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University of Houston Athletics
Houston Closes Out Regular Season At Saint Louis
3/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2004
St. Louis, Mo.- - The University of Houston men's basketball team find themselves in a do-or-die situation when the Cougars close out the 2003-04 regular season with a Conference USA game at Saint Louis at 8:10 p.m. on Friday, March 5.
The Cougars enter the game with a 9-17 overall record and a 3-12 Conference USA mark after suffering an 82-61 loss against Charlotte in their final home game of the season. Saint Louis enters the game looking to rebound from a 75-48 loss against 25th-ranked Louisville. The Billikens are 15-11 overall this season and have an 8-7 C-USA record.
Houston must win Friday night's game to have an opportunity to play in the C-USA Tournament on March 10-13 in Cincinnati. If the Cougars win the game and East Carolina loses its game at Southern Miss on Saturday, March 6, Houston will earn the 12th and final spot in the C-USA Tournament.
Friday night's game will be the final regular season game for Houston seniors Marcus Oliver and Anwar Ferguson. Oliver is the only four-year letterman on this year's roster and has played in 118 games during his collegiate career. He will start his 71st game as a Cougars against Saint Louis. Oliver eclipsed the 800-point plateau last Wednesday night's game against Charlotte when he scored 15 points against the 49ers. He enters Friday night's game with 806 career points at UH.
Ferguson is a two-year letterman who came to Houston from Lee College in Baytown, Texas. He enters Friday night's game one blocked shot shy of tying former Cincinnati standout and current New Jersey Nets star Kenyon Martin's Conference USA record for the most blocked shots in a season. Ferguson enters the Saint Louis game with 106 career blocked shots. He leads C-USA and ranks second nationally with 4.1 blocked shots per game.
