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It's UH ... and the Big Ten at Toyota Center

Welcome to the Cougar Confidential, Sweet 16 edition.

In realignment news, the University of Houston has joined the Big Ten. Or so it would seem after glancing at the bracket for this week's South Regional at Toyota Center.

UH, the No. 2 seed, will play third-seeded Illinois in the region's second semifinal Thursday. Fourth-seeded Nebraska and No. 9 seed Iowa – which upset defending national champion Florida in the round of 32 – meet in the other half of the bracket.

How rare is it for a conference to account for three-fourths of a regional field? This is just the fourth time that a conference has sent three teams to the same regional (for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds) since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985.

In 1986, the SEC had three teams (LSU, Alabama and Kentucky) in the Southeast Region, along with Georgia Tech of the ACC.

Three Big East teams (Pittsburgh, Xavier and Villanova), along with Duke from the ACC, comprised the East Region in 2009.

Most recently, the Big 12's Kansas joined Big East teams Duke, Clemson and Syracuse in the 2018 Midwest Region.

With three chances, the SEC (LSU) and Big East (Villanova) had a team advance to the Final Four. The No. 1-seeded Jayhawks beat Clemson and 2-seed Duke in 2018.

Joseph Duarte, University of Houston beat reporter

joseph.duarte@houstonchronicle.com

Looking Ahead

Houston players and coaches celebrate after the team's 88-57 win over Texas A&M during the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, Saturday, March 21, 2026.

Photo by: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

UH will play in its seventh straight Sweet 16 at 9:05 p.m. Thursday against Illinois in the South Regional at Toyota Center. The two schools have met once previously in the postseason, with the Cougars winning 68-53 in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh. The winner faces Nebraska or Iowa on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four.

Big 12 Stock Report

Image of two arrows, one points up, the other points down. Text reads: Who's up, who's down.

Photo by: Susan Barber

Trending Up

Arizona State: The Sun Devils announced the hiring of Randy Bennett as head coach on Monday. Bennett is an Arizona native who built Saint Mary's into one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the nation, winning at least 20 games in 18 of the past 19 seasons. He replaces Bobby Hurley, who made just three NCAA appearances in 11 seasons.

Cincinnati: Sticking with the coaching carousel, Cincinnati is set to hire Jerrod Calhoun, a graduate of the school who began his coaching career as a student manager with the Bearcats. Calhoun went 55-15 and made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances the last two seasons at Utah State.

Trending Down

Texas Tech: It was a brutal ending to the season for the Red Raiders' basketball teams, who lost second-round NCAA Tournament games by a combined 79 points. The women were crushed by LSU 101-47, and the men had their season end with a 90-65 loss to Alabama.

Big 12 women's field: After matching a league record with eight bids, TCU was the sole survivor to advance to the second weekend. The Horned Frogs needed overtime to beat Washington and advance to the Sweet 16.

Quote of the Day

“

I always thought Kingston would start for us this year. I wasn't always quite sure how it would fit. But I was pretty sure he was going to start because he was always one of our best players. After he started playing, people got to figure out what we knew two years ago.

– UH coach Kelvin Sampson on freshman point guard Kingston Flemings

”

The List

How the Cougars have fared in NCAA Tournament games played in Houston:

March 15, 1961: Beat Marquette 77-61 in the first round at Delmar Gym.
March 13, 1971: Beat New Mexico State 77-69 in the first round at Hofheinz Pavilion.
March 19, 1983: Beat Maryland 60-50 in the second round at The Summit.

🏀 Cougar Mailbag

Send me your questions: Follow me on X, formerly Twitter, hit reply to this email or share your questions here to be a part of this week's mailbag. Ask me anything!

Q: Have future Final Four locations been announced? — Kenny B.

JD: Yes, Final Four locations are set through 2031. Detroit's Ford Field will host in 2027, followed by Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) in 2028, Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) in 2029, AT&T Stadium (Arlington) in 2030 and Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) in 2031.

Q: Why have we not seen much of Jacob McFarland? — Bob S.

JD: McFarland, UH's 6-foot-11 sophomore center, played the final 1 ½ minutes of the second-round win against Texas A&M. It was McFarland's first action in almost a month and just the fourth game he has played all season. McFarland suffered a devastating injury to his right leg prior to the 2024-25 season and has required two surgeries.

"Everybody on our team is a big Jacob fan," coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I think there is still some repercussions, some PTSD. I think there's still some things lingering. We've had to be really patient with Jacob. Jacob is on his own timeline." McFarland must get regular CT scans on the leg, Sampson said.

"I'm excited for his future. But I know every day is a step for Jacob."

Q: After the Miami (Ohio) game when they lost in the tournament, their coach gave credit to Kelvin Sampson. Something to the effect of "I owe everything to Kelvin Sampson …" I don't know where the connection is but would love for you to ask about that. — Mike B.

JD: Travis Steele, the head coach at Miami (Ohio) began as a video coordinator on Kelvin Sampson's staff at Indiana in 2006. He was later promoted to assistant coach when Sampson and the Hooisers parted ways.