Will it be San Francisco or Indianapolis for Houston’s regional site?

Cougars still wondering which region they may be heading to after winning Big 12 tourney title

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson | William Purnell, Imagn Images

There’s really not a lot of suspense regarding which seed Houston will get when the NCAA Tournament pairings are officially announced Sunday afternoon.

The Cougars are certain to land one of the four No. 1 seeds, especially after having won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship tournament title against Arizona on Saturday night. And even if Houston had lost on Saturday, it seemed to be a sure bet the Coogs would still land a top seed.

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But there’s really one bit of suspense left when the field of 68 is unveiled: Which region will Houston (30-4) get sent to?

Multiple bracket projections have Auburn as the top seed in the South Region, with the regional site in Atlanta, a relatively short drive from Auburn’s campus. As for the East region, the top seed certainly appears to be Duke, with the regional site in Newark, N.J., and the Blue Devils are always a popular draw in the New York City metropolitan area.

That leaves two regional sites left for Houston to be the No. 1 seed - Midwest and West.

Logically, the Midwest would be the ideal region for the Cougars, with its ties to several Big 12 universities and that the Big Ten won’t be having a top seed.

But it could be a concern for Cougar fans because of who else might be in the region.

For instance, ESPN “Bracketology” expert Joe Lunardi has Houston No. 1 in the Midwest, but has Tennessee as the No. 2 seed. Indianapolis is roughly a five-hour drive from Knoxville, whereas it takes approximately 15 hours by car to get from Houston to Indy.

No doubt if Tennessee makes it to the Midwest Regionals, the Volunteers would have plenty of fans in the building regardless of opponents or seeds.

Lunardi also has Wisconsin as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest. That, too, could be an issue for Houston because it is also about five hours to get to Indy from the Badgers’ campus.

Likewise, in Jerry Palm’s latest bracket on CBSSports.com, he has Houston No. 1 in the Midwest, followed by Tennessee at No. 2 and Wisconsin at No. 3.

As for the West, its regional tournament will be in San Francisco. According to Lunardi’s latest bracket, Florida - which won the SEC Tournament earlier on Sunday - is the No. 1 seed there, with St. John’s the No. 2 seed. Texas Tech is the No. 3 seed, with Michigan the fourth.

Palm has St. John’s No. 2, with Kentucky the third seed and Maryland the fourth.

Quite a long way to San Francisco from those campus locales, isn’t it?

For what it’s worth as Selection Sunday approaches, I was told by two different people today that Houston has requested the West Region, which plays second weekend in San Francisco.

— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) March 15, 2025

But then again, knowing the mentality of Houston’s players and coach Kelvin Sampson, it may not matter to them where they play and who they play. Plus, they’ve won a Big 12 record 14 straight away games, also the longest active streak in the nation, and have already won in hostile environments such as Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, Texas Tech’s United Supermarkets Arena and Arizona’s McKale Center.

So what if, say, Houston plays Tennessee in the regional final in Indianapolis and there are a few thousand more Volunteer fans in the house than Coog fans? Sampson and the Cougars may relish in knocking out a team that will have more of the crowd on its side than anything else.

Of course, last season, Houston made its regional tournament in Dallas, the only relatively local team in a group that also included Duke, North Carolina State and Marquette. Unfortunately, we know how that turned out in the end for the Cougars.

So whether you’re a Houston player or fan, just know that getting a top seed is the reward for how hard the team has worked to get to this point, especially after starting the season 4-3. And regardless of which region the Coogs get sent to, just enjoy the moment and be prepared to take on all comers, driving distance be darned.

Plus, should Houston make it to the Final Four in a couple of weeks, that means the Cougars get to go to San Antonio. Not a bad drive from Houston, eh?