# 2017–18 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by fourth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. Due to renovations to the Cougars home arena, Hofheinz Pavilion, they played their home games at the H&PE Arena on the campus of Texas Southern University.
The Cougars ended the season with a record of 27–8. They tied for second place in regular-season conference play with a record of 14–4. As the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, Houston advanced to the final game, losing 56–55 to the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Cougars earned a No. 6 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the second round before falling to the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 64–63.

## Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2016–17 season 21–11, 12–6 in AAC play to finish in third place. They lost to UConn in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed and lost in the first round to Akron.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Danrad Knowles | 0 | F | 6'10" | 200 | RS Senior | Nassau, Bahamas | Graduated |
| Xavier Dupree | 1 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Morris Dunnigan | 5 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Junior | Joliet, IL | Transferred |
| Bertrand Nkali | 13 | C | 6'9" | 235 | RS Senior | Bertoua, Cameroon | Graduated |
| Damyean Dotson | 21 | G | 6'5" | 210 | RS Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Kyle Meyer | 33 | C | 6'10" | 230 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Corey Davis Jr. | 5 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Junior | Lafayette, LA | Junior college transferred from San Jacinto College |
| Nura Zanna | 13 | F | 6'7" | 240 | RS Senior | Kaduna, Nigeria | Transferred from LIU Brooklyn. Will be eligible to play since Zanna graduated from LIU Brooklyn. |
| Gabe Grant | 20 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Junior college transferred from Three Rivers CC |
| Breaon Brady | 24 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Junior | Akron, OH | Junior college transferred from Saddleback College |

### Class of 2017 signees

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Fabian White Jr. #25 PF | Humble, TX | Atascocita High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 11, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Michael Adewunmi SG | Mansfield, TX | Lake Ridge High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 1, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cedric Alley PF | Houston, TX | Klein Forest High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ESPN: NR ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Houston Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "2017 Houston Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. ||||||

