2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Cougars are led by eleventh-year head coach Kelvin Sampson . The team plays their home games at the Fertitta Center as second-year members of the Big 12 Conference .
Previous season
The Cougars finished the 2023–24 season 28–3, 15–3 in Big 12 play to win the regular season championship in their first year in the conference. They defeated TCU and Texas Tech to advance to the Big 12 tournament championship game where they lost to Iowa State .[ 1] They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the South Regional. They defeated Longwood in the First Round and Texas A&M in overtime in the Second Round to advance to their fifth consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance. There they were defeated by Duke after losing their starting point guard, Jamal Shead , to an ankle sprain during the game.[ 2]
Offseason
Departing players
Incoming transfers
Houston Incoming Transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous school
Milos Uzan
7
G
6'4"
193
Junior
Las Vegas, NV
Oklahoma
2024 recruiting class
Preseason
Big 12 Preseason Poll
Big 12 Coaches
Points
1.
Kansas
215 (9)
2.
Houston
211 (5)
3.
Iowa State
194 (1)
4.
Baylor
185
5.
Arizona
179 (1)
6.
Cincinnati
140
7.
Texas Tech
135
8.
Kansas State
133
9.
BYU
116
10.
TCU
90
11.
UCF
83
12.
Arizona State
64
13.
West Virginia
62
14.
Oklahoma State
46
15.
Colorado
37
16.
Utah
30
Reference: [ 3] (#) first-place votes
Pre-Season All-Big 12 Team
First Team
Second Team
Roster
2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Kordelius Jefferson
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
RS Fr
Martin HS
Arlington, TX
C
2
Cedric Lath
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
260 lb (118 kg)
RS So
Balboa School
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
G
3
Ramon Walker Jr.
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Sr
Shadow Creek HS
Pearland, TX
G
4
LJ Cryer
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
GS
Baylor
Katy, TX
F
5
Ja'Vier Francis
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Sr
Montverde Academy
New Orleans, LA
G
7
Milos Uzan
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
Oklahoma
Las Vegas, NV
G
8
Mylik Wilson
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
GS
Texas Tech
Rayville, LA
F
11
Joseph Tugler
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
So
Cypress Falls HS
Houston, TX
C
12
Jacob McFarland
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Fr
Rancho Verde HS
Moreno Valley, CA
F
13
J'Wan Roberts
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
GS
Shoemaker HS
Saint Thomas, USVI
G
21
Emanuel Sharp
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
RS Jr
Bishop McLaughlin CHS
Tampa, FL
G
23
Terrance Arceneaux
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
RS So
Beaumont United HS
Beaumont, TX
F
24
Chase McCarty
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Fr
IMG Academy
Huntsville, AL
G
25
Mercy Miller
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
Notre Dame HS
Sherman Oaks, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: September 2, 2024
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2024 *4:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 4
No. 13 Texas A&M
W 79–64
−
18 – Cryer
9 – Tugler
4 – Wilson
Fertitta Center (5,981)Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 4
Jackson State
W 97−40
1−0
16 – Cryer
7 –
10 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
November 9, 2024 *8:30 p.m., ESPNU
No. 4
vs. No. 11 Auburn The Battleground 2k24
L 69–74
1–1
13 –
7 – Roberts
4 – Uzan
Toyota Center (6,901)Houston, TX
November 13, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 8
Louisiana
W 91–45
2–1
14 – Arceneaux
6 – Roberts
5 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
November 22, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 7
Hofstra
W 80–44
3–1
17 – Tugler
9 – Miller
6 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
November 26, 2024 *7:00 p.m., TBS
No. 6
vs. No. 9 Alabama Players Era Festival Impact Tournament
L 80–85 OT
3–2
30 – Cryer
8 – Tugler
2 –
MGM Grand Garden Arena (7,602)Paradise, NV
November 27, 2024 *11:30 p.m., TBS
No. 6
vs. Notre Dame Players Era Festival Impact Tournament
W 65–54
4–2
17 – Sharp
8 – Roberts
9 – Uzan
MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
November 30, 2024 *6:00 p.m., TNT/TruTV
No. 6
vs. San Diego State Players Era Festival 3rd place game
L 70–73 OT
4–3
23 – Sharp
12 – Roberts
3 –
MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV
December 7, 2024 *4:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 17
Butler Big East–Big 12 Battle
W 79–51
5–3
20 – Cryer
12 – Roberts
3 –
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
December 10, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 15
Troy
W 62–42
6–3
22 – Cryer
9 – Roberts
5 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
December 18, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 15
Toledo
W 78–49
7–3
16 – Arceneaux
9 – Arceneaux
4 –
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
December 21, 2024 *1:00 p.m., CBSSN
No. 15
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
W 87–51
8–3
18 – Sharp
11 – Wilson
6 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
Big 12 regular season
December 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 14
at Oklahoma State
W 60–47
9–3 (1–0)
20 – Roberts
11 – Roberts
4 – Uzan
Gallagher-Iba Arena (7,365)Stillwater, OK
January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 14
BYU
W 86–55
10–3 (2–0)
18 – Sharp
6 –
8 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
January 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 12
TCU
W 65–46
11–3 (3–0)
14 – Sharp
6 – Tugler
3 –
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
January 11, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 12
at Kansas State
W 87–57
12–3 (4–0)
15 – Sharp
10 – Tugler
3 – Roberts
Bramlage Coliseum (8,332)Manhattan, KS
January 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 10
West Virginia
W 70–54
13–3 (5–0)
22 – Roberts
7 – Uzan
4 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
January 18, 2025 11:00 a.m., CBSSN
No. 10
at UCF
W 69–68
14–3 (6–0)
21 – Roberts
10 – Francis
5 – Uzan
Addition Financial Arena (9,014)Orlando, FL
January 22, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 7
Utah
W 70–36
15–3 (7–0)
14 – Uzan
7 – Wilson
5 – Uzan
Fertitta Center (7,035)Houston, TX
January 25, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 7
at No. 12 Kansas
W 92–86 2OT
16–3 (8–0)
24 – Roberts
9 –
9 – Uzan
Allen Fieldhouse (15,300)Lawrence, KS
January 29, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 6
at West Virginia
W 63–49
17–3 (9–0)
17 – Cryer
7 – Tugler
3 –
WVU Coliseum (12,083)Morgantown, WV
February 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 6
No. 22 Texas Tech
L 81–82 OT
17–4 (9–1)
22 – Cryer
8 – Tugler
3 – Roberts
Fertitta Center (7,324)Houston, TX
February 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Oklahoma State
Fertitta Center Houston, TX
February 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Colorado
CU Events Center Boulder, CO
February 10, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN
Baylor
Fertitta Center Houston, TX
February 15, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
at Arizona
McKale Center Tucson, AZ
February 18, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
at Arizona State
Desert Financial Arena Tempe, AZ
February 22, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
Iowa State
Fertitta Center Houston, TX
February 24, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN
at Texas Tech
United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, TX
March 1, 2025 3:30 p.m., CBS
Cincinnati
Fertitta Center Houston, TX
March 3, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN
Kansas
Fertitta Center Houston, TX
March 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN
at Baylor
Foster Pavilion Waco, TX
Big 12 tournament
March 11–15, 2025 TBA
vs.
T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Central Time .
Source[ 4]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final AP 4 (4) 8 7 6 17 15 15 15 14 12 10 7 6 Coaches 4 (4) 10 8 7 18 13 12 12 14 11 8 5 5
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
Information related to 2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team