2017–18 Houston Cougars men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2017–18 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Cougars were led by fourth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference . Due to renovations to the Cougars home arena, Hofheinz Pavilion , they played their home games at the H&PE Arena on the campus of Texas Southern University .
The Cougars ended the season with a record of 27–8. They tied for second place in regular-season conference play with a record of 14–4. As the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament , Houston advanced to the final game, losing 56–55 to the Cincinnati Bearcats . The Cougars earned a No. 6 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament , where they advanced to the second round before falling to the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 64–63.
Previous season
The Cougars finished the 2016–17 season 21–11, 12–6 in AAC play to finish in third place. They lost to UConn in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament .[ 1] They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed and lost in the first round to Akron .[ 2]
Offseason
Departures
Incoming Transfers
Class of 2017 signees
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Fabian White Jr. #25 PF
Humble, TX
Atascocita High School
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Sep 11, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 82
Michael Adewunmi SG
Mansfield, TX
Lake Ridge High School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Aug 1, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Cedric Alley PF
Houston, TX
Klein Forest High School
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Apr 1, 2017
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : NR Rivals : NR ESPN : NR
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Class of 2018 signees
Roster
2017–18 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
C
1
Chris Harris Jr.
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
RS So
San Jacinto High School
Houston, Texas
G
2
Mike Adewunmi
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Lake Ridge High School
Mansfield, Texas
G
3
Armoni Brooks
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
McNeil High School
Round Rock, Texas
G
5
Corey Davis Jr.
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
San Jacinto College
Lafayette, Louisiana
G
12
Wes VanBeck (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
Westside High School
Houston, Texas
F
13
Nura Zanna
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
RS Sr
LIU Brooklyn
Kaduna, Nigeria
F
15
Devin Davis
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
RS Sr
Odessa College
Indianapolis, Indiana
F
20
Gabe Grant
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Jr
Three Rivers Community College
Chicago, Illinois
F
23
Cedrick Alley Jr.
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Fr
Klein Forest High School
Houston, Texas
F
24
Breaon Brady
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
Jr
Saddleback College
Akron, Ohio
G
25
Galen Robinson Jr.
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
Westbury Christian School
Houston, Texas
C
30
Caleb Broodo (W)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Dow High School
Midland, Michigan
C
31
Valentine Sangoyomi
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
RS Jr
Northern Oklahoma College
Lagos, Nigeria
G
32
Rob Gray
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
RS Sr
Howard College
Forest City, North Carolina
F
35
Fabian White Jr.
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Atascocita High School
Atascocita, Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 21, 2017 *12:00 pm
at Baylor Hurricane Harvey Relief Exhibition
W 81–78
25 – Gray
6 – White
11 – Gray
Ferrell Center (2,551)Waco, TX
November 5, 2017 *3:00 pm
Angelo State
W 97–80
13 – Harris/Zanna
9 – White
5 – C. Davis/Gray
H&PE Arena Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
McNeese State
W 81–53
1–0
22 – Brooks
10 – Brady
5 – C. Davis/D. Davis/Robinson
H&PE Arena (3,241)Houston, TX
November 17, 2017 *2:30 pm, FloHoops
vs. Drexel Paradise Jam quarterfinals
L 80–84
1–1
37 – Gray
9 – Zanna
5 – Robinson
Vines Center (1,022)Lynchburg, VA
November 18, 2017 *11:00 am, FloHoops
vs. Liberty Paradise Jam
W 68–66
2–1
19 – Gray
11 – Brady
3 – Gray
Vines Center (815)Lynchburg, VA
November 19, 2017 *1:30 p.m., FloHoops
vs. Wake Forest Paradise Jam
W 78–73
3–1
23 – Gray
11 – Zanna
5 – Robinson
Vines Center (655)Lynchburg, VA
November 25, 2017 *7:00 pm
Incarnate Word
W 97–58
4–1
16 – Gray/VanBeck
12 – White
7 – C. Davis
H&PE Arena (2,724)Houston, TX
November 29, 2017 *7:00 pm
New Orleans
W 75–66
5–1
23 – Gray
6 – D. Davis/White
8 – Gray
H&PE Arena (2,586)Houston, TX
December 2, 2017 *6:30 pm, CBSSN
Arkansas
W 91–65
6–1
28 – D. Davis
10 – D. Davis
9 – Robinson
H&PE Arena (4,186)Houston, TX
December 6, 2017 *11:00 am, ESPN3
