1955–56 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

1955–56 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Missouri Valley Conference champions
NCAA tournament, Regional Fourth place
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record19–7 (9–3 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPublic School Fieldhouse
Seasons
← 1954–55
1956–57 →
1955–56 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Houston 9 – 3   .750 19 – 7   .731
Saint Louis 8 – 4   .667 18 – 7   .720
No. 19 Oklahoma A&M 8 – 4   .667 18 – 9   .667
Wichita 7 – 5   .583 14 – 12   .538
Tulsa 4 – 8   .333 16 – 10   .615
Detroit 3 – 9   .250 13 – 12   .520
Bradley 3 – 9   .250 13 – 13   .500
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1955–56 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 1955–56 season of college basketball. It was their eleventh year of season play. The head coach for the Cougars was Alden Pasche, who was serving in his 11th year in that position. The team played its home games at Public School Fieldhouse on-campus in Houston and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. Houston captured its fourth conference regular season title, and competed in the postseason in the 1956 NCAA basketball tournament where they were defeated by SMU and Kansas State. It was Houston's first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.[1]

After the season, Pasche retired. He was 135–116 in eleven seasons, and was replaced by assistant coach Guy Lewis.[2]

Roster

1955–56 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 34 Arthur Helms 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 So
C 40 Don Boldebuck 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
—
 So
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2021-05-18

Schedule

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
12/1/1955*
 Sam Houston State W 77–55  1–0
 Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
12/7/1955*
 Texas A&I W 86–59  2–0
 Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
12/9/1955*
 vs. Valparaiso
Birmingham Classic 		L 80–84  2–1
 Unknown 
Birmingham, Alabama
12/10/1955*
 vs. TCU
Birmingham Classic 		W 101–58  3–1
 Unknown 
Birmingham, Alabama
12/14/1955*
 at Texas A&M W 78–44  4–1
 G. Rollie White Coliseum 
College Station, Texas
12/16/1955
 Detroit Mercy W 89–76  5–1
(1–0) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
12/17/1955
 Detroit Mercy W 86–84  6–1
(2–0) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
12/21/1955*
 Kansas State W 86–79  7–1
 Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/2/1956
 Wichita W 82–77  8–1
(3–0) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/7/1956
 Saint Louis L 73–76  8–2
(3–1) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/9/1956*
 No. 16 Oklahoma City W 78–64  9–2
 Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/12/1956
 at Tulsa W 69–60  10–2
(4–1) 		Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
1/14/1956
 at Oklahoma A&M L 44–63  10–3
(4–2) 		Gallagher Hall 
Stillwater, Oklahoma
1/23/1956
 Tulsa W 71–62 OT 11–3
(5–2) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/25/1956*
 at Miami (FL) W 95–77  12–3
 Unknown 
Coral Gables, Florida
1/28/1956*
 Trinity (TX) W 104–62  13–3
 Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
1/30/1956*
 at Sam Houston State W 87–59  14–3
 Unknown 
Huntsville, Texas
2/4/1956*
 Texas A&M W 105–74  15–3
 Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
2/9/1956
 at Bradley W 82–70  16–3
(6–2) 		Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
2/11/1956
 at No. 11 Saint Louis W 67–66  17–3
(7–2) 		Kiel Auditorium 
St. Louis, Missouri
2/18/1956
 No. 18 Oklahoma A&M W 62–60  18–3
(8–2) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
2/20/1956
 No. 14 Bradley W 68–53  19–3
(9–2) 		Public School Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
2/25/1956
 No. 14 at Wichita L 72–82  19–4
(9–3) 		University of Wichita Field House 
Wichita, Kansas
2/27/1956*
 No. 18 at No. 16 Oklahoma City L 67–76  19–5
 Municipal Auditorium 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
NCAA tournament
3/16/1956*
 vs. No. 7 SMU
Regional semifinals – Sweet Sixteen 		L 74–89  19–6
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
3/17/1956*
 vs. Kansas State
Regional third-place game 		L 70–89  19–7
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Main article: 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
Poll1234567891011121314Final
AP——————————18141817—
Coaches———————————191418—

References

  1. ^ Charleston, Christopher (June 13, 2020). "History of the Powerhouse: UH men's basketball program". thedailycougar.com. The Daily Cougar. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Alden Pasche, the first University of Houston basketball coach".