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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — University of Houston students, fans, and staff members gave Jamal Shead, L.J. Cryer, head coach Kelvin Sampson, and the March Madness-bound Cougars a send-off on Wednesday to their first-round matchup against Longwood University.
Houston, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s South Region top seed, is six consecutive victories from its first-ever national championship, and earning a 30-4 record this season set the Coogs up for an advantageous road to cutting down the nets in Arizona at the end.
If the Cougars overcome the No. 16-seeded Longwood Lancers and get past either No. 8 Nebraska or No. 9 Texas A&M in Memphis, the team will get the opportunity to punch their ticket to the Final Four with two wins in Dallas, the site of the region’s Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds.
SEE ALSO: Where did No. 1 Houston Cougars and other Texas schools end up in March Madness?
It’s a prospect that Cryer, a high-scoring senior guard, is not taking lightly.
“(I’m) looking forward to hopefully reaching Dallas because we know if we get there, a lot of our friends will be able to come out and support. And having that, like, homecourt advantage-type of deal is really big in this type of tournament,” Cryer told ABC13’s Adam Winkler, who traveled with the team to their first-round matchup.
Case in point, the No. 5 Houston team in 2022 upset the South Region’s No. 1 seed, Arizona, in the Sweet Sixteen played in San Antonio. The homecourt advantage was short-lived, though. Sampson’s crew fell to No. 2 Villanova in the Elite Eight.
How overall 2-seeds fared in the past
The Coogs won the Big 12’s regular-season title but fell a win short of the conference’s tournament championship.
However, the loss didn’t sour the tournament selection committee enough to eliminate Houston from a No. 1 seed. In fact, UH clinched the second overall seed out of the 68-team field, a position the team also earned in 2023.
Since 2004, when the tournament first disclosed rankings of all teams in the field, three No. 2 seeds have won it all: North Carolina in 2005, Villanova in 2018, and Baylor in 2021, when the Bears defeated Houston in the Final Four on the way to the title.
In addition, only one first-overall seed was recognized as a national champion in the last 20 years. The No. 3 overall seed has won five times over that time, and only one No. 4 overall seed won the title.
Six tournaments since 2004 had no No. 1 seeds advance to the Final Four.
Houston faces Longwood on Friday at 8:20 p.m. CT at Memphis’ FedEx Forum. The winner faces either Nebraska or Texas A&M on Sunday.
ABC13’s Adam Winkler is with the Houston Cougars throughout their March Madness run. Tune into Eyewitness News broadcasts leading up to the team’s opening game for live reports.
SEE ALSO: Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead earns All-America 1st-Team honor ahead of 2024 March Madness
The Associated Press named Jamal Shead to its All-American Men’s Basketball First Team, which gave Houston a selection in back-to-back seasons.
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