1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball | |
---|---|
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Fourth place | |
Conference | Independent |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
1967–68 record | 31–2 |
Head coach | Guy Lewis |
Assistant coach | Harvey Pate |
Home arena | Delmar Fieldhouse |
The 1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Delmar Fieldhouse in Houston for the second consecutive season. This season marked the team's ninth year as an independent member of the NCAA's University Division. Houston was led by twelfth-year head coach Guy Lewis.
During the regular season, the Elvin Hayes-fronted Cougars team would beat the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA Bruins on January 20, 1968, in what was known as the Game of the Century. Houston obtained a perfect 28–0 record for regular season play, and eventually finished with a 31–2 overall record. It was the first time in the program's history that at least 30 wins were achieved. The team finished as number one in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The team was invited to the 1968 NCAA Men's University Division Basketball Tournament, and finished as a semifinalist. It was the second Final Four appearance in Houston's history.
Following the season, Elvin Hayes was drafted into the National Basketball Association by the San Diego Rockets as the first overall draft pick in the 1968 NBA Draft. Don Chaney was also taken as the twelfth overall draft pick by the Boston Celtics.
Schedule
Houston's regular season included the notable Game of Century against #1 UCLA. With an attendance of 52,693, the game had the highest attendance of any basketball game at any level at the time. It was also the first national broadcast of an NCAA basketball game in prime-time.
Date Time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site City, State | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | |||||||||||
12/02/1967 no |
No. 2 | Sacramento State | W 110–79 | 1–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
12/04/1967 no |
No. 2 | Abilene Christian | W 90–75 | 2–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
12/07/1967 no |
No. 2 | North Dakota State | W 121–88 | 3–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
12/09/1967 no |
No. 2 | at Illinois | W 54–46 | 4–0 |
Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois | ||||||
Bluebonnet Classic | |||||||||||
12/13/1967 no |
No. 2 | George Washington | W 86–61 | 5–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
12/14/1967 no |
No. 2 | Montana State | W 113–67 | 6–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
Regular season | |||||||||||
12/16/1967 no |
No. 2 | BYU | W 102–69 | 7–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
12/18/1967 no |
No. 2 | Minnesota | W 103–65 | 8–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
12/22/1967 no |
No. 2 | at Arizona | W 81–76 | 9–0 |
Bear Down Gym Tucson, Arizona | ||||||
12/23/1968 no |
No. 2 | at UNLV Las Vegas |
W 94–85 | 10–0 |
Las Vegas Convention Center | ||||||
Rainbow Classic | |||||||||||
12/28/1967 no |
No. 2 | vs. Bradley | W 69–52 | 11–0 |
Honolulu International Center Arena Honolulu | ||||||
12/29/1967 no |
No. 2 | vs. Marquette | W 77–65 | 12–0 |
Honolulu International Center Arena Honolulu | ||||||
12/30/1967 no |
No. 2 | vs. North Texas | W 69–52 | 13–0 |
Honolulu International Center Arena Honolulu | ||||||
Regular season | |||||||||||
01/02/1968 no |
No. 2 | Michigan | W 91–65 | 14–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
01/06/1968 no |
No. 2 | Centenary | W 118–81 | 15–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
01/13/1968 no |
No. 2 | West Texas A&M | W 98–53 | 16–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
01/20/1968 no, TVS |
No. 2 | vs. No. 1 UCLA Game of the Century |
W 71–69 | 17–0 |
Astrodome Houston | ||||||
01/27/1968 no |
No. 1 | Lamar | W 112–79 | 18–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
01/29/1968 no |
No. 1 | Fairfield | W 108–76 | 19–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
02/01/1968 no |
No. 1 | vs. Marshall | W 102–93 | 20–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York City | ||||||
02/10/1968 no |
No. 1 | at Centenary | W 107–56 | 21–0 |
? Shreveport, Louisiana | ||||||
02/15/1968 no |
No. 1 | Miami | W 106–64 | 22–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
02/17/1968 no |
No. 1 | Air Force | W 106–82 | 23–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
02/22/1968 no |
No. 1 | Texas–Arlington Houston |
W 130–75 | 24–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse | ||||||
02/24/1968 no |
No. 1 | Valparaiso | W 158–81 | 25–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
02/26/1968 no |
No. 1 | at Hardin–Simmons | W 105–82 | 26–0 |
? Abilene, Texas | ||||||
03/02/1968 no |
No. 1 | Virginia Tech | W 120–79 | 27–0 |
Delmar Fieldhouse Houston | ||||||
03/04/1968 no |
No. 1 | at West Texas A&M | W 107–76 | 28–0 |
WT Fieldhouse Canyon, Texas | ||||||
NCAA Division I Tournament | |||||||||||
03/09/1968 no |
No. 1 | vs. Loyola First round |
W 94–76 | 29–0 |
Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City | ||||||
03/15/1968 no |
No. 1 | vs. No. 9 Louisville Sweet Sixteen |
W 91–75 | 30–0 |
WSU Fieldhouse Wichita, Kansas | ||||||
03/16/1968 no |
No. 1 | vs. TCU Elite Eight |
W 103–68 | 31–0 |
WSU Fieldhouse Wichita, Kansas | ||||||
03/22/1968 no, SNI |
No. 1 | vs. No. 2 UCLA Final Four |
L 69-101 | 31–1 |
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles | ||||||
03/23/1968 no |
No. 1 | vs. Ohio State Third place game |
L 85–89 | 31–2 |
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |
Roster
1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Team players drafted into the NBA
Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
Elvin Hayes | 1 | 1 | San Diego Rockets |
Don Chaney | 1 | 12 | Boston Celtics |