Houston's Updated Odds to Win NCAA Tournament After Loss to Iowa State

Kelvin Sampson and his crew are viewed as one of college basketball's most likely contenders.

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson watches his team play the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Up until Tuesday's heartbreaking 70-67 loss to the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones, the No. 2 Houston Cougars had won six-straight games.

Head coach Kelvin Sampson was the first to admit after the game that the Cougs left some opportunities out on the floor.

"These are two really good teams," Sampson said. "I'm not going to sit up here and make excuses. That's not what we do at Houston. We had our opportunities. I thought a big exchange was when we missed the winning one and then (Nate) Heise makes the three in the corner with 2:00 on the clock, that's how you win. That's also how you lose."

The loss dropped the Cougars to 23-3 on the year and to 11-2 in conference play, and while Kelvin Sampson wasn't thrilled with the result, his squad still has a chance to avenge last year's NCAA Tournament Championship loss.

On Wednesday, BetMGM released its updated title and Final Four odds and as expected, Houston was right in the thick of things. They have the fourth-best odds to make the Final Four at +150, while also having the fourth-best odds to be crowned national champions at +750.

Ahead of them in both categories in the same order are the Michigan Wolverines, Arizona Wildcats and Duke Blue Devils. Behind them in terms of winning the title is Florida, and ironically, Iowa State.

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson reacts during the first half. | Aaron Baker-Imagn Images

Last season, the Cougars were a part of an all-No. 1 seed Final Four, and eliminated a Duke team that featured No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel and No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach.

Houston then met up with the Florida Gators in the title game, where they fell 65-63 in a rock fight that saw both teams shoot less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from deep.

Before Houston can worry about avenging the loss, it must focus on Saturday's meeting with the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats, who are sitting 0.5 game back behind them in the Big 12 standings. Including Arizona, there are four teams within two games of first place in the Big 12, and to take it a step further, there are five teams within 3.5 games of the top spot.

Needless to say, the Big 12's regular-season title race is far from finished.

Saturday's game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET and will air on ABC.