Where Houston Cougars Stand in Final Regular Season AP Poll
In this story:
With its come-from-behind 82-75 win over Oklahoma State on March 7, Houston men's basketball closed its regular season on a three-game winning streak to complete a 14-4 Big 12 campaign to effectively lock up the No. 2-seed in the conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
As a swift response to a three-game losing streak against a gauntlet of AP top-15 opponents, Houston avoided any chaos across the top-25 as 12 ranked programs, including three of its Big 12 opponents, suffered losses in their final weeks of the regular season.
The shakeup garnered Houston's move two spots up to No. 5 in the Week 18 AP Poll release on Monday.
.@Chasemccarty21 & Coogs rise to #⃣5⃣ in today's @AP_Top25 poll
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) March 9, 2026
🔗 – https://t.co/1cQUVKmTfG#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/rUxVvQ7oi5
While not the most linear with seeding projections across multiple bracketology releases, the ranking helps to provide an idea that Houston's fate between the No. 1 and 2-seed line depends on how far it runs in the Big 12 tournament.
The fuel for a second consecutive conference tournament title, and a chance at the final No. 1-seed, lies in the Cougars building off a 54% shooting clip over the final three games, and translating that efficiency towards potentially facing up to two of the top-four seeds in the tournament before Selection Sunday.
But Houston's best case may come down to its regional location rather than its seeding, if the selection committee places the Cougars in the South region and in play for a spot in the second weekend at Toyota Center, just a few miles away from the university.
With these factors in mind, it's important to note what gave way for AP poll voters to give the Cougars a boost in the poll and a case for a top-five overall seed, as Week 17 shakeups made that advancement possible.
Huskies, Cyclones' Week 17 losses hurl Cougars into top-five
Although Iowa State entered Week 17 above Houston, it didn't take long for the Cyclones to not only trade places in the poll, but also to fall out of contention for a double-bye in the Big 12 tournament.
With its 73-57 loss to the eventual Big 12 regular season champion Arizona Wildcats on March, not even a blowout win in its regular season finale over Arizona State was enough for Iowa State to avoid a two-spot drop to No. 7 in the poll.
BREAKING: College Basketball AP Poll🏀https://t.co/b1AEkiBBfG pic.twitter.com/lRaqKRTgv0
— On3 (@On3) March 9, 2026
A more impactful stunner occurred in the Big East conference, when UConn suffered a shocking 68-62 loss to Marquette at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on March 7.
With the 11-win, ninth-place Golden Eagles completing the upset, not only did the Huskies drop one spot to No. 6, but they're now potentially in danger of playing themselves out of the last No. 1-seed.
Both shakeups paved the way for bracketologists across the community to keep a close eye on Houston come Selection Sunday, depending on its conference tournament success.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.