Men’s Bracketology: No one talks about Houston and a title … they should

Men’s Bracketology: 2024 NCAA TournamentBy Joe Lunardi Updated: 2/16/2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET

Bracketology is in its 30th season on ESPN.com. From now until Selection Sunday on March 17, we’ll keep you up to date on the postseason chances and projection of your favorite teams. Our brackets will update Tuesday and Friday during conference play. We will culminate with daily updates throughout Championship Week in March, all with an eye toward the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Bracket WatchIt’s well past time for a word or two about Houston. The Cougars’ success under Kelvin Sampson has included a 1-seed, a 2-seed and a 3-seed in the past five seasons. It has also included a Final Four, an Elite Eight and two Sweet 16s. But the joyride was supposed to end, or at least slow down, with this season’s entry into the Big 12. Surely the grind of the nation’s top conference would wear them down. Instead, the Cougars sit at a tidy 21-3. Their only losses have come at Kansas, Iowa State and TCU — all NCAA tournament teams. They are No. 1 in the NET, No. 1 in KenPom and a clear-cut No. 1 seed. It’s not a manipulation of the numbers, either. Houston has the wins (7-3 in Q1, third-best in the country in that all-important category). Yet somehow, few are talking about the Cougars as national championship contenders. And it says here that’s a big mistake.

On the Bubble68-Team BracketMIDWEST (DETROIT)IndianapolisSpokaneOmahaCharlotteWEST (LOS ANGELES)Salt LakeSalt LakeMemphisOmahaEAST (BOSTON)BrooklynPittsburghSalt LakeCharlotteSOUTH (DALLAS)MemphisSpokanePittsburghIndianapolisConference BreakdownPhoto illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, USA TODAY Sports, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock