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Houston lands No. 1 seed in South Region that also features Marquette, Kentucky and Duke
Mar 18, 2024, 9:49 am
And the madness begins.Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images.
Houston has a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, but will have to navigate the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Marquette in the South Region if the Cougars are able to make their first Final Four since 2021.
The Cougars (30-4) were rewarded on Sunday after winning the Big 12 regular-season title and reached the conference tournament title game before losing to Iowa State. They will face No. 16 seed Longwood, the Big South champion, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the first round on Thursday.
Houston is a No. 1 seed for the third time in school history, joining the 1983 team that reached the national championship game and last season when the Cougars were bounced by Miami in the Sweet 16. Should the Cougars advance past the first weekend — a Longwood win would bring a matchup with either Nebraska or Texas A&M — they’ll only need to head up Interstate 45 to Dallas for the regional.
The Cougars will be trying to rebound after getting blown out by the Cyclones in the Big 12 title game. It was the largest margin of defeat for a No. 1 team since UCLA beat Houston by 32 in the 1968 Final Four. Houston was riding an 11-game win streak before the loss.
“We’ll pick ourselves up. We’ve had a great year," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said after the Iowa State loss. “Obviously 40 minutes is not going to define three months, but we’ll get some guys treatment and healthy and get back at it.”
The South Region also features No. 2 seed Marquette, who will get standout Tyler Kolek back after he missed the Big East Tournament due to an oblique injury. The Golden Eagles (25-9) reached the Big East title game before falling to UConn.
Kentucky (23-9) is the No. 3 seed in the region and will open against No. 14 seed Oakland. Duke (24-8) rounds out the top-four seeds in the region and will face No. 13 seed Vermont in the first round in Brooklyn, New York on Friday.
KOLEK CONCERNMarquette coach Shaka Smart expressed cautious optimism on Sunday that Kolek, the 2023 Big East player of the year, would play in the NCAA opener. Kolek has missed Marquette’s last six games with an oblique injury. The Golden Eagles will face No. 15 seed Western Kentucky (22-11) on Friday in Indianapolis.
“The plan is for him to play, but he’s got to go through a progression this week,” Smart said Sunday.
Smart relayed a story that after the team returned from New York following the Big East title game, Kolek was already going back into the gym to do some ball handling.
“So he has a level of excitement and passion because he feels like he’s going to play. Now we’ve just got to check the boxes we need to check so he can,” Smart said.
Marquette went 3-3 in Kolek’s absence, with two of the losses coming to UConn and the other coming at Creighton.
The Golden Eagles have other injury issues as well. Oso Ighodaro sat out the last seven minutes of the Big East championship game loss he appeared to hurt his knee, and Stevie Mitchell was wearing a brace on his right shoulder during that game.
Smart expects both to play Friday.
POWER CHAMPIONThe South Region features only one team from a power conference that won its conference tournament title. And it’s a team that wasn’t going to make the NCAAs if not for its tournament run.
North Carolina State is the No. 11 seed in the region after its stunning run to the ACC tournament title winning five games in five days including upset wins over rivals Duke and North Carolina in the semifinals and championship game respectively. It was N.C. State’s first ACC title since 1987.
The Wolfpack will face No. 6 seed Texas Tech in Pittsburgh.
30 CLUBFour teams enter the NCAAs with at least 30 victories. Two of them reside in the South Region.
Houston is one of them. The other is James Madison, the champion of the Sun Belt Conference tournament and the hottest team in the country entering the NCAAs. James Madison is the No. 12 seed and will face No. 5 seed Wisconsin on Friday in Brooklyn.
The Dukes went 31-3, knocked off Arkansas State in the Sun Belt championship game and are riding a 13-game win streak. James Madison started the season with a 14-game win streak before its first setback.
It’s the sixth NCAA appearance for James Madison and the first since 2013. And the Dukes’ can score – they average 84.4 points per game, good for ninth nationally.
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How these 3 critical factors could swing battle between Texans and Jets
Oct 30, 2024, 3:06 pm
The Jets host the Texans and their scary defense on Halloween night! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime
BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 2.
Against the spread: Texans 3-4-1; Jets 2-6.
Series record: Jets lead 7-3.
Last meeting: Jets beat Texans 30-6 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 10, 2023.
Last week: Texans beat Colts 23-20; Jets lost to Patriots 25-22.
Texans offense: overall (9t), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (14).
Texans defense: overall (2), rush (13), pass (3), scoring (15t).
Jets offense: overall (24), rush (30), pass (13), scoring (25).
Jets defense: overall (4), rush (17), pass (2), scoring (11t).