### Class of 2018 signees

College recruiting information (2018) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nate Hinton #24 SF | Gastonia, NC | Gaston Day School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | Sep 18, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Antoine Davis #43 SG | Humble, TX | Homeschool Christian Youth Association | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A | Aug 16, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ESPN: NR |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Houston Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "2018 Houston Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 21, 2017* 12:00 pm | | at Baylor Hurricane Harvey Relief Exhibition | W 81–78 | | 25 – Gray | 6 – White | 11 – Gray | Ferrell Center (2,551) Waco, TX |
| November 5, 2017* 3:00 pm | | Angelo State | W 97–80 | | 13 – Harris/Zanna | 9 – White | 5 – C. Davis/Gray | H&PE Arena Houston, TX |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | McNeese State | W 81–53 | 1–0 | 22 – Brooks | 10 – Brady | 5 – C. Davis/D. Davis/Robinson | H&PE Arena (3,241) Houston, TX |
| November 17, 2017* 2:30 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Drexel Paradise Jam quarterfinals | L 80–84 | 1–1 | 37 – Gray | 9 – Zanna | 5 – Robinson | Vines Center (1,022) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 18, 2017* 11:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. Liberty Paradise Jam | W 68–66 | 2–1 | 19 – Gray | 11 – Brady | 3 – Gray | Vines Center (815) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 19, 2017* 1:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Wake Forest Paradise Jam | W 78–73 | 3–1 | 23 – Gray | 11 – Zanna | 5 – Robinson | Vines Center (655) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 25, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Incarnate Word | W 97–58 | 4–1 | 16 – Gray/VanBeck | 12 – White | 7 – C. Davis | H&PE Arena (2,724) Houston, TX |
| November 29, 2017* 7:00 pm | | New Orleans | W 75–66 | 5–1 | 23 – Gray | 6 – D. Davis/White | 8 – Gray | H&PE Arena (2,586) Houston, TX |
| December 2, 2017* 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | Arkansas | W 91–65 | 6–1 | 28 – D. Davis | 10 – D. Davis | 9 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (4,186) Houston, TX |
| December 6, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | Fairfield | W 88–66 | 7–1 | 20 – Gray | 9 – D. Davis | 4 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (3,548) Houston, TX |
| December 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | at Saint Louis | W 77–58 | 8–1 | 24 – Gray | 6 – Brady/Gray | 2 – VanBeck | Chaifetz Arena (6,014) St. Louis, MO |
| December 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, SECN | | at LSU | L 77–80 | 8–2 | 20 – C. Davis/Gray | 7 – D. Davis | 7 – Gray | Maravich Center (8,449) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 17, 2017* 3:00 pm | | Prairie View A&M | W 92–72 | 9–2 | 24 – Brooks | 7 – D. Davis | 6 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (2,788) Houston, TX |
| December 20, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Providence Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase | W 70–59 | 10–2 | 24 – Gray | 9 – D. Davis | 6 – Robinson | Mohegan Sun Arena (5,518) Uncasville, CT |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| December 28, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPNews | | at South Florida | W 79–60 | 11–2 (1–0) | 15 – C. Davis | 8 – Brady | 5 – Robinson | USF Sun Dome (2,273) Tampa, FL |
| December 30, 2017 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Temple | W 76–73 | 12–2 (2–0) | 21 – Brady | 9 – Brady | 3 – C. Davis/Gray/Robinson | H&PE Arena (3,370) Houston, TX |
| January 4, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 9 Wichita State | L 63–81 | 12–3 (2–1) | 13 – Gray | 6 – Sangoyomi/VanBeck | 5 – C. Davis | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| January 11, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tulsa | W 104–71 | 13–3 (3–1) | 34 – Gray | 8 – D. Davis | 8 – Gray | H&PE Arena (2,666) Houston, TX |
| January 14, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at East Carolina | W 65–49 | 14–3 (4–1) | 20 – C. Davis | 6 – VanBeck/White | 9 – Gray | Williams Arena (3,549) Greenville, NC |
| January 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNews | | at Tulane | L 72–81 | 14–4 (4–2) | 24 – Gray | 7 – VanBeck | 5 – Gray | Devlin Fieldhouse (2,301) New Orleans, LA |
| January 20, 2018 11:00 am, ESPNU | | No. 7 Wichita State | W 73–59 | 15–4 (5–2) | 24 – Gray | 8 – C. Davis | 4 – Gray | H&PE Arena (5,708) Houston, TX |
| January 28, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Florida | W 63–40 | 16–4 (6–2) | 17 – C. Davis | 11 – White | 6 – Gray | H&PE Arena (3,121) Houston, TX |
| January 31, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 8 Cincinnati | L 70–80 | 16–5 (6–3) | 18 – C. Davis | 9 – D. Davis | 6 – Gray | BB&T Arena (8,885) Highland Heights, KY |
| February 3, 2018 11:00 am, ESPNU | | at UCF | W 69–65 | 17–5 (7–3) | 20 – Gray | 9 – Brady | 5 – Gray | CFE Arena (4,301) Orlando, FL |
| February 8, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | SMU | W 67–58 | 18–5 (8–3) | 23 – Brooks | 10 – Brooks | 7 – Gray | H&PE Arena (3,547) Houston, TX |
| February 11, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tulane | W 73–42 | 19–5 (9–3) | 16 – D. Davis | 11 – Brooks | 5 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (2,902) Houston, TX |
| February 15, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 5 Cincinnati | W 67–62 | 20–5 (10–3) | 16 – C. Davis/D. Davis | 10 – D. Davis | 6 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (5,363) Houston, TX |
| February 18, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Temple | W 80–59 | 21–5 (11–3) | 20 – C. Davis | 11 – D. Davis | 7 – Robinson | Liacouras Center (7,270) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 22, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 23 | at Memphis | L 85–91 | 21–6 (11–4) | 30 – Gray | 9 – Brady | 7 – Gray | FedEx Forum (6,536) Memphis, TN |
| February 25, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 23 | East Carolina | W 109–58 | 22–6 (12–4) | 21 – Brooks | 9 – White | 11 – Gray | H&PE Arena (3,602) Houston, TX |
| February 28, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | at SMU | W 69–56 | 23–6 (13–4) | 19 – Gray | 7 – Brooks | 9 – Gray | Moody Coliseum (6,782) Dallas, TX |
| March 4, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 25 | UConn | W 81–71 | 24–6 (14–4) | 30 – Gray | 8 – D. Davis | 4 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (5,237) Houston, TX |
| AAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) No. 21 | vs. (6) UCF Quarterfinals | W 84–56 | 25–6 | 18 – Robinson | 7 – D. Davis/White | 6 – Gray | Amway Center (8,680) Orlando, FL |
| March 10, 2018 2:30 pm, CBS | (3) No. 21 | vs. (2) No. 11 Wichita State Semifinals | W 77–74 | 26–6 | 33 – Gray | 9 – Zanna | 6 – Robinson | Amway Center (8,644) Orlando, FL |
| March 11, 2018 2:30 pm, CBS | (3) No. 21 | vs. (1) No. 8 Cincinnati Championship | L 55–56 | 26–7 | 17 – Gray | 6 – Zanna | 5 – Robinson | Amway Center (8,670) Orlando, FL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2018* 6:40 pm, TBS | (6 W) No. 21 | vs. (11 W) San Diego State First Round | W 67–65 | 27–7 | 39 – Gray | 9 – D. Davis | 2 – C. Davis/Robinson | Intrust Bank Arena (14,019) Wichita, KS |
| March 17, 2018* 9:02 pm, TBS | (6 W) No. 21 | vs. (3 W) No. 7 Michigan Second Round | L 63–64 | 27–8 | 23 – Gray | 10 – Gray | 3 – Gray/Robinson | Intrust Bank Arena (14,385) Wichita, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | 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 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 25 | 21 | 21 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | —^ | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | 21 | 19 | 22 |
^Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time AP did. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.