# 2018–19 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. Beginning December 1, 2018, they played their home games at Fertitta Center, 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 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. Houston's final overall season record of 33–4 set a program record for wins.

## Previous season

The Cougars 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 before losing to Cincinnati 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 in the First Round before losing to eventual National Runner-up Michigan in the Second Round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Mike Adewunmi | 2 | G | 6'4" | 210 | Freshman | Mansfield, TX | Transferred to McLennan CC |
| Wes VanBeck | 12 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Nura Zanna | 13 | F | 6'6" | 240 | RS Senior | Kaduna, Nigeria | Graduated |
| Devin Davis | 15 | F | 6'6" | 225 | RS Senior | Indianapolis, IN | Graduated |
| Gabe Grant | 20 | F | 6'4" | 220 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Buffalo |
| Valentine Sangoyomi | 31 | C | 6'8" | 240 | RS Junior | Lagos, Nigeria | Transferred |
| Rob Gray | 32 | G | 6'1" | 185 | RS Senior | Forest City, NC | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Landon Goesling | 2 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Graduate Student | Bakersfield, CA | St. Edward's |
| Justin Gorham | 4 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Junior | Baltimore, MD | Towson |
| DeJon Jarreau | 13 | G | 6'5" | 182 | RS Sophomore | New Orleans, LA | Howard College |
| Brison Gresham | 55 | F/C | 6'9" | 210 | RS Sophomore | New Orleans, LA | Howard College |

