# 1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Guy Lewis. The team played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.
The third of Houston's famous Phi Slama Jama teams, this squad was led by Michael Young, Alvin Franklin, and future Hall of Famer Akeem Olajuwon. The Cougars played in the Final Four for the third consecutive season, appeared in their second straight National Championship Game, and completed a three-year run with an overall record of 88-16.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 19, 1983* | No. 3 | vs. NC State Hall of Fame Classic | L 64–76 | 0–1 | 20 – Young | – | – | Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA |
| November 26, 1983* | No. 3 | No. 17 Kansas | W 91–76 | 1–1 | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| November 30, 1983* | No. 8 | at Mississippi State | W 68–62 | 2–1 | – | – | – | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| December 3, 1983* | No. 8 | Biscayne | W 69–51 | 3–1 | 19 – Anders | 18 – Olajuwon | 4 – Gettys | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| December 6, 1983* | No. 6 | at No. 9 LSU | W 100–91 | 4–1 | – | – | – | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 10, 1983* | No. 6 | St. Mary's | W 71–55 | 5–1 | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| December 16, 1983* | No. 3 | Stetson Kettle Classic | W 92–71 | 6–1 | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| December 17, 1983* | No. 3 | Princeton Kettle Classic | W 65–40 | 7–1 | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| December 19, 1983* | No. 3 | Texas Lutheran Kettle Classic | W 129–65 | 8–1 | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| December 21, 1983* | No. 3 | at UC Santa Barbara | W 89–79 | 9–1 | – | – | – | Campus Events Center Santa Barbara, California |
| December 25, 1983* | No. 3 | vs. No. 10 Louisville Chaminade Classic | W 76–73 | 10–1 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 26, 1983* | No. 3 | vs. Fresno State Chaminade Classic | L 61–68 | 10–2 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| January 5, 1984 | No. 7 | at SMU | W 60–59 | 11–2 (1–0) | – | – | – | Moody Coliseum University Park, TX |
| January 7, 1984 | No. 7 | TCU | W 81–67 | 12–2 (2–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| January 10, 1984 | No. 7 | Texas | W 69–58 | 13–2 (3–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| January 12, 1984 | No. 7 | at Texas Tech | W 88–66 | 14–2 (4–0) | – | – | – | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, TX |
| January 14, 1984 | No. 7 | at Texas A&M | W 70–64 | 15–2 (5–0) | – | – | – | G. Rollie White Coliseum College Station, TX |
| January 20, 1984 | No. 4 | Rice | W 72–42 | 16–2 (6–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| January 22, 1984* | No. 4 | at No. 3 Kentucky | L 67–74 | 16–3 | – | – | – | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| January 28, 1984 | No. 7 | at Baylor | W 84–58 | 17–3 (7–0) | – | – | – | Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, TX |
| February 2, 1984 | No. 6 | Texas A&M | W 87–65 | 18–3 (8–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| February 4, 1984 | No. 6 | SMU | W 76–57 | 19–3 (9–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| February 9, 1984 | No. 5 | at TCU | W 76–60 | 20–3 (10–0) | – | – | – | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, TX |
| February 11, 1984 | No. 5 | at Texas | W 74–63 | 21–3 (11–0) | – | – | – | Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX |
| February 16, 1984 | No. 4 | Texas Tech | W 78–53 | 22–3 (12–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| February 18, 1984* | No. 4 | Virginia | W 74–65 | 23–3 | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| February 22, 1984 | No. 3 | at Rice | W 70–54 | 24–3 (13–0) | – | – | – | Rice Gymnasium Houston, TX |
| February 26, 1984 | No. 3 | No. 11 Arkansas | W 64–61 | 25–3 (14–0) | 19 – Olajuwon | 10 – Olajuwon | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| February 29, 1984 | No. 2 | Baylor | W 80–65 | 26–3 (15–0) | – | – | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| March 4, 1984 | No. 2 | at No. 12 Arkansas | L 68–73 | 26–4 (15–1) | 22 – Young | 6 – Olajuwon | 3 – Tied | Barnhill Arena (9,438) Fayetteville, AR |
| SWC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 1984* | (1) No. 5 | vs. (6) Rice Semifinals | W 53–50 | 27–4 | – | – | – | The Summit Houston, TX |
| March 11, 1984* | (1) No. 5 | vs. (2) No. 8 Arkansas Championship | W 57–56 | 28–4 | 23 – Young | 11 – Olajuwon | 12 – Gettys | The Summit (14,930) Houston, TX |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 1984* | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (10 MW) Louisiana Tech Second round | W 77–69 | 29–4 | 21 – Franklin | 12 – Olajuwon | 4 – Tied | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, TN |
| March 23, 1984* | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (6 MW) No. 16 Memphis State Sweet Sixteen | W 78–71 | 30–4 | 25 – Olajuwon | 13 – Olajuwon | 9 – Gettys | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO |
| March 25, 1984* | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (4 MW) No. 19 Wake Forest Elite Eight | W 68–63 | 31–4 | 29 – Olajuwon | 12 – Olajuwon | 10 – Gettys | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO |
| March 31, 1984* | (2 MW) No. 5 | (7 E) Virginia Final Four | W 49–47 | 32–4 | 17 – Young | 11 – Olajuwon | 7 – Franklin | Kingdome Seattle, WA |
| April 2, 1984* 8:12 p.m., CBS | (2 MW) No. 5 | vs. (1 W) No. 2 Georgetown National Championship | L 75–84 | 32–5 | 21 – Franklin | 9 – Olajuwon | 9 – Franklin | Kingdome (38,471) Seattle, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## 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 | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Coaches | Not released | Not released | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 |

## Awards and honors

* Akeem Olajuwon – Consensus First-team All-American, SWC Player of the Year
* Michael Young – Third-team All-American

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Player | Round | Pick | NBA Club |
| 1984 | Akeem Olajuwon | 1 | 1 | Houston Rockets |
| 1984 | Michael Young | 1 | 24 | Boston Celtics |
| 1985 | Reid Gettys | 5 | 103 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1986 | Alvin Franklin | 4 | 80 | Sacramento Kings |
| 1987 | Greg Anderson | 1 | 23 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1987 | Rickie Winslow | 2 | 28 | Chicago Bulls |