Turnover differential: Texans plus-4; Jets minus-3.
Texans player to watch
RB Joe Mixon. He has carried Houston's offense in the three games since he returned from an injury and could be even more important this week after wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore the ACL in his right knee last Sunday and is out for the season. Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 100.6 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing and a TD run in three straight games.
Jets player to watch
Edge rusher Haason Reddick. After ending his lengthy contract holdout early last week, Reddick made his Jets debut and played 26 snaps on defense with two quarterback pressures while working mostly on third downs. His snaps might increase a bit Thursday and he could help the Jets get after C.J. Stroud, who has been sacked 22 times this season — tied for third most in the NFL.
Key matchup
Jets offensive line vs. Texans' pass rush. New York has had issues this season with injuries, consistency and protecting Aaron Rodgers. The Jets will face a tough test Thursday night against the Texans, whose 27 sacks are third in the NFL. DE Will Anderson Jr. is tied for third in the league with a career-high 7 1/2 sacks, including at least one in his past three games. DE Danielle Hunter has 5 1/2 sacks and DT Tim Settle has four, powering a formidable defensive front for Houston. Hunter leads the league with 51 quarterback pressures and Anderson is fourth with 39, the only teammates in the top 15, according to Next Gen Stats.
Key injuries
Diggs' injury leaves Houston without its top two receivers. Nico Collins, who leads the Texans with 567 yards receiving, is out for at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. ... S Calen Bullock was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday after injuring his shoulder Sunday. … LBs Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) both missed the Colts game, but could return this week. … S Jimmie Ward could miss a fifth straight game with a groin injury. … LG Jarrett Patterson is in the concussion protocol and is likely out. … RB Dameon Pierce missed practice this week with a groin injury. ... Jets LB C.J. Mosley suffered a stinger in his neck during pregame warmups at New England and was meeting with neck and spine specialists this week. ... RG Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), WR Allen Lazard (chest), DL Leki Fotu (knee) and safeties Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) all missed the game vs. the Patriots and their availability for this week was uncertain. ... K Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR. Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader were signed to the practice squad, and one will be promoted for the game.
Series notes
The Jets have won the past two meetings. ... New York won the first five meetings, including the first game between the franchises in 2003, when LaMont Jordan's late 8-yard touchdown run helped lift the Jets to a 19-14 victory. ... Zach Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the most recent meeting, a 30-6 rout by New York during which Stroud left with a concussion.
Stats and stuff
The AFC South-leading Texans have won four of their past five. ... Stroud is 2-0 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in two career starts in prime time. He had 285 yards passing last week for his ninth career game with at least that many yards passing, which is tied for second most in the NFL since 2023. ... WR Tank Dell had a touchdown reception last week and has a TD catch in two of his past three games. ... TE Dalton Schultz had a season-high 52 yards receiving against the Colts. He has two TD receptions in each of his past two Thursday night games. ... Hunter has 10½ sacks in eight career Thursday night games. … LB Neville Hewitt, who spent the 2018-21 seasons with the Jets, forced a fumble last week. … Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high three passes defended last week. … S Jalen Pitre had his first interception of the season last week. ... S Eric Murray had seven tackles and a season-high three passes defended last week. ... New York is trying to snap a five-game skid. ... Jeff Ulbrich is 0-3 as the Jets’ interim head coach since replacing the fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. Ulbrich, also the team's defensive coordinator, said earlier this week he'll continue to call plays on defense. … Rodgers snapped a streak of three consecutive games with an interception. He has seven in eight games, six shy of his single-season career high set in 2008 in his first year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. ... Rodgers hasn't passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 30 regular-season games and 31 overall, including one playoff game. ... WR Garrett Wilson leads the NFL with 84 targets, 11 more than the Giants’ Malik Nabers. Wilson’s 51 receptions are second in the league behind Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, who has 52. ... WR Davante Adams had four catches for 54 yards, giving him seven receptions for 84 yards in two games since being acquired from the Raiders. ... Second-year WR Xavier Gipson caught his first career TD pass last Sunday. ... TE Tyler Conklin has a TD catch in consecutive games after not having one since catching two TD passes in Week 8 of the 2022 season against New England. ... RB Breece Hall has 316 yards receiving, the most among NFL running backs. ... Edge rusher Will McDonald has eight sacks, second in the NFL to the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (nine). … The Jets have only six takeaways, ranking among the fewest in the league. Backup CB Brandin Echols has New York's only two interceptions.
Fantasy tip
Houston wide receiver John Metchie is coming off a career-best three-catch game and could see more targets — and perhaps his first NFL touchdown — with both Diggs and Collins out. Might be worth a stash as a potential WR3.
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