# 1977–78 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1977–78 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA Division I competition in the 1977–78 season.
Houston, coached by Guy Lewis, played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1977* | | Pan American | W 85–81 | 1–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 1, 1977* | | at Auburn | W 88–87 | 2–0 | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 3, 1977* | | Southwestern Louisiana | W 96–72 | 3–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 7, 1977* | | Texas Lutheran | W 118–69 | 4–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 9, 1977* | | at Arizona | L 80–81 | 4–1 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Dec 10, 1977* | | at Arizona State | L 78–79 | 4–2 | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| Dec 12, 1977* | | Southwestern | W 133–98 | 5–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 16, 1977* | | Xavier Bluebonnet Classic | W 100–75 | 6–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 17, 1977* | | North Texas State Bluebonnet Classic | W 137–94 | 7–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 21, 1977* | | at Hawaii | W 104–68 | 8–2 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 23, 1977* | | at Hawaii–Hilo | W 110–83 | 9–2 | Hilo Civic Auditorium Hilo, Hawaii |
| Jan 5, 1978* | | Houston Baptist | W 103–51 | 10–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 8, 1978 | | at No. 3 Arkansas | L 65–84 | 10–3 (0–1) | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Jan 10, 1978 | | Texas | L 89–100 | 10–4 (0–2) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 12, 1978 | | at Texas A&M | W 80–73 | 11–4 (1–2) | G. Rollie White Coliseum College Station, Texas |
| Jan 14, 1978 | | at TCU | W 79–63 | 12–4 (2–2) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 17, 1978 | | Baylor | W 100–89 | 13–4 (3–2) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 21, 1978 | | Rice | W 96–74 | 14–4 (4–2) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 23, 1978 | | at SMU | L 75–76 | 14–5 (4–3) | Moody Coliseum University Park, Texas |
| Jan 25, 1978 | | Texas Tech | W 84–71 | 15–5 (5–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 30, 1978 | | at No. 15 Texas | L 72–73 | 15–6 (5–4) | Special Events Center Austin, Texas |
| Feb 1, 1978 | | TCU | W 93–55 | 16–6 (6–4) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 4, 1978 | | Texas A&M | W 94–89 | 17–6 (7–4) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 7, 1978 | | at Baylor | L 69–70 | 17–7 (7–5) | Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, Texas |
| Feb 11, 1978 | | at Rice | W 87–62 | 18–7 (8–5) | Rice Gymnasium Houston, Texas |
| Feb 13, 1978 | | SMU | W 95–55 | 19–7 (9–5) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 15, 1978 | | at Texas Tech | W 81–77 | 20–7 (10–5) | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| Feb 18, 1978 | | No. 1 Arkansas | W 84–75 | 21–7 (11–5) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| SWC tournament ||||||
| Feb 25, 1978* | (3) | (8) Rice First round | W 108–67 | 22–7 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Mar 2, 1978* | (3) | vs. (4) Texas Tech Quarterfinals | W 93–82 | 23–7 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 3, 1978* | (3) | vs. (2) No. 4 Arkansas Semifinals | W 70–69 | 24–7 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 4, 1978* | (3) | vs. (1) No. 12 Texas Championship | W 92–90 | 25–7 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1978* | | vs. No. 6 Notre Dame First round | L 77–100 | 25–8 | Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | — |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 |