UH now a CONSENSUS pick for #1 seed in Midwest Regional

Basketball
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I got this off social media.

UH Cougars are consensus No. 1 seed in Midwest in NCAA bracketology

Joseph Duarte

March 4, 2025

With less than two weeks until Selection Sunday, the University of Houston is in strong position for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

The back-to-back Big 12 regular-season champions are 26-4 overall and 18-1 in league play, a remarkable display of dominance in what’s been considered among the top two conferences (along with the SEC) this season. UH has a chance to become the first major conference team to win 19 conference games by beating Baylor on Saturday.

Auburn, Duke and UH are consensus locks for No. 1 seeds, according to the most recent bracket projections, while the final top seed is an SEC dash-to-the-finish line between Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.

“I think we’ve got three of those four spots now … put them in ink,” ESPN’s Joe Lunardi said Monday night during an appearance on “The Scott Van Pelt Show.” “Auburn, Duke, Houston, right now in that order, and three SEC teams, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida fighting for that last spot.”

One more consensus: UH is expected to be assigned the Midwest Region, which plays the second weekend in Indianapolis.

The Final Four will be held April 5 and 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Here’s a look at the current bracket projections for UH:

ESPN: 1-seed (Midwest Region)

Before Monday’s 65-59 win against Kansas, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi said UH was “close to locking up a 1-seed.” Lunardi has been bullish on the Cougars the past two weeks, moving them onto the 1-seed line for the first time after a Feb. 24 win at Texas Tech. With recent losses by Alabama and Florida, Lunardi has the Cougars as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. In this projection UH would play 16-seed Omaha in Wichita, Kan., and either 8-seed Ole Miss or 9-seed Gonzaga in the second round.

CBS Sports: 1-seed (Midwest Region)

Jerry Palm’s latest bracket has the Cougars as the 1-seed in the Midwest, playing 16-seed Bryant in Wichita, Kan. That would setup possible second-round matchup against either 8-seed Vanderbilt or 9-seed Gonzaga. The Cougars (207) and Zags (204) have posted the most wins of any Division I programs since the 2018-19 season.

USA Today: 1-seed (Midwest Region)

The Cougars again are projected to play in Wichita, Kan., this time against 16-seed Nebraska-Omaha. The second round would be against either 8-seed New Mexico or 9-seed Mississippi State.

On3: 1-seed (Midwest Region)

On3 has the Cougars as the 1-seed in the Midwest and playing 16-seed Nebraska-Omaha, except in Raleigh, N.C.

Field of 68: 1-seed (Midwest Region)

Another bracket with an opening game for the Cougars against 16-seed Bryant (this website doesn’t list regional sites). The Cougars would get two-time defending champion and 8-seed UConn or 9-seed New Mexico in the second round.

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Maybe it’s me over reacting but I would really like to avoid UCONN and Gonzaga. They both have a history of making runs come tournament time, especially in seasons where they have been underwhelming

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I get your fear but they are a shell of themselves this year….dont let the name scare you.

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Metrics still ike Gonzaga. They will most likely be underseeded and you always want to avoid those.

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Good. Houston deserves it

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I think we need to avoid teams that get hot at 3 pointers like Tech or any team with multiple big men who can score at will like what Broome from Auburn did to us in November.

Given the nature of the tournament, a good coach with a week of prep time can game plan our defense.

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I get your point and understand you want to stay away from teams that are “underseeded “….full disclosure I have only watched Gonzaga a few times this year( full games)….

I saw them lose to West Virginia and St. Mary’s….and I watched them beat San Francisco……they were not anywhere near a top 10 Zags team we are used to seeing.

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Oh… Im driving to Indy if we get there!

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Dude… the Big 12 is loaded with top-tier coaching talent and they plan for our defense well in advance… everyone knows we’re trapping the hell out of you… and they still lose… even with ridiculous FT advantage sometimes…

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If the B12 Conf Champ didn’t get a 1 seed, there would be something seriously wrong in the universe.

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If we get to the E8, I’ll be there as well.

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#3 in these:
http://www.bracketmatrix.com/
https://kenpom.com/

#2 here

#5 here, ahead of Duke
https://faktorsports.com/

We are looking good. If we win two more games (Baylor + Big 12 Quarters, or Quarters + Semis), we will get a 1 seed.

If we lose to Baylor AND lose in the Big 12 Quarters, that might risk us getting knocked down to the two line.

In other words, if we beat Baylor in Waco and the 8 seed in Kansas City, then lose to Iowa St or Tech or Arizona in the semifinals, that’s not enough to knock us off the one line.

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Only thing is a coach can’t script 3-point efficiency. Well, Sampson can because he’s a level 12 Lumbee ninja with x-ray vision and 7,8675 amps coming out of his fingertips.

I mean normal coaches.

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I already got my MMR booster for San Antonio.

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I got mine so yours will work better

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Thank you for your service.

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Just keep focusing on the next game on the schedule and it’ll all work out.

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Was curious to see who had most top 100 NET wins because the quad boundaries are wildly arbitrary as if beating #30 at home means so much more than beating #31 at home. And I think we can all agree beating Troy or Toledo doesn’t mean much. So, here’s the list,

21 Auburn
19 Alabama and HOUSTON
16 Florida, A&M, Iowa St, Michigan St
15 Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan, Ducks, SJU
14 Volunteers, Miss St, Arizona, Marquette
13 TTU, Kentucky, BYU, Kansas, UConn,
Maryland
12 DUKE, Baylor, WVU and many others

7 Texas, UCF, Wake Forest

lol at Horns on bubble

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What kinda turnout would we see if we make it to San Antonio? I don’t want to jinx it, but I am thinking of making hotel reservations right now.

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I guess UH is Wichita-bound in the Midwest. Crowd will be anti-UH, which I think works to UH’s advantage, instead of being in a location where the fans don’t care. Being the team fans want to see lose should provide UH extra energy and incentive to perform well.

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