1967–68 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1967–68 Houston Cougars Basketball University of Houston classic logo.png 100px Independent 1 1 31–2 Guy Lewis 12th Harvey Pate Don Schverak Delmar Fieldhouse NCAA regular season champions NCAA tournament Final Four 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 1967 Houston Cougars y Vernon Lewis 10 G 5 11 170 SR Houston, Texas Larry Anderson 12 G 6 1 170 SO Drumright, Oklahoma Ken Spain 14 C 6 9 230 JR Houston, Texas y Tom Gribben 20 G 6 2 180 SO Berwyn, Illinois Niemer Hamood 22 G 6 0 170 JR Dearborn, Michigan Don Chaney 24 G 6 5 210 SR Baton Rouge, Louisiana y Larry Cooper 30 F 6 6 210 SO Houston, Texas Billy Bane 32 G 6 2 188 JR Charlotte, North Carolina Mars Evans 34 C 6 10 250 SO New York City, New York Theodis Lee 40 F 6 7 210 JR Monroe, Louisiana George Reynolds basketball 42 G 6 4 205 JR Newark, New Jersey y Elvin Hayes 44 F 6 8 235 SR Rayville, Louisiana y Kent Taylor 50 G 6 2 180 SO Houston, Texas Bobby Van Landingham 52 G 6 2 170 JR La Marque, Texas Carlos Bell 54 F 6 5 215 JR Clinton, Oklahoma Melvin Bell 54 F 6 7 230 JR Clinton, Oklahoma Guy Lewis (Houston) Harvey Pate (Oklahoma State) Don Schverak (Houston) http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/hou/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09MBB_105_140.pdf 2010-07-29 Schedule thumb|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. no |- !colspan=7|Regular season 12/2/1967 y 2 1967 men Sacramento State Hornets Sacramento State Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 110–79 1–0 12/4/1967 y 2 1967 men Abilene Christian Wildcats Abilene Christian Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 90–75 2–0 12/7/1967 y 2 1967 men North Dakota State Bison North Dakota State Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 121–88 3–0 12/9/1967 y y 2 Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois 54–46 4–0 12/13/1967 y 2 1967 men George Washington Colonials George Washington Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas Bluebonnet Classic 86–61 5–0 12/14/1967 y 2 1967 men Montana State Bobcats Montana State Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas Bluebonnet Classic 113–67 6–0 12/16/1967 y 2 1967 men BYU Cougars BYU Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 102–69 7–0 12/18/1967 y 2 1967 men Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 103–65 8–0 12/22/1967 y y 2 1967 men Arizona Wildcats Arizona Bear Down Gym Tucson, Arizona 81–76 9–0 12/23/1967 y y 2 1967 men UNLV Runnin' Rebels Nevada Southern Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada 94–85 10–0 12/28/1967 y y 2 1967 men Bradley Braves Bradley Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii Rainbow Classic 69–52 11–0 12/29/1967 y y 2 Marquette Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii Rainbow Classic 77–65 12–0 12/30/1967 y y 2 1967 men North Texas Mean Green North Texas State Honolulu International Center Honolulu, Hawaii Rainbow Classic 45–43 13–0 1/2/1968 y 2 Michigan Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 91–65 14–0 1/6/1968 y 2 1967 men Centenary Gentlemen Centenary (LA) Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 118–81 15–0 1/13/1968 y 2 1967 men West Texas A&M Buffaloes West Texas State Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 98–53 16–0 1/20/1968 y y 2 UCLA 1 Houston Astrodome Houston, Texas Game of the Century TVS 71–69 52,693 17–0 1/27/1968 y 1 1967 men Lamar Cardinals Lamar Tech Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 112–79 18–0 1/29/1968 y 1 1967 men Fairfield Stags Fairfield Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Houston 108–76 19–0 2/1/1968 y y 1 1967 men Marshall Thundering Herd Marshall Madison Square Garden New York City, New York 102–93 20–0 2/10/1968 y y 1 Centenary (LA) Haynes Gymnasium Shreveport, Louisiana 107–56 21–0 2/15/1968 y 1 1967 men Miami Hurricanes Miami (FL) Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 106–64 22–0 2/17/1968 y 1 1967 men Air Force Falcons Air Force Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 106–82 23–0 2/22/1968 y 1 1967 men UT Arlington Mavericks Texas–Arlington Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 130–75 24–0 2/24/1968 y 1 1967 men Valparaiso Crusaders Valparaiso Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 158–81 25–0 2/26/1968 y y 1 1967 men Hardin–Simmons Cowboys Hardin–Simmons Rose Fieldhouse Abilene, Texas 105–82 26–0 3/2/1968 y 1 1967 men Virginia Tech Hokies Virginia Tech Delmar Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 120–79 27–0 3/4/1968 y y 1 West Texas State West Texas State Fieldhouse Canyon, Texas 107–76 28–0 |- !colspan=7|NCAA tournament 3/9/1968 y y 1 1967 men Loyola Ramblers Loyola (IL) Nielsen Fieldhouse Salt Lake City, Utah Regional quarterfinals – First round 94–76 29–0 3/15/1968 y y 1 1967 men Louisville Cardinals Louisville 9 WSU Field House Wichita, Kansas Regional semifinals – Sweet Sixteen 91–75 30–0 3/16/1968 y y 1 1967 men TCU Horned Frogs TCU WSU Field House Wichita, Kansas Regional finals – Elite Eight 103–68 31–0 3/22/1968 y y 1 UCLA 2 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California Final Four SNI 69–101 31–1 3/23/1968 y y 1 Ohio State Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, California Third-place game 85–89 31–2 AP Poll Rankings 1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 846–847 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 AP 0 15 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Coaches 0 15 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Team players drafted into the NBA Round Pick Player NBA club Elvin Hayes 1 1 San Diego Rockets Don Chaney 1 12 Boston Celtics Source:http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1968 1968 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2014-10-04 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20140630084147/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1968&lg=N 2014-06-30 References Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Category:Houston Cougars men's basketball seasons Houston Houston Houston Houston