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University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Release 2017-18 Schedule
9/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston Men's Basketball program released its 2017-18 schedule with 15 home games in the city of Houston, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Friday morning.
The Cougars will face Cincinnati, ECU, SMU, Temple, Tulane, USF and Wichita State in home-and-away games during the regular season. Houston will compete against UConn and Tulsa at home while facing UCF and Memphis in away contests only.
Renovations continue on the $60-million project, which is transforming Hofheinz Pavilion into the Fertitta Center. The renovation was made possible by a generous $20 million donation from UH System Board of Regents Chairman Tilman J. Fertitta and his family with the facility opening for the 2018-19 season.
Of their 15 home contests, the Cougars will compete in 13 inside Health & PE Arena on the campus of nearby Texas Southern University. Home sites against new American Athletic Conference rival Wichita State (Jan. 20) and UConn (March 4) are still to be determined and will be announced in the near future.
After opening American Athletic Conference play at USF on Dec. 28, the Cougars return to Houston to play host to Temple on Dec. 30 inside H&PE Arena. From there, Houston meets new American Athletic Conference rival Wichita State on Jan. 4 in Kansas before returning home to play host to Tulsa on Jan. 11 in H&PE Arena.
The team hits the road to take on ECU (Jan. 14) and Tulane (Jan. 17) before meeting Wichita State (Jan. 20, site TBA) and USF (Jan. 28, H&PE Arena) in Houston.
Houston closes out the month when it meets Cincinnati in Highland Heights, Ky., on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. Like the Cougars, the Bearcats are playing home games at off-campus venues as Fifth Third Arena undergoes renovations.
The Cougars open the month of February with a road contest at UCF (Feb. 3) and then return to Houston for three straight home games inside H&PE Arena with SMU (Feb. 8), Tulane (Feb. 11) and Cincinnati (Feb. 15) to be played on the homestand.
Houston takes on Temple (Feb. 18) and Memphis (Feb. 22) in a pair of road games before closing out the regular-season series against ECU on Feb. 25 inside H&PE Arena.
The Cougars then face SMU on Feb. 28 in Dallas before closing out the regular season on March 4 in Houston at a venue to be determined.
POSTSEASON PLAY
The Cougars take their first step in the postseason when they compete at the American Athletic Conference Championship on March 8-11 inside Amway Center in Orlando. Houston has played as a top-3 seed in each of the last two conference tournaments.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Houston unveiled its non-conference schedule in July. After opening the season against McNeese (Nov. 10, H&PE Arena), the Cougars will play a Nov. 13 exhibition game at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., before heading to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, to compete at the Paradise Jam on Nov. 17-20.
Houston opens the Paradise Jam on Nov. 17 against Drexel and will face the winner/loser of Mercer-Liberty on Nov. 18 or Nov. 19 before closing out the tournament on Nov. 20 against an opponent to be determined.
Following their lone regular-season tournament, the Cougars return to Houston for four straight home games inside H&PE Arena. The Cougars meet UIW for the first time in school history on Nov. 25 and close out the month against New Orleans on Nov. 29.
The Cougars open the month of December when they take on Arkansas on Dec. 2. While the two programs were long-time rivals in the Southwest Conference, this will be the first time since 1991 that the Razorbacks will visit Houston.
After a Dec. 6 showdown against Fairfield closes out the homestand, the Cougars hit the road for a pair of games at Saint Louis (Dec. 9) and at LSU (Dec. 13).
The Cougars regularly faced Saint Louis as members of Conference USA from 1996 to 2008 but meet the Billikens for the first time since Jan. 29, 2007.
This will be the fifth meeting against the Tigers since 2010 and the third straight season in which the teams will play.
The Cougars take on Prairie View A&M on Dec. 17 inside H&PE Arena and then meet Providence on Dec. 20 for only the second time in school history and the first time since 1965 when they square off inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., during the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Five lettermen and three starters return in 2017-18 for the Cougars, who finished third in the American Athletic Conference, posted the program's second straight 20-win season and advanced to the NIT for the second straight year under Sampson.
Senior guard and All-American Athletic Conference First-Team selection Rob Gray led the Cougars and The American with 20.6 points per game, becoming Houston's first conference scoring champion since Aubrey Coleman led the nation in 2009-10.
Senior forward Devin Davis returns as the team's leading rebounder with 5.3 boards per contest, while junior point guard Galen Robinson Jr. dished out a team-best 155 assists, becoming the 18th player in school history with multiple 100+ assist seasons during his career.
The Cougars will be boosted by the addition of eight newcomers during the 2017-18 season. That award-winning group includes: Klein Forest High School forward Cedrick Alley Jr.; Mansfield Lake Ridge High School guard Mike Adewunmi; Saddleback Junior College forward Breaon Brady; San Jacinto Junior College guard Corey Davis; Three Rivers Community College forward Gabe Grant; San Jacinto Junior College center Chris Harris Jr.; Atascocita High School forward Fabian White Jr.; and LIU Brooklyn graduate transfer forward Nura Zanna in the Cougars' signing class.
JOIN the 50-50-CLUB
Fans are invited to join the 50-50 Club to support Houston Men's Basketball. 50-50 Club members help fund program necessities and enhance the experience for our student-athletes.
Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered team apparel, a signed basketball, invitations to practice, a tour of the $25 million Guy V. Lewis Development Facility, regular updates about the program and much more.
To join the 50-50 Club, fans can call 713-743-9742 or email UHMensBasketball@uh.edu. For more information about the 50-50 Club, levels of giving and benefits, fans can click here.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive the latest news and notes by following @UHCougarMBK on Twitter. Fans also can discuss the latest Houston Men's Basketball news and notes on the team's Facebook page by clicking LIKE at HoustonCougarMensHoops or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.
