An In-Depth Look at the Houston Cougars' Recent NCAA Tournament History
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The time has come. March Madness is finally upon us. The time that Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars have been waiting for ever since they fell just one bucket short of their first national championship last year against the Florida Gators.
This year, Houston fell just short of a fourth consecutive No. 1 seeding in the tournament, clinching a No. 2 seed after finishing runner-up in the Big 12 Tournament to the Arizona Wildcats.
The No. 2 seed puts the Cougars in the South Region of the tournament, and matches them up against the No. 15 seed Idaho Vandals on Thursday in Oklahoma City, somewhat of a homecoming for Coach Sampson, who manned the Oklahoma Sooners for a dozen seasons.
Houston's March Madness History Since 2018
As the Coogs prepare their attempt to return to the national championship, let's take a stroll down Memory Lane and look at how the team has fared during their recent string of NCAA Tournaments, starting with the 2018 season, their first appearance under Kelvin Sampson.
2018
After two straight years of NIT play, the Cougars snagged a No. 6 seed in the field of 64, defeating the No. 11 seed San Diego State Aztecs in the West Regional before eating a one-point loss in the Round of 32 to the No. 3-seeded Michigan Wolverines, 64-63.
The Cougars finished with an overall record of 27-8 and were ranked No. 21 in the final AP rankings.
2019
2019 saw a boost from Sampson's men, landing a No. 3 seed in the tourney and defeating No. 14 Georgia State and No. 11 Ohio State before losing 62-58 to No. 2 Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
2021
Even after a one-year break from March Madness thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars' intensity didn't change one bit, and it gave them a No. 2 seed just like this year, and made it all the way to the Final Four, defeating No. 15 Cleveland State, No. 10 Rutgers, No. 11 Syracuse, and No. 12 Oregon State before falling to the eventual national champions, the Baylor Bears, in a humbling 78-59 defeat.
2022
Houston's 32-6 record was good enough for a No. 5 seed, and it saw the team move past No. 12 UAB and No. 4 Illinois and even upset No. 1 Arizona before No. 2 Villanova finally eliminated them in the Elite Eight.
2023
2023 saw the Cougars finally get awarded a top seed in the tournament, and saw the team advance all the way to the Sweet 16 after knocking off No. 16 Northern Kentucky and No. 9 Auburn before getting bounced by No. 5 Miami (FL) 89-75.
2024
For the second straight year, Houston was named as a top-seeded team in the field of 64, and defeated No. 16 Longwood and held off a hard-charging No. 9 Texas A&M team in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16 again, where they would lose to the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils by a narrow score of 54-51.
2025
Many would have thought that the third time would be a charm for the team when they were given their third straight No. 1 seed in the tournament, and those many seemed to be correct as Houston drove through No. 16 SIU-Edwardsville, No. 8 Gonzaga, No. 4 Purdue, No. 2 Tennessee, and No. 1 Duke, advancing all the way to the national championship game, where they came up empty-handed in a 65-63 loss to the Florida Gators.
2026
The Cougars will start the tournament as a No. 2 seed and face No. 15 Idaho in the first round.
