University of Houston Men’s Basketball Earns Top Seed in NCAA Tournament Midwest Region

For the fifth straight season and the 24th time in school history, the #1/1 University of Houston Men’s Basketball program will compete in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars learned they would compete as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and face No. 16 seed Northern Kentucky inside Legacy Arena in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala.

Tipoff will be at approximately 8:20 p.m., Thursday, with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson calling the action on TNT.

NCAA Tournament matchup announcement, Tramon Mark, Reggie Chaney, Jarace WalkerThe Cougars earned their seeding after one of the best seasons in school history. In 2022-23, Houston has posted a 31-3 overall record and captured its third straight American Athletic Conference regular-season championship with a 17-1 record.

That conference win total set the school single-season record for conference victories and equaled the league’s single-season mark.

This will be only the second time in school history that the Cougars will play as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, joining the 1982-83 team.

Under the leadership of 2023 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars will compete in their fifth straight NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

A year ago, the Cougars advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight with wins over (12) UAB, (4) Illinois and #2/2 (1) Arizona. That came one season after Houston competed in the NCAA Final Four for the sixth time in school history.