University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Announce 2003-04 Men's Basketball Schedule
9/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 9, 2003
Houston -
University of Houston head men's basketball coach Ray McCallum released the 2003-04 schedule that includes 17 home games against a NCAA Final Four team, four other 2003 postseason tournament teams, non-conference games against teams from three major conferences and several familiar faces in 2003-04.
"This is a very challenging schedule that will allow us to raise our level of play and develop as a team in front of our fans," McCallum said. "Our non-conference schedule includes games against intrastate universities and schools from major conferences. It should prepare us to compete against a strong Conference USA schedule."
Heading the list of Houston's home schedule are Conference USA rivals Marquette, Cincinnati and DePaul. The Golden Eagles advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 1977, and the Bearcats played in their 12th straight NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons advanced to the NIT.
Houston will be tested right away when the Cougars open the season against East Tennessee State and former UAB mentor Murry Bartow. While Bartow is in his first season as head coach at ETSU, the Buccaneers return eight players from last year's team that won the Southern Conference Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
Houston faces another former Conference USA coach, when Washington visits Hofheinz Pavilion on December 20. The Huskies are coached by former Saint Louis head coach Lorenzo Romar, who is in his second season at Washington.
The Cougars will play Texas A&M on December 27. It marks the first time the Cougars and Aggies have squared off since 1995-96, when both schools were members of the Southwest Conference.
In addition to Texas A&M, Houston plays three games against intrastate rivals. The first is on December 3, when the Cougars host inner-city rival, Rice. Then, Houston will host Lamar on December 6 before traveling to UTEP on December 8.
Houston plays it final non-conference road game at Louisiana-Lafayette on January 3. The Ragin' Cajuns were in the NIT last season. Houston's final non-conference game will be against Centenary on January 19.
Similar to their non-conference schedule, the Cougars will be tested early in Conference USA play as the league begins a new scheduling format in 2003-04. Conference USA will be formed into a single division and for the first time, all 14 schools will play each other at least once during the regular season. There are three additional games based on regional rivalries and television for a total of 16 Conference regular season games.
Houston opens in C-USA slate against Marquette on January 7 and travels to UAB on January 10. The Cougars return home to host TCU on January 13 and East Carolina on January 17.
After the Centenary game, Houston will play three straight league games on the road. The first two games will be at Memphis on January 24 and at Louisville on January 28. The Cougars close out the road trip at USF on January 31.
The Cougars open the month of February with two straight home games. Houston will play Southern Miss on February 3 and Cincinnati on February 7. Houston plays at Tulane on February 11 and will play host to DePaul on February 14.
After traveling to Southern Miss on February 18, the Cougars will play host to USF on February 21.
Houston closes out the month of February at TCU on February 28 and plays its final regular season home game against Charlotte on March 3. The Cougars close out the regular season at Saint Louis on Friday, March 5.
The Cougars look to qualify for the 2004 Conference USA Tournament, which will be held on March 10-12 in Cincinnati. The tournament includes 12 of the 14 C-USA teams and Houston looks to qualify for a third straight year.
