Houston Cougars Drop in Recent Bracketology Prediction
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The Houston Cougars had been on a roll throughout conference play heading into their game against the Iowa State Cyclones with a 23-2 overall record and sat at the top of the Big 12 rankings with an 11-1 conference record. Houston's only two losses of the season thus far came early on against the Tennessee Volunteers and on the road against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
However, the Cougars were dealt a setback in their high-profile matchup against one of the top teams in the country, traveling up to Ames to take on the Cyclones. The Coogs dropped their third game of the season, falling 70-67 on the road to Iowa State.
As the regular season is now dwindling with just a few games remaining for the Coogs, which have a few tough challenges along the way, predictions for the NCAA Tournament are becoming more viable and stable. And after their loss on Monday, there's some movement on Houston's predicted ranking headed into March.
Houston Loses Stronghold as a Possible No. 1 Seed
After the Coogs squandered what would've been a golden opportunity to secure their spot as one of the top seeds headed into March, their loss to Iowa State has them dropping in Joe Lunardi's recent bracketology prediction.
Lunardi dropped Houston from a potential No. 1 overall seed down to a No. 2 seed in the South Region, which will have both the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds held on home soil for the Coogs hosted in the Toyota Center.
With this prediction from Lunardi, the Cougars would still have a very favorable first-round matchup, taking on what would be the No. 15-seeded Wright State Raiders to begin their participation in the NCAA Tournament.
As it stands, the Coogs would be in danger of not being a No. 1 seed for the first time since the 2022 season, when they were a No. 5 seed, in which the Cougars made it to the Elite Eight before losing to top-seeded Arizona.
Moving up to the No. 1 Seed in the South Region was the UConn Huskies, who had won 20 of their last 21 games. However, there should be some more momentum towards the top of the South Region as the Huskies lost 91-84 to an unranked Creighton team on Wednesday night.
The Cougars still have several opportunities to improve their resume with five games left of the regular season, especially over the next two games as Houston takes on No. 4 Arizona on Saturday and No. 8 Kansas on the road on Monday night.
