The Houston Cougars will enter March Madness as a No. 1 seed for the third consecutive year, seeking their first national title. Led by head coach Kelvin Sampson, Houston looks to avoid past tournament disappointments and make a deep run in 2025.
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For the third year in a row, the Houston Cougars earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, solidifying their status as a college basketball giant. After losing early in earlier tournaments, Kelvin Sampson's team is eager to make history by winning the 2025 tournament.
When the 68-team draw was named on Sunday, Houston was given the third-best overall seed and the top spot in the Midwest Region. First up for the Cougars is a game against No. 16 seed SIU Edwardsville on Friday night in Wichita, Kansas. A possible meeting in Round 32 is with either No. 8 seed Gonzaga or No. 9 seed Georgia.
Sampson, who is 69 years old, wants to make it to his third Final Four and second with Houston. After reaching the national semifinals in 2021, the Cougars suffered back-to-back Sweet 16 losses to ACC opponents Miami (2023) and Duke (2024). This year, Houston enters the tournament battle-tested, boasting the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense and a 30-4 record after winning both the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament titles.
Senior guard L.J. Cryer leads Houston in scoring, but the X-factor may be Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan. Uzan scored 25 points in the Big 12 title game win over Arizona, showing that he can step up when things get tough. As the Cougars gear up for March Madness, he could be their go-to option in crunch time.
Houston's tournament opener against SIU Edwardsville is set for Friday at 6:25 p.m. CT at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita.
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