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| 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 ||||||
| 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 |||||||||
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Dallas Baptist | W 89–60 | – | 27 – Davis | 10 – Tied | 10 – Jarreau | H&PE Arena (1,000) Houston, TX |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Alabama A&M Men Against Breast Cancer Cup | W 101–54 | 1–0 | 24 – Brooks | 7 – Hinton | 9 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (3,725) Houston, TX |
| November 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Rice Men Against Breast Cancer Cup | W 79–68 | 2–0 | 20 – Brooks | 8 – Gresham | 6 – Tied | H&PE Arena (3,952) Houston, TX |
| November 19, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Northwestern State Men Against Breast Cancer Cup | W 82–55 | 3–0 | 16 – Brooks | 8 – Tied | 7 – Robinson | H&PE Arena (3,784) Houston, TX |
| November 24, 2018* 5:00 pm | | at BYU Men Against Breast Cancer Cup | W 76–62 | 4–0 | 24 – Davis | 7 – Brady | 6 – Tied | Marriott Center (10,959) Provo, UT |
| November 28, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 58–53 | 5–0 | 23 – Davis | 12 – Brooks | 4 – Davis | H&PE Arena (3,972) Houston, TX |
| December 1, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 18 Oregon | W 65–61 | 6–0 | 22 – Brooks | 9 – Brooks | 7 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (7,035) Houston, TX |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lamar | W 79–56 | 7–0 | 20 – Robinson | 9 – Brooks | 7 – Davis | Fertitta Center (5,587) Houston, TX |
| December 8, 2018* 3:00 pm, FSOK | | at Oklahoma State | W 63–53 | 8–0 | 23 – Brooks | 8 – Tied | 9 – Robinson | Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,596) Stillwater, OK |
| December 12, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 24 | LSU | W 82–76 | 9–0 | 18 – Robinson | 9 – Brooks | 6 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| December 16, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 24 | Saint Louis | W 68–64 | 10–0 | 17 – Davis | 8 – Brooks | 3 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (6,131) Houston, TX |
| December 20, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 21 | Utah State | W 60–50 | 11–0 | 15 – Brooks | 11 – Alley | 4 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (6,264) Houston, TX |
| December 23, 2018* 3:00 pm | No. 21 | Coppin State | W 75–44 | 12–0 | 16 – Davis | 8 – Brooks | 5 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (5,383) Houston, TX |
| December 29, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 22 | NJIT | W 80–59 | 13–0 | 19 – Davis | 7 – Gresham | 5 – Hinton | Fertitta Center (6,180) Houston, TX |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 19 | Tulsa | W 74–56 | 14–0 (1–0) | 21 – Davis | 10 – Brooks | 6 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (6,420) Houston, TX |
| January 6, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 19 | Memphis | W 90–77 | 15–0 (2–0) | 22 – Brooks | 9 – Hinton | 7 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| January 9, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 17 | at Temple | L 69–73 | 15–1 (2–1) | 19 – Brady | 6 – Robinson | 4 – Jarreau | Liacouras Center (5,723) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 12, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 17 | Wichita State | W 79–70 | 16–1 (3–1) | 20 – Davis | 5 – Tied | 11 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| January 16, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 21 | at SMU | W 69–58 | 17–1 (4–1) | 20 – Davis | 5 – Tied | 4 – Jarreau | Moody Coliseum (6,013) Dallas, TX |
| January 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | at South Florida Saturday Showcase | W 69–60 | 18–1 (5–1) | 13 – Brady | 9 – Brady | 5 – Jarreau | Yuengling Center (5,563) Tampa, FL |
| January 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 17 | East Carolina | W 94–50 | 19–1 (6–1) | 17 – Brooks | 7 – Brady | 8 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (6,297) Houston, TX |
| January 27, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 17 | at Tulsa | W 77–65 | 20–1 (7–1) | 22 – Brooks | 10 – Harris | 5 – Robinson | Reynolds Center (4,023) Tulsa, OK |
| January 31, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | Temple Thursday Night Showcase | W 73–66 | 21–1 (8–1) | 24 – Davis | 12 – Jarreau | 3 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| February 7, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 12 | at UCF | W 77–68 | 22–1 (9–1) | 26 – Davis | 7 – Brooks | 7 – Robinson | CFE Arena (6,292) Orlando, FL |
| February 10, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | No. 25 Cincinnati | W 65–58 | 23–1 (10–1) | 16 – Tied | 12 – Brooks | 5 – Jarreau | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| February 14, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at UConn Thursday Night Showcase | W 71–63 | 24–1 (11–1) | 18 – Jarreau | 6 – Tied | 7 – Jarreau | XL Center (10,095) Hartford, CT |
| February 17, 2019 1:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 9 | at Tulane | W 85–50 | 25–1 (12–1) | 26 – Davis | 9 – Gresham | 9 – Robinson | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,957) New Orleans, LA |
| February 23, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | South Florida Saturday Showcase | W 71–59 | 26–1 (13–1) | 17 – Jarreau | 6 – Brooks | 4 – Jarreau | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| February 27, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 8 | at East Carolina | W 99–65 | 27–1 (14–1) | 26 – Davis | 8 – Harris | 9 – Tied | Williams Arena (4,087) Greenville, NC |
| March 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | UCF ESPN College GameDay/Saturday Primetime | L 64–69 | 27–2 (14–2) | 19 – Davis | 9 – Brooks | 2 – Tied | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| March 7, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | SMU Thursday Night Showcase | W 90–79 | 28–2 (15–2) | 20 – Brooks | 10 – Brooks | 5 – Robinson | Fertitta Center (7,039) Houston, TX |
| March 10, 2019 11:00 am, CBS | No. 12 | at No. 20 Cincinnati | W 85–69 | 29–2 (16–2) | 31 – Davis | 11 – Hinton | 6 – Davis | Fifth Third Arena (12,701) Cincinnati, OH |
| AAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN2 | (1) No. 11 | vs. (9) UConn Quarterfinals | W 84–45 | 30–2 | 22 – Davis | 8 – Tied | 5 – Robinson | FedEx Forum (7,610) Memphis, TN |
| March 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) No. 11 | at (5) Memphis Semifinals | W 61–58 | 31–2 | 17 – Davis | 11 – White | 4 – Jarreau | FedEx Forum (7,819) Memphis, TN |
| March 17, 2019 2:15 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 11 | vs. (2) No. 24 Cincinnati Championship | L 57–69 | 31–3 | 17 – Brooks | 8 – Harris | 4 – Jarreau | FedEx Forum (7,223) Memphis, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 6:20 pm, TBS | (3 MW) No. 11 | vs. (14 MW) Georgia State First Round | W 84–55 | 32–3 | 26 – Davis | 11 – White | 7 – Jarreau | BOK Center (12,443) Tulsa, OK |
| March 24, 2019* 7:40 pm, TNT | (3 MW) No. 11 | vs. (11 MW) Ohio State Second Round | W 74–59 | 33–3 | 21 – Davis | 6 – Tied | 5 – Robinson | BOK Center (12,606) Tulsa, OK |
| March 29, 2019* 8:59 pm, TBS | (3 MW) No. 11 | vs. (2 MW) No. 7 Kentucky Sweet Sixteen | L 58–62 | 33–4 | 20 – Brooks | 4 – White | 6 – Robinson | Sprint Center (17,385) Kansas City, MO |
| *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 RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | 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 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 11 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | RV | RV | 22 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 17–T | 17 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 12 |