Nov 8, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings (4) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second half against the Towson Tigers at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

What ESPN Bracketology Projects About Houston Cougars

Originally posted on Houston Cougars on SI
By Maanav Gupta | Last updated Nov 12, 2025 9:56 AM ET

Houston Cougars basketball, now ranked no. 1 in the nation for the first time since March 2024, continues to have massive expectations for this season.

The Cougars have their best freshmen class in program history, and with a talented group of upperclassmen, Houston looks to get back to the national championship and win it all.

Houston clearly has a lot of respect nationwide, as they moved up to the top spot in the AP poll in week two, the earliest no. 1 ranking for UH in program history. Among the national media, ESPN has already released their bracket predictions for March Madness.

Houston’s Bracketology

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Well-known ESPN college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi released his first bracketology picks of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday. There will be weekly updates until the end of the year, and once conference season starts, there will be twice-weekly projections.

There is a lot for Houston fans to like in Lunardi’s first bracket of the year.

The Cougars are the top overall seed and are a no. 1 seed in the South region of the bracket. Houston is widely expected to be a 1 seed in the tournament, but being the top team overall shows how much Lunardi thinks of Houston.

What UH fans would like the most is the fact that the Cougars were placed in the South region. This would be a huge advantage for the Cougars as the South regional’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games are in Houston. UH would get the home court advantage and be in great position to head back to the Final Four.

In big news over the offseason, Houston Athletics were able to successfully remove themselves from hosting duties of the 2026 South regional, that gives them the possibility to play in that region of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

That move made Rice the official host school of the event. If the Cougars do get to play at Toyota Center in downtown Houston for their regional semifinal and final, that would be an incredible sight to see.

This South bracket that is projected would not be easy. Florida is listed as the two seed, and that could set up a rematch of last year’s national championship with the Cougars taking on the Gators in the Elite Eight.

Additionally, St. John’s as the four seed gives potential to a Houston-St. John’s Sweet 16 game. Besides that, an in-state rivalry could also take place between Houston and Texas in the second round of this bracket, as the Longhorns are the nine seed.

Thinking about the bracket already is quite exciting, but there will be a lot of changes to come. For now, the Cougars need to grow a lot with this young team and learn from their mistakes in non-conference play. There is a long way to go until March.

This article first appeared on Houston Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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