NCAA Tournament predictions for Houston with home-field advantage originally appeared on The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
The Houston Cougars may not have won the Big 12 men’s basketball championship on Saturday, but the program could still advance to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament with a significant advantage.
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Houston lost to Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament, snapping a five-game winning streak. But the Cougars remain atop the standings heading into Sunday’s Selection Game.
ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi said Houston is almost certain to land in the Southland. This arrangement could put the Cougars in a first-round spot close to their campus and potentially keep them in Texas for much of the game’s early stages.
“Regardless of seeding, the Cougars are almost certainly going to the South Region,” Lunardi said in the latest Bracketology . “Houston has no restrictions on playing in its hometown as a non-host, even as a No. 2 seed.”
Unlike the host school, a team can play games in its home city as long as it is not the tournament host. This means that if Houston is assigned to a nearby zone, they can effectively enjoy the home atmosphere.
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For a program that continues to attract one of the most passionate fan bases in college basketball, the possibilities are huge. The Cougars packing a neutral site could become a storyline.
Houston has also been battle-tested. Saturday’s game marked the Cougars’ third straight trip to the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game and their eighth straight trip to the conference tournament final.
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Joseph Tugler scored a career-high 20 points and recorded his third double-double of the season in the championship game, while Emanuel Sharp surpassed 300 career 3-pointers and continues to climb Houston’s all-time scoring list.
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The Cougars could enter March Madness with something rare in the NCAA Tournament and true home-field advantage.
