Houston secured the top seed. NCAA Tournament For the third consecutive year on Sunday, they will start their campaign against first-time qualifiers SIU-Edwardsville in Wichita, Kansas, on Thursday.
The Cougars from the Big 12 (30-4) have progressed to at least the second week of five consecutive NCAA tournaments, but they were eliminated during the Sweet 16 round in each of the past two years.
If they defeat the Ohio Valley Conference champion Cougars (22-11), their next hurdle could be playing either Gonzaga (25-8) or Georgia (20-12) from the second round after these two teams compete as part of an 8-versus-9 seed game in the Midwest Region.
On Thursday, in Providence, Rhode Island, the No. 5 seed Clemson (27-6) will face off against the No. 12 seed McNeese (27-6), while the No. 4 seed Purdue (22-11) competes against the No. 13 seed High Point (29-5).
Texas and Xavier are set to face each other in the First Four at Dayton, Ohio. The victor will advance to play against No. 6 seed Illinois (21-12) on Friday in Milwaukee, where No. 3 Kentucky (22-11) takes on No. 14 Troy (23-10).
On Thursday night at games held in Lexington, Kentucky, No. 7 seed UCLA (22-10) will face off against No. 10 seed Utah State (26-7), while No. 2 Tennessee (27-7) takes on No. 15 Wofford (19-15).
Over his eleven years as head coach at Houston, Kelvin Sampson has developed the most successful college basketball program nationally over the past seven seasons. Since the start of the 2018–19 campaign, their record stands at an impressive 211 victories, ranking them first nationwide. They have also secured a top-three seeding for five out of the last six tournaments, and they stand as just the third squad since 2009 to earn a number one spot consecutively for three years running.
Despite its achievements, the program’s benchmark continues to be thePhi Slama Jama era of the early 1980s. Under Coach Guy Lewis, the Cougars made consecutive appearances in the Final Four, with Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Michael Young at the forefront.
Sampson's Cougars may lack flair, yet they've been racking up victories consistently. Over the past four consecutive seasons, they've secured at least 30 wins each year. Currently, they head into the tournament on an impressive streak of winning 13 successive matches and securing victory in 26 out of their last 27 games. Additionally, they clinched both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles through a clean sweep.
The top-ranked defenseally efficient Cougars concede just 58.5 points each contest and stand as the sole program in the country with less than 60 points allowed over five consecutive seasons. Among their quartet of double-figure scorers is LJ Cryer, boasting an impressive conference-leading 42.8% accuracy beyond the arc. Teammates Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan contribute similarly strong three-point percentages above 40%, positioning the Cougars atop the Big 12 standings and fourth nationwide with a collective 39.8% success rate from deep.
J’Wan Roberts, who leads the team in rebounds, hasn't played in the past two matches due to a sprained ankle. Sampson hasn’t provided an update on Roberts' condition.
Be careful, Purdue
Keep an eye on first-time qualifier High Point as they could be a popular choice to surprise Purdue. first round .
The 13th-seeded Panthers, having clinched both the Big South regular-season and tournament championships, head into Thursday’s matchup in Providence, Rhode Island, riding an impressive 14-game winning streak.
Purdue has lost six out of their last nine matches. The Boilermakers suffered through four consecutive losses in February and were defeated by 18 points against Michigan in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Another coach, another tournament
Utah State is set to make its third consecutive appearance, each time under a different coach.
The 10th-seeded Aggies have a record of 26-7 during Jerrod Calhoun’s tenure and are set to face UCLA. In the previous year, they advanced to the second round when led by Danny Sprinkle, but he departed after just one season to accept the head coaching position at Washington. Under Ryan Odom, Utah State made it to the tournament in 2023 before he moved on to coach at VCU.
Gonzaga aiming for Sweet 16 milestone
No. 8 Gonzaga boasts its smallest seeding since being ranked as a No. 11 in 2016 and now faces a challenging path to secure its tenth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. To achieve this, they must first defeat No. 9 Georgia and then very likely take down No. 1 Houston.
The Zags hold the No. 2 spot in scoring, averaging 86.6 points each game, and they include Ryan Nembhard, who tops the country with 9.8 assists per contest.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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