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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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The Houston Astros wrapped up yet another series win this week, this time taking two of three from the struggling Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Despite missing several key players and a bullpen that wasn’t fully available, the Astros continued their recent run of success, pushing their record to 52-35.
Manager Joe Espada appeared to be playing the long game in the rubber match on Thursday. After Houston rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning, Espada stuck with reliever Jordan Weems instead of turning to his high-leverage arms. That decision, while frustrating to some fans hoping for the sweep, underscored the team’s cautious approach to workload management as they navigate a long season.
One bright spot continues to be rookie Cam Smith, who delivered again in the clutch with a two-run triple in the seventh inning on Thursday. Smith has been Houston’s most dependable bat with runners on base and is quickly settling into the cleanup role—a rarity for a first-year player but one he’s earned with his poise and production.
Astros cleanup hitter RBIs this season:
Cam Smith: 10 RBIs in 7 games
All others: 28 RBIs in 80 games
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) July 3, 2025
Off the field, the biggest storyline continues to be Yordan Alvarez’s injury. After reports surfaced that the slugger had experienced a setback in his return from a fractured hand, the team clarified that the issue is inflammation, not the fracture itself. Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez received injections to address the irritation and is expected to rest for now. Encouragingly, the Astros say the fracture is no longer a concern, and while there’s still no definitive timeline for his return, the overall tone from the club was optimistic.
The transparency around Alvarez’s situation is part of a larger shift. After being criticized in recent seasons for vague injury updates, the Astros have begun issuing daily availability reports. It’s a move that signals the front office is trying to regain some trust with the media and fans after a stretch of frustrating ambiguity around player health.
Now, the Astros head to Los Angeles for a marquee matchup with the defending champion Dodgers. Friday’s opener will feature Lance McCullers Jr. making just his second start since returning from the injured list. McCullers gave up eight runs in his return against the Cubs and will be under the spotlight as he looks to settle back into form. Control will be the key, as walks have long been McCullers’ Achilles’ heel.
Saturday sets the stage for one of the most anticipated pitching matchups of the season: Framber Valdez versus Shohei Ohtani. With both teams fighting for positioning in their respective divisions, this weekend in LA should serve as a measuring stick—and perhaps a postseason preview.
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