The 2018–19 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

during the

2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2018. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded with the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 8, 2019. Pract ...

. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach

Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the Big 12 Conference. Early life Sampson was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, to parents who were m ...

as members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. Beginning December 1, 2018, they played their home games at

Fertitta Center The Fertitta Center, formerly known as Hofheinz Pavilion, is a 7,100-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams and ...

, which reopened after a $60 million upgrade. The Cougars played their first four non-conference home games at H&PE Arena while construction on Fertitta Center was completed. Houston finished the 2018–19 regular season 29–2, including an AAC-best 16–2 record in conference play. They were the runner-up in the American Athletic Conference tournament, falling 69–57 to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

in the final. The Cougars earned the #3 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament, where they went 2–1, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen before falling 62–58 to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Houston's final overall season record of 33–4 set a program record for wins.

Previous season

The

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

finished the 2017–18 season 27–8, 14–4 in AAC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, they defeated UCF and

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

before losing to

in the championship game. The Cougars received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the West region. They defeated

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

in the First Round before losing to eventual National Runner-up

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the Second Round.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2018 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, AAC regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, AAC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Houston Cougars men's basketball seasons