Fairfield
W 88–66
7–1
20 – Gray
9 – D. Davis
4 – Robinson
H&PE Arena (3,548)Houston, TX
December 9, 2017 *7:00 pm, Stadium
at Saint Louis
W 77–58
8–1
24 – Gray
6 – Brady/Gray
2 – VanBeck
Chaifetz Arena (6,014)St. Louis, MO
December 13, 2017 *7:00 pm, SECN
at LSU
L 77–80
8–2
20 – C. Davis/Gray
7 – D. Davis
7 – Gray
Maravich Center (8,449)Baton Rouge, LA
December 17, 2017 *3:00 pm
Prairie View A&M
W 92–72
9–2
24 – Brooks
7 – D. Davis
6 – Robinson
H&PE Arena (2,788)Houston, TX
December 20, 2017 *6:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Providence Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase
W 70–59
10–2
24 – Gray
9 – D. Davis
6 – Robinson
Mohegan Sun Arena (5,518)Uncasville, CT
AAC regular season
December 28, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPNews
at South Florida
W 79–60
11–2 (1–0)
15 – C. Davis
8 – Brady
5 – Robinson
USF Sun Dome (2,273)Tampa, FL
December 30, 2017 5:00 pm, ESPNU
Temple
W 76–73
12–2 (2–0)
21 – Brady
9 – Brady
3 – C. Davis/Gray/Robinson
H&PE Arena (3,370)Houston, TX
January 4, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 9 Wichita State
L 63–81
12–3 (2–1)
13 – Gray
6 – Sangoyomi/VanBeck
5 – C. Davis
Charles Koch Arena (10,506)Wichita, KS
January 11, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulsa
W 104–71
13–3 (3–1)
34 – Gray
8 – D. Davis
8 – Gray
H&PE Arena (2,666)Houston, TX
January 14, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3
at East Carolina
W 65–49
14–3 (4–1)
20 – C. Davis
6 – VanBeck/White
9 – Gray
Williams Arena (3,549)Greenville, NC
January 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNews
at Tulane
L 72–81
14–4 (4–2)
24 – Gray
7 – VanBeck
5 – Gray
Devlin Fieldhouse (2,301)New Orleans, LA
January 20, 2018 11:00 am, ESPNU
No. 7 Wichita State
W 73–59
15–4 (5–2)
24 – Gray
8 – C. Davis
4 – Gray
H&PE Arena (5,708)Houston, TX
January 28, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3
South Florida
W 63–40
16–4 (6–2)
17 – C. Davis
11 – White
6 – Gray
H&PE Arena (3,121)Houston, TX
January 31, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN
at No. 8 Cincinnati
L 70–80
16–5 (6–3)
18 – C. Davis
9 – D. Davis
6 – Gray
BB&T Arena (8,885)Highland Heights, KY
February 3, 2018 11:00 am, ESPNU
at UCF
W 69–65
17–5 (7–3)
20 – Gray
9 – Brady
5 – Gray
CFE Arena (4,301)Orlando, FL
February 8, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2
SMU
W 67–58
18–5 (8–3)
23 – Brooks
10 – Brooks
7 – Gray
H&PE Arena (3,547)Houston, TX
February 11, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulane
W 73–42
19–5 (9–3)
16 – D. Davis
11 – Brooks
5 – Robinson
H&PE Arena (2,902)Houston, TX
February 15, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 5 Cincinnati
W 67–62
20–5 (10–3)
16 – C. Davis/D. Davis
10 – D. Davis
6 – Robinson
H&PE Arena (5,363)Houston, TX
February 18, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN
at Temple
W 80–59
21–5 (11–3)
20 – C. Davis
11 – D. Davis
7 – Robinson
Liacouras Center (7,270)Philadelphia, PA
February 22, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 23
at Memphis
L 85–91
21–6 (11–4)
30 – Gray
9 – Brady
7 – Gray
FedEx Forum (6,536)Memphis, TN
February 25, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 23
East Carolina
W 109–58
22–6 (12–4)
21 – Brooks
9 – White
11 – Gray
H&PE Arena (3,602)Houston, TX
February 28, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 25
at SMU
W 69–56
23–6 (13–4)
19 – Gray
7 – Brooks
9 – Gray
Moody Coliseum (6,782)Dallas, TX
March 4, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 25
UConn
W 81–71
24–6 (14–4)
30 – Gray
8 – D. Davis
4 – Robinson
H&PE Arena (5,237)Houston, TX
AAC Tournament
March 9, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU
(3) No. 21
vs. (6) UCF Quarterfinals
W 84–56
25–6
18 – Robinson
7 – D. Davis/White
6 – Gray
Amway Center (8,680)Orlando, FL
March 10, 2018 2:30 pm, CBS
(3) No. 21
vs. (2) No. 11 Wichita State Semifinals
W 77–74
26–6
33 – Gray
9 – Zanna
6 – Robinson
Amway Center (8,644)Orlando, FL
March 11, 2018 2:30 pm, CBS
(3) No. 21
vs. (1) No. 8 Cincinnati Championship
L 55–56
26–7
17 – Gray
6 – Zanna
5 – Robinson
Amway Center (8,670)Orlando, FL
NCAA tournament
March 15, 2018 *6:40 pm, TBS
(6 W) No. 21
vs. (11 W) San Diego State First Round
W 67–65
27–7
39 – Gray
9 – D. Davis
2 – C. Davis/Robinson
Intrust Bank Arena (14,019)Wichita, KS
March 17, 2018 *9:02 pm, TBS
(6 W) No. 21
vs. (3 W) No. 7 Michigan Second Round
L 63–64
27–8
23 – Gray
10 – Gray
3 – Gray/Robinson
Intrust Bank Arena (14,385)Wichita, KS
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in
Central Time .
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final AP — — — — RV — — — — — — RV RV RV RV 23 25 21 21 Not released Coaches — —^ — — — RV — — — — — — RV RV RV 23 RV 21 19 22
^Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time AP did.
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
Information related to 2017–18 Houston Cougars men's basketball team