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.

1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
1967–68 record31–2
Head coach
Assistant coachHarvey Pate
Home arenaDelmar Fieldhouse

During the regular season, the Elvin Hayes-fronted Cougars team would beat the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA Bruins on January 20, 1968, in what was known as the Game of the Century. Houston obtained a perfect 28–0 record for regular season play, and eventually finished with a 31–2 overall record. It was the first time in the program's history that at least 30 wins were achieved. The team finished as number one in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The team was invited to the 1968 NCAA Men's University Division Basketball Tournament, and finished as a semifinalist. It was the second Final Four appearance in Houston's history.

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.

Roster

1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 10 Vernon Lewis 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)170 lb (77 kg) Sr Houston, Texas
G 12 Larry Anderson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) So Drumright, Oklahoma
C 14 Ken Spain 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) Jr Houston, Texas
G 20 Tom Gribben 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) So Berwyn, Illinois
G 22 Niemer Hamood 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) Jr Dearborn, Michigan
G 24 Don Chaney 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) Sr Baton Rouge, Louisiana
F 30 Larry Cooper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) So Houston, Texas
G 32 Billy Bane 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)188 lb (85 kg) Jr Charlotte, North Carolina
C 34 Mars Evans 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)250 lb (113 kg) So New York City
F 40 Theodis Lee 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) Jr Monroe, Louisiana
G 42 George Reynolds 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) Jr Newark, New Jersey
F 44 Elvin Hayes 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg) Sr Rayville, Louisiana
G 50 Kent Taylor 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) So Houston, Texas
G 52 Bobby Van Landingham 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) Jr La Marque, Texas
F 54 Carlos Bell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) Jr Clinton, Oklahoma
F 54 Melvin Bell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) Jr Clinton, Oklahoma
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2010-07-29

Schedule

Houston's Elvin Hayes is carried in celebration after the victory over UCLA in the 1968 Game of the Century.

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
Bluebonnet Classic
12/13/1967
No. 2 George Washington W 86–61  5–0
Delmar Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
12/14/1967
No. 2 Montana State W 113–67  6–0
Delmar Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
Regular season
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
12/23/1968
No. 2 at UNLV W 94–85  10–0
Las Vegas Convention Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Rainbow Classic
12/28/1967
No. 2 vs. Bradley W 69–52  11–0
Honolulu International Center Arena 
Honolulu, Hawaii
12/29/1967
No. 2 vs. Marquette W 77–65  12–0
Honolulu International Center Arena 
Honolulu, Hawaii
12/30/1967
No. 2 vs. North Texas W 45–43  13–0
Honolulu International Center Arena 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Regular season
1/2/1968
No. 2 Michigan W 91–65  14–0
Delmar Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/6/1968
No. 2 Centenary W 118–81  15–0
Delmar Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/13/1968
No. 2 West Texas A&M 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
Astrodome 
Houston, Texas
1/27/1968
No. 1 Lamar 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 W 107–56  21–0
 
Shreveport, Louisiana
2/15/1968
No. 1 Miami 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
 
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 A&M W 107–76  28–0
 
Canyon, Texas
NCAA Division I Tournament
3/9/1968
No. 1 vs. Loyola
First round
W 94–76  29–0
Nielsen Fieldhouse 
Salt Lake City, Utah
3/15/1968
No. 1 vs. No. 9 Louisville
Sweet Sixteen
W 91–75  30–0
WSU Fieldhouse 
Wichita, Kansas
3/16/1968
No. 1 vs. TCU
Elite Eight
W 103–68  31–0
WSU Fieldhouse 
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.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
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

RoundPickPlayerNBA Club
Elvin Hayes11San Diego Rockets
Don Chaney112Boston Celtics

[1]

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2014-10-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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