Houston fights the urge to look ahead to possible Florida rematch, focuses on 1st round vs. Idaho
Houston's Kingston Flemings (4) shoots over Arizona's Brayden Burries (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big 12 Conference tournament Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel
OKLAHOMA CITY — Houston could eventually go back home for a rematch of last season's national championship game it lost to Florida.
The South regional final would be played at the Toyota Center in Houston, just a few miles from the Fertitta Center where the Cougars play their home games. Though Florida is the top seed, the Gators might need to fight through a road environment against No. 2 seed Houston to get to the Final Four.
Both have to win three games before that would happen, and Houston isn’t getting ahead of itself. The Cougars open South Regional play against No. 15 seed Idaho on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
“I mean, we got Idaho,” Houston guard Emanuel Sharp said. “(Playing in) Houston is not promised. We’re focused on what’s directly in front of us. You know, we have a good Idaho team that we have to play, and we’re going to use that game to win, get better, move on to whoever we play after that.”
Florida coach Todd Golden has voiced his displeasure about the site of the potential game against Houston down the road. Cougars guard Milos Uzan won't allow himself to think ahead.
"One thing I’ve learned from last year, last year’s run, was what the other guys did ... they never looked ahead and took it one game at a time, and that’s the same approach we have to take it as," he said.
Florida will open Friday in Tampa, Florida against Prairie View A&M, which beat Lehigh 67-55 in a First Four game Wednesday.
Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner (3) shoots the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arkansas in the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Credit: AP/George Walker IV
Surprise qualifier
While Houston is a tournament regular, Idaho is in for the first time since 1990. The Vandals qualified by winning four games in five days to win the Big Sky championship, despite being seeded seventh in the conference tournament.
First time?
Troy or Nebraska will claim its first ever tournament victory on Thursday.
Nebraska could make history. The Cornhuskers are the only power conference program without a tournament victory. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said past players have reminded him how much a win by the fourth-seeded Huskers would mean.
“I hear from them after games,” he said. “I hear from them before games. I’ve heard from multiple former Huskers going into this one about what it would mean to get over the hump.”
Santa Clara forward Allen Graves (22) and Saint Mary's forward Paulius Murauskas (23) battle for the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball semifinal game in the West Coast Conference men's tournament Monday, March 9, 2026, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
Nebraska is 0-8 in tournament play, while 13th-seeded Troy is 0-3.
They're back
Texas A&M returns to the site of one of its most exciting wins.
In a second-round game in 2016 in Oklahoma City, the Aggies outscored Northern Iowa 14-2 in the last 33 seconds of regulation to force overtime, then won 92-88 in double overtime to advance to the Sweet 16.
Texas A&M will try to summon more of that magic on Thursday at the Paycom Center — the same building — when the 10th seeded Aggies play No. 7 Saint Mary’s.
OKC connections
Troy guard Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow's cousin is Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort's brother, Payton, plays for the Oklahoma City Blue — the Thunder G League affiliate that plays home games at the Paycom Center. Thunder guard Alex Caruso played for Texas A&M in the 2016 tournament in Oklahoma City.
Big scorers
No. 5 seed Vanderbilt plays No. 12 McNeese on Thursday in Oklahoma City, and both feature big-time scorers.
Tyler Tanner leads the Commodores with 19.1 points and 5.6 assists per game. Larry Johnson leads McNeese with 17.5 points per contest.
Fearless Rams
North Carolina has the big name, but Virginia Commonwealth is confident it can win the teams' first round matchup.
VCU, an 11 seed, has a 27-7 record and a history of pulling tournament upsets. The Rams believe they can beat the sixth-seeded Tar Heels.
“At the end of the day, we play against UNC, but we don’t play against the brand,” forward Lazar Djokovic said. “We play against the players wearing those jerseys. I think we have a really great chance tomorrow to win it.”
Uphill battle
Penn is overmatched in the size department heading into their game against Illinois on Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina.
Illinois, seeded third, features 7-foot-1, 255-pound Tomislav Ivisic and 6-9, 250-pound David Mirkovic inside. The Fighting Illini rank seventh nationally with a rebound margin of +9.6 per game.
Penn, seeded 14th, goes with three guards and has no starter taller than 6-9 or heavier than 235 pounds. The Quakers are about even with their opponents in rebounding margin.
Stopping Stirtz
No. 8 seed Clemson likely will need to contain Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz to win on Friday in Tampa, Florida.
Stirtz is fifth among active Division I players with 2,279 points. He averages 20 points and shoots 49.2% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range for No. 9 seed Iowa.
Clemson allows just 66.7 points per game, 28th nationally.
