Saturday’s gritty overtime win at No. 11 Baylor did more than just provide another Quad 1 win and a victory over a ranked in-state foe for the Houston Cougars.
The win also gave Houston a unique feather in its cap for the last week of February.
With UConn’s loss to Creighton last week, the Cougars were named the new No. 1 team in both the Associated Press and coaches poll.
Houston was No. 2 going into the Baylor game.
Going into last week, Houston was already the No. 1-ranked team in the NET rankings, the metric that will be used most by the NCAA tournament selection committee for seeding purposes in a few weeks.
Winning a pair of Quad 1 games against then No. 6-ranked Iowa State and Baylor certainly solidified that spot.
That means Houston is No. 1 in all three of the big polls and metrics headed into a contest at the Fertitta Center on Tuesday night against Cincinnati.
The is the first time this year Houston has been No. 1 in the AP or coaches poll after spending considerable time at No. 1 last year.
However, the NET ranking is what will in the end mean the most.
Staying at No. 1 once Selection Sunday rolls around could mean Houston is named the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament, which would have some benefits that are chronicled here.