florida at the Alamodome.