Riding a seven-game win streak, UH moved back to No. 1 in the AP poll three weeks from Selection Sunday. | Anh Le/The Cougar
For the third time this season, Houston, having won seven straight and 16 of its last 17 games, is back at No. 1 in the AP poll, receiving 48 of the 62 first-place votes on Monday morning.
The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee projected UH, a team that currently holds the top spot in both the NCAA NET rankings and KenPom ratings, as the Midwest Region’s No. 1 seed and the tournament’s No. 2 overall seed during Saturday’s early bracket reveal.
Both of the Cougars’ previous two stints occupying the top spot in the AP poll lasted two weeks, the first from Nov. 28 until the morning of Dec. 12 and the second from Jan. 9 through the morning of Jan. 23.
With four games left in the regular season, UH (25-2, 13-1 AAC) leads the American Athletic Conference standings by 2 ½ games. The Cougars can clinch a share of the AAC regular season title with a win over Tulane on Wednesday.
Alabama (23-4), who occupied the AP poll’s top spot over the past week, fell to No. 2 after losing to Tennessee on Feb. 15.
Kansas (22-5) jumped to No. 3. UCLA (23-4) stayed at No. 4 while Purdue dropped two spots to No. 5.
