Houston Men’s Basketball Opens NCAA Tournament on Thursday

WICHITA, Kan. – The #2/2 University of Houston Men’s Basketball program takes its first step into March Madness when it tips off vs. (16) SIUE during the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region First Round at 1 p.m., Thursday, inside INTRUST Bank Arena.

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The Cougars will compete as a No. 1 seed for the third consecutive season after sweeping the Big 12 Conference regular-season and Championship titles during the 2024-25 season.

Under the leadership of 2025 The Sporting News National Coach of the Year and two-time defending Big 12 Coach of the Year Kelvin Sampson, Houston earned its postseason berth with a remarkable 2024-25 campaign.

After starting the season 4-3, the Cougars won 26 of their next 27 games to win the Big 12 regular-season championship. Houston became the first team in more than a century to win a major conference regular-season title in its first two years in the new league and did so by winning all 10 conference road games in a 20-game schedule.

The Cougars have won each of their last 14 road games, dating back to last season, for the longest nation’s active streak but have still enjoyed tremendous success during home games, winning 38 of their last 39 games inside Fertitta Center.

At 30-4, Sampson has led Houston to its fourth straight 30-win season, another school record, the nation’s longest active streak and the second-longest streak in NCAA Division I history per ESPN research.

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• The Cougars are competing in the 26th NCAA Tournament in school history in 2025.

• This marks the first time in school history that Houston will compete in seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

• This marks the third consecutive season in which the Cougars will play as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Houston is 40-30 all-time at the NCAA Tournament with Final Four appearances in 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 2021.

• The Cougars advanced to the NCAA National Championship Game in 1983 before bowing out to NC State (in one of the most memorable games in NCAA Tournament history) and in 1984 against Georgetown, respectively.

• Houston has advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 or farther in each of the last five years. That is the nation’s second longest active streak and trails only Gonzaga.