Houston Cougars men's basketball

Houston Cougars
2021–22 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
University	University of Houston
First season	1945–46
All-time record	1,331–865 (.606)
Head coach	Kelvin Sampson (8th season)
Conference	The American Big 12 Conference
Location	Houston, Texas
Arena	Fertitta Center (Capacity: 7,100)
Nickname	Cougars
Student section	The Cage
Colors	Scarlet and white[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA Tournament Runner-up
1983, 1984
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2021
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2021
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1956, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2019, 2021
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1956, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2021
Conference tournament champions
1978, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1992, 2010, 2021
Conference regular season champions
1946, 1947, 1950, 1956, 1983, 1984, 1992, 2019, 2020

The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in the NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The university is a member of the American Athletic Conference. The program has made six appearances in the NCAA Tournament Final Four, which is tied for 10th most all-time.

History[]

Early history (1945–56)[]

Although the University of Houston already had a women's basketball program, the Houston Cougars men's basketball program did not begin until the 1945–46 season. Alden Pasche was the team's first head coach. In their first two seasons, the Cougars won Lone Star Conference regular-season titles and qualified for postseason play in the NAIA Men's Basketball tournaments in 1946 and 1947. The Cougars had an all-time NAIA tournament record of 2–2 in two years.

During Pasche's tenure, the Cougars posted a 135–116 record.^[2] Under his leadership in 1949, the Cougars won the Gulf Coast Conference championship. College Basketball Hall of famer coach Guy V. Lewis played for Pasche, and eventually became an assistant coach before being handed the job upon Pasche's retirement.

Guy Lewis era (1956–86)[]

Pasche retired after the 1955–56 season, and Houston assistant Guy Lewis was promoted to the head coaching position.^[3] Lewis, a former Cougar player, led Houston to 27 straight winning seasons and 14 seasons with 20 or more wins, including 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament. His Houston teams made the Final Four on five occasions (1967, 1968, 1982–84) and twice advanced to the NCAA Championship Game (1983, 1984).^[4] Among the outstanding players who Lewis coached are Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Otis Birdsong, Dwight Jones, Don Chaney and "Sweet" Lou Dunbar.

Lewis's UH teams twice played key roles in high-profile events that helped to popularize college basketball as a spectator sport. In 1968, his underdog, Elvin Hayes-led Cougars upset the undefeated and top-ranked UCLA Bruins in front of more than 50,000 fans at Houston's Astrodome. The game became known as the “Game of the Century” and marked a watershed in the popularity of college basketball.^[5] In the early 1980s, Lewis's Phi Slama Jama teams at UH gained notoriety for their fast-breaking, "above the rim" style of play as well as their overall success. These teams attracted great public interest with their entertaining style of play. At the height of Phi Slama Jama's notoriety, they suffered a dramatic, last-second loss in the 1983 NCAA Final that set a then-ratings record for college basketball broadcasts and became an iconic moment in the history of the sport.^[6] Lewis's insistence that these highly successful teams play an acrobatic, up-tempo brand of basketball that emphasized dunking brought this style of play to the fore and helped popularize it amongst younger players.^[7]

Houston lost in both NCAA Final games in which Lewis coached, despite his "Phi Slama Jama" teams featuring superstars Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. In 1983, Houston lost in a dramatic title game to the North Carolina State Wolfpack on a last-second dunk by Lorenzo Charles. The Cougars lost in the 1984 NCAA Final to the Georgetown Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing. Lewis retired from coaching in 1986 at number 20 in all-time NCAA Division I victories, his 592–279 record giving him a .680 career winning percentage.

As a coach, Lewis was known for championing the once-outlawed dunk,^[8] which he characterized as a "high percentage shot", and for clutching a brightly colored red-and-white polka dot towel^[9] on the bench during games. Lewis was a major force in the racial integration of college athletics in the South during the 1960s, being one of the first major college coaches in the region to actively recruit African-American athletes.^[10] His recruitment of Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney in 1964 ushered in an era of tremendous success in Cougar basketball. The dominant play of Hayes led the Cougars to two Final Fours and sent shock waves through Southern colleges that realized that they would have to begin recruiting black players if they wanted to compete with integrated teams.

Welcome to Conference USA (1996–04)[]

After 21 years in the Southwest Conference, the Cougars joined Conference USA in 1996. Under head coach Alvin Brooks,^[11] the basketball program had a disappointing initial season in C-USA. The team went 3–11 against C-USA teams in 1996–97. The next season was even more futile. Brooks, who had led the Cougars since 1993, coached the Cougars to a rock bottom conference record of 2–14 in 1997–98.^[12] The last, and only other, time the Cougars recorded only two conference victories in a season was in 1950–51; their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference.

