# 1976–77 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1976–77 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA Division I competition in the 1976–77 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, 1976* | | Texas Lutheran | W 96–69 | 1–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 1, 1976* | | at Lamar | W 101–92 | 2–0 | McDonald Gym Beaumont, Texas |
| Dec 3, 1976* | | Biscayne | W 104–64 | 3–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 6, 1976* | | at No. 6 San Francisco | L 85–100 | 3–1 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 11, 1976* | | Trinity (TX) | W 124–67 | 4–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 13, 1976* | | Lamar | W 103–83 | 5–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 17, 1976* | | Nevada Bluebonnet Classic | W 100–78 | 6–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 18, 1976* | | UC Santa Barbara Bluebonnet Classic | W 77–62 | 7–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 27, 1976* | | vs. Illinois Rainbow Classic | W 69–66 | 8–1 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 29, 1976* | | at Hawaii Rainbow Classic | W 101–74 | 9–1 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 30, 1976* | | vs. No. 3 San Francisco Rainbow Classic | L 81–86 | 9–2 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Jan 2, 1977* | | at No. 8 UCLA | L 83–96 | 9–3 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Jan 6, 1977* | | Houston Baptist | W 111–79 | 10–3 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 8, 1977 | | at No. 18 Arkansas | L 70–81 | 10–4 (0–1) | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Jan 12, 1977 | | Rice | W 106–56 | 11–4 (1–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 15, 1977 | | at TCU | W 78–74 | 12–4 (2–1) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Jan 18, 1977 | | Texas | W 95–81 | 13–4 (3–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 22, 1977 | | at Texas A&M | W 78–71 | 14–4 (4–1) | G. Rollie White Coliseum College Station, Texas |
| Jan 24, 1977 | | Baylor | W 111–89 | 15–4 (5–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 27, 1977 | | at Texas Tech | L 83–84 $^{OT}$ | 15–5 (5–2) | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| Jan 29, 1977 | | at SMU | W 103–102 | 16–5 (6–2) | Moody Coliseum University Park, Texas |
| Feb 1, 1977 | | Texas Tech | W 94–87 | 17–5 (7–2) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 5, 1977 | | No. 14 Arkansas | L 80–82 | 17–6 (7–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 8, 1977 | | at Rice | W 109–73 | 18–6 (8–3) | Rice Gymnasium Houston, Texas |
| Feb 10, 1977 | | SMU | W 115–83 | 19–6 (9–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 12, 1977 | | TCU | W 114–74 | 20–6 (10–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 15, 1977 | | at Texas | W 95–84 | 21–6 (11–3) | Gregory Gymnasium Austin, Texas |
| Feb 19, 1977 | | Texas A&M | W 116–83 | 22–6 (12–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 23, 1977 | | at Baylor | W 78–76 | 23–6 (13–3) | Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, Texas |
| SWC tournament ||||||
| Feb 26, 1977* | (2) | (9) TCU First round | W 111–67 | 24–6 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Mar 3, 1977* | (2) | vs. (5) Texas A&M Quarterfinals | W 96–77 | 25–6 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 4, 1977* | (2) | vs. (3) Texas Tech Semifinals | W 94–83 | 26–6 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 5, 1977* | (2) | vs. (1) No. 7 Arkansas Championship | L 70–84 | 26–7 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| NIT ||||||
| Mar 9, 1977* | | Indiana State First round | W 83–82 | 27–7 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Mar 14, 1977* | | vs. Illinois State Quarterfinals | W 91–90 | 28–7 | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
| Mar 17, 1977* | | vs. No. 11 Alabama Semifinals | W 82–76 | 29–7 | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
| Mar 20, 1977* | | vs. St. Bonaventure Championship | L 91–94 | 29–8 | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 18 | — |