GAME 14 • at USF DEC. 31, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON BASKETBALL ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS: 3204 Cullen Blvd. • Suite 2008 • Houston, TX • 77204 • Contact: Jeff Conrad ([email protected]) O: (713) 743-9410 | C: (713) 557-3841 | F: (713) 743-9411 • UHCougars.com HOUSTON COUGARS (10-3 • 1-0 American) HOUSTON COUGARS (10-3 • 1-0 American) SETTING the SCENE Nov. 5 UNC PEMBROKE (exhibition) W, 94-67 Nov. 11 MORGAN STATE ESPN3 W, 93-52 at USF BULLS (6-6 • 0-1 American) Television: ESPNU Nov. 16 ANGELO STATE (exhibition) W, 84-72 Noon (EST) • Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016 Alex Faust (PxP) Gulf Coast Showcase (Estero, Fla.) Tim Welsh (analyst) Nov. 21 vs. George Mason W, 93-56 Sun Dome (10,411) • Tampa, Fla. Nov. 22 vs. South Dakota W, 85-58 Radio: 950 AM KPRC Nov. 23 vs. Vermont W, 72-71 ESPNU • KPRC 950 AM Jeremy Branham (PxP) Nov. 26 CORNELL ESPN3 W, 83-53 Pregame show begins at 11:45 a.m. (CST) COUGARS CONTINUE ROAD SWING at USF on SATURDAY Nov. 29 at LSU SEC L, 65-84 • Fresh off an impressive win at UConn on Wednesday afternoon, the Cougars re- Series vs. USF: Houston leads 13-12 Dec. 3 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M ESPN3 W, 105-61 turn to action and continue American Athletic Conference play when they take on USF at noon (EST) Saturday inside the Sun Dome. Fourth straight season teams will play Dec. 6 at nr/rv Arkansas SEC L, 72-84 Houston has won two of last three and Dec. 10 nr/rv RHODE ISLAND ESPNU W, 82-77 • Cougars allowed an American Athletic Conference record low 12 points in the first half against UConn and never looked back on the way to a 62-46 win. four of last six games Dec. 17 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY ESPN3 W, 83-58 • Junior guard Rob Gray led all players with 20 points for his eighth 20-point USF won last 71-62 Dec. 21 LIBERTY ASN/ESPN3 W, 77-54 game of the season and the 15th of his career... Forest City, N.C., native currently Hofheinz Pavilion (Jan. 23, 2016) Dec. 23 HARVARD ESPN2 L,56-57 stands second in The American with 20.1 points per game. Series tied 6-6 in Tampa Dec. 28 * at UConn (Hartford, Conn.) ESPN2 2 p.m. • Marks the fourth straight season Houston will face USF as American Athletic Dec. 31 * at USF ESPNU 11 a.m. Conference rivals... Although series in Tampa is tied at 6-6, Cougars have enjoyed Houston won four of last five in Tampa recent success, winning four of last five games there. Houston won last in Tampa, 73-67 Jan. 4 * TULSA ESPNU 8 p.m. Sun Dome (Dec. 30, 2015) Jan. 7 * #23/23 CINCINNATI ESPNU 8 p.m. HEADLINES and STORYLINES Jan. 11 * at East Carolina ESPNews 5 p.m. • Cougars allowed an American record-low 12 points to UConn in the first half on Houston Head Coach: Kelvin Sampson Jan. 14 * at UCF CBSSN 3 p.m. 3-of-21 shooting... Topped previous low of 14 points by USF in 80-46 loss at UConn (UNC Pembroke ‘78) Jan. 19 * MEMPHIS CBSSN 8 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2014. Career Record: 545-302 (29th year) Jan. 21 * at SMU ESPNU 5 p.m. • Houston ranks third in the American Athletic Conference with 79.1 points per Houston Record: 45-32 (3rd year) Jan. 24 * TULANE CBSSN 8 p.m. game... Cougars boast two of the league’s top-10 individual scorers in junior guard Rob Gray (20.1 ppg, 2nd) and senior guard Damyean Dotson (14.8 ppg, 11th). vs. USF: 2-2 Jan. 28 * TEMPLE ESPNU 9 p.m. • Houston leads the American Athletic Conference and ranks third nationally, hit- vs. Orlando Antigua: 2-2 Feb. 1 * UCF ESPNU 6 p.m. ting 41.5 percent of its 3-point shots (107-of-258). Feb. 8 * at Tulane ESPNews 7 p.m. • Dotson is one of only five players to rank among the American Athletic Confer- USF Head Coach: Orlando Antingua ence’s top-10 leaders in both scoring (14.5 ppg, 10th) and rebounding (7.1 rpg, (Pittsburgh ‘95) Feb. 11 * at Tulsa ESPNU 5 p.m. 10th). Feb. 18 * SMU ESPN2 5 p.m. Career Record: 23-54 (3rd yr.) • Cougars lead or rank second in the American Athletic Conference in nine statisti- USF Record: 23-54 (3rd yr.) Feb. 22 * UCONN CBSSN 8 p.m. cal categories, including conference winning percentage, scoring margin, field goal Feb. 26 * at Memphis CBSSN 4 p.m. percentage, 3-point field goals per game, 3-point field goal percentage, free throw vs. Houston: 2-2 percentage, turnovers per game, turnover