One of Houston's biggest sports icons and one of the Cougars best basketball players ever, Clyde Drexler was hired^[13] to coach the program that he led as a player to the 1983 NCAA Final as part of Phi Slama Jama. Basketball excitement was back on campus, and fans looked forward to the promising years to come. After just two seasons with minimal success, Drexler resigned as head coach citing his intention to spend more time with his family.^[14]

Ray McCallum was hired^[15] to do what Clyde Drexler could not—lead the Cougars to a winning season and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. After losing seasons in each of his first two years, McCallum guided the Cougars to an 18–15 record in 2001–02. That season, the team won two conference tournament games and qualified for the National Invitation Tournament.^[16] However, the team regressed in the following season and failed to qualify for even their own C-USA tournament.

Two steps forward, one step back (2004–07)[]

Tom Penders was named as the head coach of Cougars basketball in 2004.^[17] Known as "Turnaround Tom" for his reputation of inheriting sub-par basketball programs and making them better, Penders was hired to rebuild a program that recorded only one winning season in its last eight years. After a surprising debut season in 2004–05 that led to an NIT appearance, the team had high hopes to build on their relative success and make the NCAA Tournament in 2006.

The 2005–06 season looked promising at the outset. The Cougars started their first game on a 30–0 scoring run against the Florida Tech Panthers. Less than two weeks later, the Cougars beat the nationally ranked LSU Tigers on the road and the Arizona Wildcats at home.^[18] The surprising wins earned the Cougars their first national ranking in several years. The team that seemed destined for an NCAA Tournament berth failed to capitalize on their success and national recognition and began to stumble after a loss to South Alabama Jaguars in December. The Cougars won only one conference tournament game and had to settle again for another NIT bid.

Dubbed as "The Show," the 2006–07 Cougars entered the season with cockiness and strong expectations to finally make it into the NCAA Tournament. A difficult schedule matched the Cougars with seven different teams that would end up qualifying for either the 2007 NCAA Tournament or NIT. Houston lost three times to the Memphis Tigers and once each to Arizona, the Creighton Bluejays, the Kentucky Wildcats, South Alabama, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, and the VCU Rams. By going 0–9 against these quality teams, the Cougars proved they were not worthy of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Not surprisingly, two conference tournament wins against lower seeds and an unimpressive 18–15 overall record were not even enough to earn the team an invitation to the NIT.

Team goal: NCAA Tournament (2007–10)[]

In 2007–08 the team introduced a new nickname ("The Show—In 3D") and a slightly new uniform (a changed trim design). The team hoped to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992. Eight straight home games from November 21 to December 29 helped the Cougars get off to an 11–1 start. However, the team lost most of its critical games at the end of the season, including their last two games (both against the UTEP Miners). Houston received an invitation to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational tournament and defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Valparaiso Crusaders but lost to their conference rival, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, in the semifinal round.^[19]

The 2008–09 season began on November 11 with a two-point loss to the Georgia Southern Eagles; this was the first game of the Division I college basketball season and the opening game of the 2K Sports Classic tournament in Durham, North Carolina.^[20] A Cougars win would have meant a second round matchup with the Duke Blue Devils.^[21] Overall, the Cougars played a balanced home and away regular season schedule. Fifteen games (three in November, three in December, four in January, three in February, and two in March) were played at Hofheinz Pavilion. There were 14 away games (two in November, two in December, five in January, and five in February).

The 2009–10 team finished the regular season 15–15 and 7–9 in C-USA, finishing seventh place in the conference. Following a 93–80 win over East Carolina in the first round of the C–USA Tournament, the Cougars beat Memphis 66–65, ending a string of four tournament titles for the Tigers. In the next game, they defeated Southern Miss 74–66 to advance to the championship game. Finally, the Cougars beat #25 ranked UTEP 81–73 to earn the conference's bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 1992.^[22] In the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, Houston, seeded 13th, was defeated 89–77 by 4th-seeded Maryland.^[23]

Penders announced his resignation as Houston head coach on March 22, 2010.^[24]

The school hired James Dickey on March 21, 2010.^[25] In four season with Houston, Dickey amassed a 64–62 record with no NCAA Tournament appearances.

Houston joins the American[]

Beginning with the 2013–14 season, Houston joined the newly created American Athletic Conference following the Big East realignment.

In March 2014, Dickey stepped down as head coach because of "private family matters".^[26]

On April 3, 2014, Houston hired Kelvin Sampson as the new Cougars head coach.^[27] Sampson had just become eligible to be a college coach again after receiving a five-year show cause penalty in 2008 for sanctions against him during his time as Indiana head coach.^[27] In 2014–15, Houston struggled again, finishing with a 13–19 record and 4–14 in the AAC. The 2015–16 team led a resurgence, finishing 22–10, 12–6, but lost in the AAC Tournament and in the first round of the NIT. In 2017–18, the Cougars compiled a 27–8 record, reaching the finals of the AAC Tournament and winning a game in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984. In 2018–19, the Cougars' success continued as they set a program record for wins with a 33–4 mark. They were AAC regular-season champions but fell in the finals of the conference tournament. They proceeded to the NCAA Tournament, where they reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 35 years. In 2020–21, the Cougars made their first Final Four appearance since 1984.^[28] They would lose to eventual national champions Baylor in the Final Four.^[29]

Conference affiliations[]

• Lone Star (1945–1949)
• Gulf Coast (1949–1950)
• Missouri Valley (1950–1960)
• Independent (1960–1975)
• Southwest (1975–1996)
• C-USA (1996–2013)
• The American (2013–2023)
• Big 12 (2023–onward)

Head-to-head American Athletic Conference records since 1949–50[]

Note: Through 2020–21 season. Source: Houston Cougars Head-to-Head Results

Team	Total meetings	Overall record	Win %
Cincinnati	42	9–33	.214
Connecticut	15	9–6	.600
East Carolina	25	19–6	.760
Louisville	21	5–16	.238
Memphis	54	20–34	.370
Rutgers	4	3–1	.750
SMU	89	55–34	.618
South Florida	36	24–12	.667
Temple	14	11–3	.786
Tulane	45	28–17	.622
Tulsa	59	30–29	.508
UCF	31	20–11	.645
Wichita State	34	16–18	.471

Italics indicate school no longer sponsors men's basketball in The American.

Championships[]

Conference Regular Season championships[]

The Cougars have won 9 conference regular season championships in their history, seven of which were outright championships. From 1960 to 1975, the Cougars were not eligible for a conference championship as they were not affiliated with any conference.^[30]

Year	Conference	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1945–46	Lone Star Conference	Alden Pasche	10–4	8–2
1946–47			15–7	11–1
1949–50	Gulf Coast Conference		16–7	6–0
1955–56	Missouri Valley Conference		19–7	9–3
1982–83	Southwest Conference	Guy Lewis	31–3	16–0
1983–84			32–5	15–1
1991–92†		Pat Foster	25–6	11–3
2018–19	American Athletic Conference	Kelvin Sampson	33–4	16–2
2019–20†			23–8	13–5

† co-Champions

Conference Tournament championships[]

Houston has won 7 conference tournaments in their history.^[30]

Year	Conference Tournament	Coach	CG Opponent	CG score
1977–78	Southwest Conference	Guy Lewis	Texas	92–90
1980–81	Southwest Conference		Texas	84–59
1982–83	Southwest Conference		TCU	62–59
1983–84	Southwest Conference		Arkansas	57–56
1991–92	Southwest Conference	Pat Foster	Texas	91–72
2009–10	Conference USA	Tom Penders	UTEP	81–73
2020–21	American Athletic Conference	Kelvin Sampson	Cincinnati	91–54

Top 25 finishes[]

The Houston Cougars have finished in the AP Poll and/or the Coaches Poll 12 times in the program's history.^[31]

Year	Record	AP Poll	Coaches Poll
1966–67	27–4	7	6
1967–68	31–2	1	1
1969–70	25–5	12	11
1970–71	22–7	14	18
1972–73	23–4	13	18
1977–78	25–8		16
1982–83	31–3	1	1
1983–84	32–5	5	5
2017–18	27–8	21	22
2018–19	33–4	11	12
2019–20	23–8	22	23
2020–21	28–4	6	3

Rivalries[]

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Rice[]

Houston leads Rice in the series 65–18 through the 2021–2022 season.^[32]

SMU[]

Houston leads SMU in the series 55–34 through the 2021–2022 season.^[33]

Recent records[]

As American Athletic Conference member
Season	Overall record*	The American tournament record	Postseason record	Head coach
2014–15	13–19 (4–14)	1–1; Lost in quarterfinals		Kelvin Sampson
2015–16	22–10 (12–6)	0–1; Lost in quarterfinals	0–1 in NIT	Kelvin Sampson
2016–17	21–11 (12–6)	0–1; Lost in quarterfinals	0–1 in NIT	Kelvin Sampson
2017–18	27–8 (14–4)	2–1; Lost in finals	1–1 in NCAA	Kelvin Sampson
2018–19	33–4 (16–2)	2–1; Lost in finals	2–1 in NCAA	Kelvin Sampson
2019–20	23–8 (13–5)	N/A**		Kelvin Sampson
2020–21	28–4 (14–3)	3–0; Won championship	4–1 in NCAA	Kelvin Sampson

* Overall record includes regular season and tournament/postseason results; regular season conference record in parentheses

** The 2020 American Conference and NCAA Tournaments were cancelled due to concerns with COVID-19.

Head coaches[]

Coach	Tenure	Seasons	Record	Win %
Alden Pasche	1945–1956	11	135–116	.538
Guy Lewis	1956–1986	30	592–279	.680
Pat Foster	1986–1993	7	142–73	.660
Alvin Brooks	1993–1998	5	54–84	.391
Clyde Drexler	1998–2000	2	19–39	.328
Ray McCallum	2000–2004	4	44–73	.376
Tom Penders	2004–2010	6	121–77	.611
James Dickey	2010–2014	4	64–62	.508
Kelvin Sampson	2014–present	7	167–64	.723

Postseason play[]

NCAA Men's Division I Tournament results[]

The Cougars have appeared in 22 NCAA Tournaments. Their overall record is 33–27.

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1978 edition.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1956		Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	SMU Kansas State	L 74–89 L 70–89
1961		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	Marquette Kansas State Texas Tech	W 77–61 L 64–76 L 67–69
1965		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	Notre Dame Oklahoma State SMU	W 99–98 L 60–75 L 87–89
1966		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place	Colorado State Oregon State Pacific	W 82–76 L 60–63 W 102–91
1967		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Final Four National 3rd Place Game	New Mexico State Kansas SMU UCLA North Carolina	W 59–58 W 66–53 W 83–75 L 58–73 W 84–62
1968		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Final Four National 3rd Place Game	Loyola–Chicago Louisville TCU UCLA Ohio State	W 94–76 W 91–75 W 103–68 L 69–101 L 85–89
1970		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place	Dayton Drake Kansas State	W 71–64 L 87–92 L 98–107
1971		Regional Quarterfinals Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place	New Mexico State Kansas Notre Dame	W 72–69 L 77–78 W 119–106
1972		Regional Quarterfinals	Texas	L 74–85
1973		Regional Quarterfinals	Southwest Louisiana	L 89–102
1978	(4Q)	Regional Quarterfinals	(2L) Notre Dame	L 77–100
1981	#8	First Round	#9 Villanova	L 72–90
1982	#6	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	#11 Alcorn State #3 Tulsa #2 Missouri #8 Boston College #1 North Carolina	W 94–84 W 78–74 W 79–78 W 99–92 L 63–68
1983	#1	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	#8 Maryland #4 Memphis State #3 Villanova #1 Louisville #6 NC State	W 60–50 W 70–63 W 89–71 W 94–81 L 52–54
1984	#2	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship Game	#10 Louisiana Tech #6 Memphis State #4 Wake Forest #7 Virginia #1 Georgetown	W 77–70 W 78–71 W 68–63 W 49–47 OT L 75–84
1987	#12	First Round	#5 Kansas	L 55–66
1990	#8	First Round	#9 UC Santa Barbara	L 66–70
1992	#10	First Round	#7 Georgia Tech	L 60–65
2010	#13	First Round	#4 Maryland	L 77–89
2018	#6	First Round Second Round	#11 San Diego State #3 Michigan	W 67–65 L 63–64
2019	#3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#14 Georgia State #11 Ohio State #2 Kentucky	W 84–55 W 74–59 L 58–62
2021	#2	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	#15 Cleveland State #10 Rutgers #11 Syracuse #12 Oregon State #1 Baylor	W 87–56 W 63–60 W 62–46 W 67–61 L 59–78

NIT results[]

The Cougars have appeared in 11 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 5–11.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1962	Quarterfinals	Dayton	L 77–94
1977	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	Indiana State Illinois State Alabama St. Bonaventure	W 83–82 W 91–90 W 82–76 L 91–94
1985	First Round	Lamar	L 71–78
1988	First Round Second Round	Fordham Colorado State	W 69–61 L 61–71
1991	First Round	Stanford	L 86–93
1993	First Round	UTEP	L 61–67
2002	Opening Round	Vanderbilt	L 50–59
2005	Opening Round	Wichita State	L 69–85
2006	First Round Second Round	BYU Missouri State	W 77–67 L 59–60
2016	First Round	Georgia Tech	L 62–81
2017	First Round	Akron	L 75–78

