Where Houston Stands in March Madness Projections After Big 12 Championship
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Even after a long week in Kansas City, the Houston Cougars are heading home, where they will await the announcement of which seed, region, and opponent they will face in the NCAA Tournament.
Houston basketball has fought its tail off all season for the right to hold one of the top seeds come tournament time, and it has done so under the direction of head coach Kelvin Sampson.
Despite a few bumps along the way, the 28-6 record is very telling of the body of work the program has put together since November, when it all started for this team. Losing to Arizona on Saturday evening shouldn’t punish the unit because its resume is very strong.
Right now, the Cougars are very solid in the Quad 1 and Quad 2 categories, with few weaknesses. In Quad 1 games, Sampson’s troops are 11-5 with the six losses coming against Arizona twice, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Tennessee. In Quad 2, there are no losses with a perfect 9-0 record, which is the same for Quad 3 and Quad 4.
With the strong case to have a right to pay in the fair region, here is what Joe Lunardi believes will happen as Selection Sunday is hours away.
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— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 15, 2026
As of late Saturday night, Houston is safe and sound in the South region and could have a significant geographic advantage over several teams, as the first and second rounds are in Oklahoma City, and the next two rounds, the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight, would be in Houston.
Imagine what that crowd would be like with the contest taking place on a neutral court. It would be a major home-court advantage that could be very beneficial to the Road to the Final Four.
Following the announcement posted on X, Lunardi believes the Cougars are in a good position, as reflected in these comments about the program.
“Regardless of seed, the Cougars are almost certainly headed to the South Region,” Lunardi said. “There are no restrictions for Houston playing in their hometown as a non-host, even as a 2-seed.”
The reason that he made those comments is because it would bring an unfair advantage that isn’t neutral, but Houston took this into account and wasn’t going to have the hosting rights so it gave it to another school to have, knowing good and well that there was a good shot that they could be playing right back in front of the home fans at an awesome destination.
In those projections, he put No. 2 Houston taking on the No. 15 seed UMBC at Paycom Center with the chance to possibly play the No. 7 seed Texas A&M or Saint Mary’s. All of the other opponents will play out, but one thing is trending in the right direction.
Playing closer to home.
The Selection Show will begin at 5 p.m. and stream live on CBS.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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