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1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

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1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Fourth place
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record31–2
Head coach
Assistant coachHarvey Pate
Home arenaDelmar Fieldhouse
Seasons
1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Houston   31 2   .939
No. 3 St. Bonaventure   23 2   .920
Army   20 5   .800
Marquette   23 6   .793
New Mexico State   23 6   .793
St. Francis (PA)   19 6   .760
Oklahoma City   20 7   .741
Duquesne   18 7   .720
Florida State   19 8   .704
Fordham   19 8   .704
St. John's   19 8   .704
Dayton   21 9   .700
Notre Dame   21 9   .700
Boston College   17 8   .680
Villanova   19 9   .679
Holy Cross   15 8   .652
Loyola Chicago   15 9   .625
Fairfield   16 10   .615
Texas Western   14 9   .609
Miami (FL)   17 11   .607
Rutgers   14 10   .583
Utah State   14 11   .560
VPI   14 11   .560
Southern Illinois   13 11   .542
DePaul   13 12   .520
Detroit   13 12   .520
Seattle   14 13   .519
Jacksonville   13 13   .500
Niagara   12 12   .500
Tulane   12 12   .500
Penn State   10 10   .500
Georgia Tech   12 13   .480
Georgetown   11 12   .478
West Texas State   10 11   .476
Colorado State   11 13   .458
Navy   9 11   .450
Butler   11 14   .440
Denver   11 14   .440
Loyola (LA)   11 14   .440
Providence   11 14   .440
Syracuse   11 14   .440
Boston University   10 14   .417
Northern Illinois   10 14   .417
Colgate   10 16   .385
Hardin–Simmons   10 16   .385
Xavier   10 16   .385
Air Force   9 15   .375
NYU   8 16   .333
Creighton   8 17   .320
Pittsburgh   7 15   .318
Canisius   7 17   .292
Portland   5 21   .192
Centenary   3 23   .115
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

During the regular season, the Elvin Hayes-fronted Cougars defeated the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA Bruins on January 20 in what was known as the Game of the Century. Houston attained a perfect 28–0 record for regular season, and finished with a 31–2 overall record, the first thirty-win season in program history. The Cougars finished first in both major polls, were invited to the NCAA tournament, and finished as a semifinalist. It was Houston's second consecutive Final Four appearance.

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

[edit]
1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
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

[edit]
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 (LA) 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 (LA) W 107–56  21–0
Haynes Gymnasium 
Shreveport, Louisiana
2/15/1968
No. 1 Miami (FL) 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
Rose Fieldhouse 
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
WTAMU Fieldhouse 
Canyon, Texas
NCAA 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

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP2222222211111111
Coaches2222222211111111

Team players drafted into the NBA

[edit]
Round Pick Player NBA Club
Elvin Hayes 1 1 San Diego Rockets
Don Chaney 1 12 Boston Celtics
Source:[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1968 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.