CBI[]

The Cougars have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) three times. Their combined record is 3–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2008	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Nevada Valparaiso Tulsa	W 80–79 W 91–67 L 69–73
2009	First Round	Oregon State	L 45–49
2013	First Round Quarterfinals	Texas George Mason	W 73–72 L 84–88 OT

NAIA tournament results[]

The Cougars have appeared in the NAIA Tournament twice. Their combined record is 2–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1946	First Round Second Round	High Point Indiana State	W 63–34 L 43–62
1947	First Round Second Round	Montana State Northern Arizona	W 60–58 L 42–44 3OT

Notable players[]

† Played in the NBA (current players in bold)

‡ Played in the ABA

Houston Cougars in the NBA Draft[]

Houston has had 46 players selected in the NBA Draft.^[34][35]

Draft Year	Round	Pick (Overall)	Player	Selected by
1947	5	49	Charles Raynor	Baltimore Bullets
1952	9	96	Ray Royce	Rochester Royals
1954	10	81	Gary Shivers	Baltimore Bullets
1955	8	69	Don Boldebuck	Minneapolis Lakers
1956	6	46	Don Boldebuck	Boston Celtics
1956	13	70	Arthur Helms	St. Louis Hawks
1961	1	9	Gary Phillips	Boston Celtics
1961	2	15	Ted Luckenbill	Philadelphia Warriors
1963	3	25	Lyle Harger	Los Angeles Lakers
1965	14	101	Jack Morgenthal	Philadelphia 76ers
1967	10	105	Don Kruze	Los Angeles Lakers
1968	1	1	Elvin Hayes	San Diego Rockets
1968	1	12	Don Chaney	Boston Celtics
1969	2	20	Ken Spain	Chicago Bulls
1969	9	117	George Reynolds	Detroit Pistons
1970	11	183	Melvin Bell	Baltimore Bullets
1970	12	189	Ollie Taylor	Cleveland Cavaliers
1971	4	56	Poo Welch	Atlanta Hawks
1972	1	3	Dwight Davis	Cleveland Cavaliers
1973	1	9	Dwight Jones	Atlanta Hawks
1973	3	47	Steve Newsome	Chicago Bulls
1975	4	59	Louis Dunbar	Philadelphia 76ers
1975	5	78	Maurice Presley	Portland Trail Blazers
1976	5	78	Dave Marrs	Houston Rockets
1977	1	2	Otis Birdsong	Kansas City Kings
1978	5	89	Cecile Rose	New Jersey Nets
1978	6	128	Charles Thompson	Phoenix Suns
1980	9	189	Ken Williams	Dallas Mavericks
1982	1	19	Rob Williams	Denver Nuggets
1982	6	136	Lynden Rose	Los Angeles Lakers
1983	1	14	Clyde Drexler	Portland Trail Blazers
1983	2	29	Larry Micheaux	Chicago Bulls
1984	1	1	Akeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets
1984	1	24	Michael Young	Boston Celtics
1984	10	208	Carl Lewis	Chicago Bulls
1985	5	103	Reid Gettys	Chicago Bulls
1986	4	80	Alvin Franklin	Sacramento Kings
1987	1	23	Cadillac Anderson	San Antonio Spurs
1987	2	28	Rickie Winslow	Chicago Bulls
1988	2	26	Rolando Ferreira	Portland Trail Blazers
1990	2	30	Carl Herrera	Miami Heat
1991	2	44	Álvaro Teherán	Philadelphia 76ers
1994	2	52	Anthony Goldwire	Phoenix Suns
2001	2	51	Alton Ford	Phoenix Suns
2017	2	44	Damyean Dotson	New York Knicks
2021	1	25	Quentin Grimes	Los Angeles Clippers

Known Undrafted NBA Free Agent Signings from Houston[]

Draft Year	Player	Year First Signed	Team
1992	Sam Mack	1992	San Antonio Spurs
1993	Bo Outlaw	1994	Los Angeles Clippers
1997	Damon Jones	1999	New Jersey Nets
2005	Andre Owens	2005	Utah Jazz
2007	Oliver Lafayette	2010	Boston Celtics
2008	Dion Dowell	2008	Golden State Warriors
2009	Marcus Cousin	2011	Utah Jazz
2012	Jonathon Simmons	2015	San Antonio Spurs
2019	Armoni Brooks	2021	Houston Rockets
2020	Nate Hinton	2020	Dallas Mavericks
2021	DeJon Jarreau	2021	Indiana Pacers

Individual Awards[]

National coach award winners[]