As we move toward March Madness, it’s good to take inventory of every team that has realistic expectations of running through the bracket.
Are six straight wins to end the season within the range of outcomes for Houston?
March Madness Profile: Houston Cougars
The Cougars are great. They always seem to be. They’ve been a one-seed in each of the past three seasons, made it to the championship game a year ago after upsetting a seemingly inevitable Cooper Flagg-led Duke team in the Final Four, and opened 2025-26 ranked second in the AP preseason Top 25.
Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp provide on-the-court leadership with over 200 collegiate starts between them, and the fact that Kelvin Sampson’s win percentage with this program is flirting with 80% isn’t an accident.
Why are they so consistently in the mix?
The little things.
They force you to play in the mud with them via a low pace, and they are simply better at that style of play than you. This veteran-laden team rarely turns the ball over and forces their opponents to cough it up nearly four times for every three assists they tally.
On top of all the high-floor attributes is a standout freshman in Kingston Flemings. He set his high school’s single-season assist record in his first varsity season and was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Texas by the time he was ready to graduate.
The fact that different recruiting sites had him tabbed as a top-20 overall prospect while others labeled him as a top-three point guard tells you all you need to know about the pedigree at hand.
But I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering if he’d be able to shine bright in this system that can temper stats and prioritizes methodical execution.
He wasted no time in announcing his presence to the nation, scoring at least 18 points in three of his first five games, including a 22-point, 5-rebound, 7-assist gem against then-No. 22 Auburn in the middle of November.
This kid is ready for the bright lights and has the type of game that makes this team unstoppable when everything is clicking.
All of that said, they can be at the mercy of the officiating crew, and that can be nerve-racking come tournament time when the whistles can come in bulk at times.
Through the middle of February, they had three close-game losses, and in them their opponent was +38 in terms of free throw attempts.
That’s a problem. If there’s one way to let a lesser opponent hang around, it’s by limiting the possession count and sending them to the stripe with regularity.
The ceiling for this team is as high as any in the country, but their primary flaw might be more damning than any of the teams in the Tier 1 discussion.
This team is positioned to win four to six straight games, and that you should be confident in. But even if they live up to their potential, don’t be surprised if there are rock fights along the way.