# 1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

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 defeated the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA Bruins on January 20 in what was known as the Game of the Century. Houston attained a perfect 28–0 record for regular season, and finished with a 31–2 overall record, the first thirty-win season in program history. The Cougars finished first in both major polls, were invited to the NCAA tournament, and finished as a semifinalist. It was Houston's second consecutive Final Four appearance.
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 ||||||
| 12/2/1967 | No. 2 | Sacramento State | W 110–79 | 1–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/4/1967 | No. 2 | Abilene Christian | W 90–75 | 2–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/7/1967 | No. 2 | North Dakota State | W 121–88 | 3–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/9/1967 | No. 2 | at Illinois | W 54–46 | 4–0 | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| 12/13/1967 | No. 2 | George Washington Bluebonnet Classic | W 86–61 | 5–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/14/1967 | No. 2 | Montana State Bluebonnet Classic | W 113–67 | 6–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/16/1967 | No. 2 | BYU | W 102–69 | 7–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/18/1967 | No. 2 | Minnesota | W 103–65 | 8–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 12/22/1967 | No. 2 | at Arizona | W 81–76 | 9–0 | Bear Down Gym Tucson, Arizona |
| 12/23/1967 | No. 2 | at Nevada Southern | W 94–85 | 10–0 | Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 12/28/1967 | No. 2 | vs. Bradley Rainbow Classic | W 69–52 | 11–0 | Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 12/29/1967 | No. 2 | vs. Marquette Rainbow Classic | W 77–65 | 12–0 | Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 12/30/1967 | No. 2 | vs. North Texas State Rainbow Classic | W 45–43 | 13–0 | Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 1/2/1968 | No. 2 | Michigan | W 91–65 | 14–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 1/6/1968 | No. 2 | Centenary (LA) | W 118–81 | 15–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 1/13/1968 | No. 2 | West Texas State | W 98–53 | 16–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 1/20/1968 TVS | No. 2 | vs. No. 1 UCLA Game of the Century | W 71–69 | 17–0 | Houston Astrodome (52,693) Houston, Texas |
| 1/27/1968 | No. 1 | Lamar Tech | W 112–79 | 18–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 1/29/1968 | No. 1 | Fairfield | W 108–76 | 19–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Houston |
| 2/1/1968 | No. 1 | vs. Marshall | W 102–93 | 20–0 | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
| 2/10/1968 | No. 1 | at Centenary (LA) | W 107–56 | 21–0 | Haynes Gymnasium Shreveport, Louisiana |
| 2/15/1968 | No. 1 | Miami (FL) | W 106–64 | 22–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 2/17/1968 | No. 1 | Air Force | W 106–82 | 23–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 2/22/1968 | No. 1 | Texas–Arlington | W 130–75 | 24–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 2/24/1968 | No. 1 | Valparaiso | W 158–81 | 25–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 2/26/1968 | No. 1 | at Hardin–Simmons | W 105–82 | 26–0 | Rose Fieldhouse Abilene, Texas |
| 3/2/1968 | No. 1 | Virginia Tech | W 120–79 | 27–0 | Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas |
| 3/4/1968 | No. 1 | at West Texas State | W 107–76 | 28–0 | West Texas State Fieldhouse Canyon, Texas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/9/1968 | No. 1 | vs. Loyola (IL) Regional quarterfinals – First round | W 94–76 | 29–0 | Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 3/15/1968 | No. 1 | vs. No. 9 Louisville Regional semifinals – Sweet Sixteen | W 91–75 | 30–0 | WSU Field House Wichita, Kansas |
| 3/16/1968 | No. 1 | vs. TCU Regional finals – Elite Eight | W 103–68 | 31–0 | WSU Field House Wichita, Kansas |
| 3/22/1968 SNI | No. 1 | vs. No. 2 UCLA Final Four | L 69–101 | 31–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| 3/23/1968 | No. 1 | vs. Ohio State Third-place game | L 85–89 | 31–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Coaches | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| Elvin Hayes | 1 | 1 | San Diego Rockets |
| Don Chaney | 1 | 12 | Boston Celtics |
    Source: