Where Houston Cougars Stand in First NET Rankings Release of Season
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The first NCAA men's college basketball NET rankings of 2025-26 were released Monday following a multitude of resume-bolstering matchups during Feast Week, but what does that mean for the Houston Cougars?
Following Houston's 7-1 start to the season and a 2-1 trip to the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas (an improvement nonetheless from its inaugural trip in 2024), the Cougars were officially placed 18th in the first NET rankings release of the season, a two-spot improvement from where they began in their 2024-25 national runner-up campaign.
🚨 FIRST NET RANKINGS OF 2025-26 🚨
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 1, 2025
1. Michigan
2. Duke
3. Purdue
4. Vanderbilt
5. Gonzaga
6. Arizona
7. Iowa State
8. UConn
9. Louisville
10. Michigan State
The NET Rankings are used by the Selection Committee and updated daily 👉 https://t.co/WcAiGNS4iP pic.twitter.com/N6drvqcwYh
Though the quality of some of Houston's seven wins weren't among the prettiest, the Cougars still managed to take care of business in non-Quad 1 opportunities while starting out 1-1 in Quad 1, with both opportunities coming against SEC opponents.
Getting the jitters out
Even with the early dominance of programs like Michigan, who won the Players Era championship game in a 40-point blowout over Gonzaga, coach Kelvin Sampson made it known that despite Houston's early season jitters into playing marquee non-conference matchups, that November basketball can be thought of nothing more than a regular season exhibition that counts towards a record.
"There's some teams that play their best basketball in November," Sampson said. "I'd rather play my worst basketball in November."
This idea had already been proven last season by Houston, when after starting 4-3 with Quad 1 losses to Auburn and Alabama and an overtime loss to San Diego State, the offensive identity of the team with the incorporation of Milos Uzan at point guard raised questions. Subsequently, the Cougars flipped the script and orchestrated a 31-1 all the way to the national championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
It's safe to say though that despite its 76-73 loss to Tennessee in the second day of the Players Era tournament on Nov. 25, with multiple possessions to where the team looked lost, that Houston is off on a much better footing towards the back end of non-conference play, even with a youthful touch from its freshman class.
An even better template for success?
With senior guard Milos Uzan picking up steam again after a slow start, mixed with freshman guard Kingston Flemings averaging 15.3 points per game and freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. picking up nearly eight rebounds a game, one could argue Houston played its worst even in its early best, so seeing how the Cougars haven't reached their full, yet high ceiling could be a scary thought for the rest of college basketball down the road.
As it stands currently, Houston has nine more Quad 1 opportunities on its schedule, which is subject to change based on the ongoing play of other programs. The last definitive non-conference opportunity lies in taking on Arkansas on Dec. 20 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
One opponent to keep an eye on regarding Houston's resume would be Syracuse, as when the Cougars survived a 78-74 overtime thriller in the Players Era opener on Nov. 24, it was still a scraping Quad 3 opportunity.
However, with Syracuse's 62-60 win over Tennessee on Tuesday, Houston's win is primed to move to Quad 2, so the future success of the Orangemen down the line in ACC play could greatly benefit the Cougars to where this finalizes as a Quad 1 opportunity against a revitalized college basketball blue blood.
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.