Well, so much for Georgia State getting a favorable draw in the NCAA Tournament.
After sweeping the Sun Belt regular-season and conference-tourney titles, the Panthers seemed like a good bet for a 13-seed in Sunday's NCAA pairings, perhaps taking on an injury-plagued Kansas State squad in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Instead, Georgia State got hit with a double whammy for Round 1, in terms of a diminished seed (14) and their Friday opponent (3-seed Houston).
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How good are the Cougars?
a) If Michigan's Jordan Poole doesn't bury a 30-footer at the buzzer like in Round 2 of last year, Houston likely would have been favored to beat Texas A&M, Florida State and Loyola of Chicago (remember Sister Jean?) in the next three rounds.
(Michigan lost to Villanova in the NCAA final.)
b) During CBS Sports' toned-down Selection Sunday broadcast, analyst Clark Kellogg predicted Houston would outlast Kentucky and North Carolina and capture the Midwest region crown.
c) Georgia State hung tough with 2-seed Cincinnati last year, falling just shy of victory in the final minutes.
Here's the kicker, though: Houston, as a 3-seed, has substantially more upside – in terms of reaching the Final Four – than last season's Cincy team.
MATCHUP: (3) Houston vs. (14) Georgia State
REGION: Midwest (1-seed North Carolina ... 2-Kentucky)
DESTINATION: Tulsa, Oklahoma
TIP TIME: 7:20 p.m. EST
TV: TBS Network
IF GSU WINS FRIDAY ... the Panthers would face the Iowa State-Ohio State winner (next Sunday)
Put it all together, and the Panthers (24-9 overall) will need a supreme effort to take down the Cougars on Friday night (tip time at 7:20 p.m. EST ... airing on TBS).
The defense must hold Houston (11 outings of 80-plus points this season) to mortal averages with overall shooting and three-point percentage, while limiting the Cougars' chances on the fast break.
On offense, Georgia State might need at least 60 total points from its starting five.
In Sunday's win over Texas-Arlington, the Big Five all scored in double digits and and accounted for 70-plus percent of the total rebounds.
HOUSTON COUGARS
OVERALL RECORD: 31-3 (American Athletic champs)
TOP SCORER: Corey Davis Jr. (16.8 points per game)
TOP REBOUNDER: Armoni Brooks (6.6 points per game)
TOP PLAYMAKER: Galen Robinson Jr. (5.0 assists per game)
BEST WINS: LSU, Cincinnati, UCF, Temple