margin and turnovers forced. vs. Kelvin Sampson: 2-2 March 2 * at #23/23 Cincinnati ESPN/ESPN2 6 p.m. • With three straight wins at Gulf Coast Showcase on Nov. 21-23, Cougars won March 5 * EAST CAROLINA CBSSN 3 p.m. their first regular-season tournament title since Dec. 7, 1991. Up Next * vs. Tulsa American Athletic Conference Championship (Hartford, Conn.) • Cougars are competing in Hofheinz Pavilion for the final time in 2016-17... Team for Houston: 8 p.m. • Wednesday, Jan. 4 March 9 First Round TBD TBD will play off campus in 2017-18 as Hofheinz Pavilion undergoes a $60 million reno- Hofheinz Pavilion • Houston March 10 Quarterfinals TBD TBD vation and becomes the Fertitta Center during the 2018-19 season. ESPNU • KPRC 950 AM March 11 Semifinals TBD TBD March 12 Championship TBD TBD UP NEXT • Following Saturday’s game, Cougars returns to the friendly confines of Hofheinz Home Games in BOLD CAPS; Times are Central and subject to change Pavilion with back-to-back home games against American Athletic Conference ri- vals. Television networks in parenthesis • Homestand begins against Tulsa at 8 p.m., Wednesday) and continues against UHCOUGARMBK Rankings – AP/ESPN USA Today Coaches No. 23/23 Cincinnati at 8 p.m., Saturday. • Cougars hit the road again to play at East Carolina (5 p.m. CST, Jan. 11) and at #ForTheCity UCF (3 p.m. CST, Jan. 14). #GoCoogs THE KELVIN SAMPSON RADIO SHOW HOUSTON COUGARS at a GLANCE (starters based on last game) FUDDRUCKERS • 3929 Southwest Freeway PROBABLE STARTERS Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. Hometown G-GS PPG RPG Other 7-8 p.m. • Selected Dates 25 Galen Robinson, Jr. G 6-1 190 So.-1L Houston, Texas 13-13 5.6 3.5 5.5 apg 32 Rob Gray G 6-2 185 r-Jr.-1L Forest City, N.C. 13-12 20.1 3.5 3.2 apg Head Coach Kelvin Sampson 21 Damyean Dotson G 6-5 210 r-Sr.-1L Houston, Texas 13-13 14.5 7.1 1.2 apg begins his weekly radio show 0 Danrad Knowles F 6-10 200 Sr.-3L Nassau, Bahamas 13-11 10.8 3.8 1.2 bpg on Monday, Jan. 2, at Fud- druckers. Hosted by Jeremy 33 Kyle Meyer C 6-10 230 r-Sr.-1L Atlanta, Ga. 13-5 2.9 2.4 0.5 bpg Branham, the show will air from 7 to 8 p.m., on Monday RESERVES during the American Athletic 12 Wes Van Beck G 6-2 190 Jr.-2L Houston, Texas 13-1 8.2 2.5 2.1 apg Conference season. 13 Bertrand Nkali F 6-9 235 r-Sr.-1L Bertoua, Cameroon 12-1 1.8 2.4 1.1 bpg Fans can join the show at the restaurant, tune in to KPRC 950 AM or lis- 3 Armoni Brooks G 6-4 180 Fr.-HS Round Rock, Texas 12-0 4.8 1.9 0.3 spg ten via Cougar All-Access at UHCougars.com. Jan. 2 Feb. 6 1 Xavier Dupree F 6-9 210 Sr.-1L Houston, Texas 11-1 1.4 1.5 0.5 apg Fans can participate in the show by ask- 5 Morris Dunnigan G 6-3 195 Jr.-JC Joliet, Ill. 11-0 2.8 0.9 0.3 spg Jan. 9 Feb. 13 ing questions in person at the restaurant, by Jan. 16 Feb. 20 tweeting questions to @UHCougarMBK or 30 Mateen Hirbod G 6-2 185 Fr.-HS Danville, Calif. 7-0 1.0 0.1 0.1 apg Jan. 23 Feb. 27 by leaving questions on the UHCougarMBK 15 Devin Davis F 6-7 230 r-Jr.-JC Indianapolis, Ind. 8-8 11.1 6.5 1.4 apg Jan. 30 March 6 Facebook page. 20 Valentine Sangoyomi C 6-9 250 Jr.-JC Lagos, Nigeria ––– ––– ––– ––– 2 NCAA National Championship Game Appearances • 5 NCAA Final Four Appearances • 19 NCAA Tournaments • 13 Conference Championships • 2 NBA Draft No. 1 Overall Picks • 11 NBA Draft First-Round Selections GAME 14 • at USF DEC. 31, 2016 HOUSTON’S RECORD ... 2016-17 HOUSTON COUGARS Sampson Category Record Pct. Era Pct No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. Hometown-High School (Last School) All Games 10-3 .769 45-32 .584 0 Danrad Knowles F 6-10 200 r-Sr.-3L Nassau, Bahamas-HCYA [Houston, Texas] American Games 1-0 1.000 17-20 .459 Non-Conference Games 9-3 .750 27-12 .692 1 Xavier Dupree F 6-9 210 Sr.-1L Houston, Texas-Trent Internationale/Alief Taylor (Paris JC) 3 Armoni Brooks G 6-4 180 Fr.-HS Round Rock, Texas-McNeil Home Games 6-1 .857 30-12 .714 5 Morris Dunnigan G 6-3 195 Jr.-JC Joliet, Ill.-Joliet West (Blinn JC) Away Games 1-2 .333 9-16 .360 Neutral Site Games 3-0 1.000 6-4 .600 12 Wes VanBeck G 6-2 190 Jr.-2L Houston, Texas-Westside 13 Bertrand Nkali C 6-9 235 r-Sr.-1L Bertoua, Cameroon-Arlington Country Day [Jacksonville, Fla.] (Lee JC) in Televised Games 7-3 .700 40-30 .571 15 Devin Davis F 6-7 230 r-Jr.-JC Indianapolis, Ind.-Warren Central (Odessa JC) vs.