1972–73 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

1972–73 Houston Cougars men's basketball
1972–73 Houston Cougars men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 13
Record	23–4
Head coach	Guy Lewis (17th season);
Assistant coaches	Harvey Pate; Don Schverak;
Home arena	Hofheinz Pavilion

1972–73 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Providence		–		–	27	–	4	.871
No. 5 Marquette		–		–	27	–	4	.871
No. 13		–		–	23	–	4	.852
No. 14 Syracuse		–		–	24	–	5	.828
Virginia Tech		–		–	22	–	5	.815
Jacksonville		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Oklahoma City		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Oral Roberts		–		–	21	–	6	.778
South Carolina		–		–	22	–	7	.759
Marshall		–		–	20	–	7	.741
Northeastern		–		–	19	–	7	.731
St. John's		–		–	19	–	7	.731
Centenary		–		–	19	–	8	.704
Florida State		–		–	18	–	8	.692
Northern Illinois		–		–	17	–	8	.680
Duquesne		–		–	16	–	8	.667
Fairfield		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Cincinnati		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Denver		–		–	17	–	9	.654
George Washington		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Penn State		–		–	15	–	8	.652
Detroit		–		–	16	–	9	.640
Hardin–Simmons		–		–	16	–	9	.640
Indiana State		–		–	16	–	10	.615
Manhattan		–		–	16	–	10	.615
Utah State		–		–	16	–	10	.615
Notre Dame		–		–	18	–	12	.600
Air Force		–		–	14	–	10	.583
Creighton		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Hawaii		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Rutgers		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Stetson		–		–	15	–	11	.577
DePaul		–		–	14	–	11	.560
South Alabama		–		–	14	–	11	.560
Trinity (TX)		–		–	14	–	11	.560
Canisius		–		–	13	–	11	.542
Butler		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Charlotte		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Illinois State		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Long Island		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Navy		–		–	13	–	12	.520
Dayton		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Fairleigh Dickinson		–		–	13	–	13	.500
St. Bonaventure		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Portland State		–		–	12	–	12	.500
Georgetown		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Pittsburgh		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Tulane		–		–	12	–	14	.462
Army		–		–	11	–	13	.458
Boston College		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Colgate		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Villanova		–		–	11	–	14	.440
Fordham		–		–	12	–	16	.429
Southern Illinois		–		–	11	–	15	.423
West Virginia		–		–	10	–	15	.400
Cleveland State		–		–	9	–	14	.391
Ball State		–		–	9	–	15	.375
Niagara		–		–	9	–	16	.360
Loyola (IL)		–		–	8	–	15	.348
Holy Cross		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Southern Miss		–		–	8	–	16	.333
St. Francis (NY)		–		–	8	–	16	.333
Portland		–		–	9	–	19	.321
Seton Hall		–		–	8	–	17	.320
Georgia Southern		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Saint Peter's		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Georgia Tech		–		–	7	–	18	.280
Iona		–		–	6	–	16	.273
Samford		–		–	5	–	20	.200
Saint Francis (PA)		–		–	5	–	21	.192
Pan American		–		–	4	–	22	.154
Xavier		–		–	3	–	23	.115

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972–73 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA University Division competition in the 1972–73 season.

Houston, coached by Guy Lewis, played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then an Independent.

Roster

1972–73 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	12	Dwight Jones	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Wheatley HS	Houston, Texas
F	22	Louis Dunbar	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	So	Webster HS	Minden, Louisiana
F	52	Steve Newsome	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Sr		Columbia, Missouri

Head coach

Guy Lewis (Houston)

Assistant coach(es)

Harvey Pate (Oklahoma State)
Don Schverak (Houston)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 24, 1972	No. 15	LSU–New Orleans	W 92–71	1–0	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Nov 27, 1972	No. 15	Southern Miss	W 104–77	2–0	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Dec 1, 1972	No. 15	at Washington State	W 72–60	3–0	Bohler Gymnasium Pullman, Washington
Dec 2, 1972	No. 15	at Seattle	L 61–65	3–1	Seattle Center Coliseum Seattle, Washington
Dec 4, 1972	No. 20	at Colorado	W 77–72	4–1	Balch Fieldhouse Boulder, Colorado
Dec 9, 1972	No. 20	Xavier	W 114–73	5–1	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Dec 11, 1972	No. 16	St. Mary's	W 59–47	6–1	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Dec 16, 1972	No. 16	California	W 79–75	7–1	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Dec 28, 1972	No. 13	vs. No. 15 Indiana Sun Bowl Classic	L 72–75	7–2	Memorial Gymnasium El Paso, Texas
Dec 29, 1972	No. 13	vs. SMU Sun Bowl Classic	W 115–102	8–2	Memorial Gymnasium El Paso, Texas
Jan 5, 1973	No. 10	West Texas State Bluebonnet Classic	W 130–84	9–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Jan 6, 1973	No. 10	Texas A&M Bluebonnet Classic	W 114–85	10–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Jan 10, 1973	No. 10	Baylor	W 86–82	11–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Jan 16, 1973	No. 12	at Rice	W 96–77	12–2	Rice Gymnasium Houston, Texas
Jan 27, 1973	No. 11	UNLV	W 104–94	13–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 1, 1973	No. 11	Centenary (LA)	W 89–85	14–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 2, 1973	No. 11	Cincinnati	W 90–85	15–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 8, 1973	No. 11	Houston Baptist	W 96–75	16–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 10, 1973	No. 11	No. 13 Southwestern Louisiana	W 82–80	17–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 15, 1973	No. 7	Texas A&I–Corpus Christi	W 82–70	18–2	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 17, 1973	No. 7	at Creighton	L 77–78	18–3	Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 22, 1973	No. 9	Trinity (TX)	W 116–57	19–3	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 24, 1973	No. 9	No. 20 Jacksonville	W 76–75	20–3	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Feb 26, 1973	No. 8	Samford	W 94–75	21–3	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
Mar 2, 1973	No. 8	at Centenary (LA)	W 90–89	22–3	Gold Dome Shreveport, Louisiana
Mar 5, 1973	No. 7	Rice	W 116–72	23–3	Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas
NCAA tournament
Mar 10, 1973	No. 7	vs. No. 14 Southwestern Louisiana Regional quarterfinals – First round	L 89–102	23–4	Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

^[1]

Rankings

^[2]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	15	20	16	14	13	10	10	12	11	11	11	7	9	8	7	13
Coaches	11	—	15	18	—	—	15	12	9	11	11	8	10	9	9	18

References

^ "1972-73 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1] "1972-73 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved December 27, 2024.

[ESPN-2] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1]

[2]

Houston Cougars men's basketball
Venues	Sam Houston Coliseum (select games; 1937–19??) Jeppesen Gymnasium (1946–1966) Delmar Fieldhouse (1966–1969) Fertitta Center (1969–2017; 2018–present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Rice SMU
Culture & lore	Shasta Phi Slama Jama Game of the Century "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics