2016–17 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

2016–17 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Gulf Coast Showcase champions
NIT, First Round
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record21–11 (12–6 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHofheinz Pavilion
Seasons
2016–17 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 SMU † 17 – 1   .944 30 – 5   .857
No. 18 Cincinnati 16 – 2   .889 30 – 6   .833
Houston 12 – 6   .667 21 – 11   .656
UCF 11 – 7   .611 24 – 12   .667
Memphis 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
UConn 9 – 9   .500 16 – 17   .485
Tulsa 8 – 10   .444 15 – 17   .469
Temple 7 – 11   .389 16 – 16   .500
East Carolina 6 – 12   .333 15 – 18   .455
Tulane 3 – 15   .167 6 – 25   .194
South Florida 1 – 17   .056 7 – 23   .233
† 2017 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2016–17 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by third-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and were members of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars played their home games at Hofheinz Pavilion. They finished the season 21–11, 12–6 in AAC play to finish in third place. They lost to UConn in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament.[1] They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed and lost in the first round to Akron.[2]

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 22–11, 12–6 in AAC play to finish in a tie for third place in conference. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to Tulane.[3] They received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Georgia Tech in the first round.[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ronnie Johnson 3 G 6'0" 180 RS Junior Indianapolis, IN Graduate transferred to Auburn
LeRon Barnes 4 G 6'5" 195 RS Senior Stonewall, LA Graduated
L. J. Rose 5 G 6'3" 200 Senior Houston, TX Graduate transferred to BYU
Eric Weary, Jr. 23 G 6'4" 210 Senior New Orleans, LA Graduated
Devonta Pollard 24 F 6'8" 200 Senior Porterville, MS Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Morris Dunnigan 5 G 6'3" 195 Junior Joliet, IL Junior college transferred from Blinn College
Devin Davis 15 F 6'7" 230 Junior Indianapolis, IN Junior college transferred from Odessa College
Valentine Sangoyomi 20 C 6'11" 250 Junior Lagos, Nigeria Junior college transferred from Northern Oklahoma College

Class of 2016 signees

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Armoni Brooks
SG 		Round Rock, TX McNeil High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sep 6, 2015 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Houston Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  • "2016 Houston Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.

Class of 2017 signees

College recruiting information (2017)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Michael Adewunmi
SG 		Mansfield, TX Lake Ridge High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Aug 1, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Fabian White Jr.
PF 		Humble, TX Atascocita High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sep 11, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2016–17 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Danrad Knowles 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Homeschool Christian Youth Association Nassau, Bahamas
F 1 Xavier Dupree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Paris Junior College Houston, Texas
G 3 Armoni Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr McNeil High School Round Rock, Texas
G 5 Morris Dunnigan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Blinn College Joliet, Illinois
G 12 Wes VanBeck (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Westside High School Houston, Texas
C 13 Bertrand Nkali 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr Lee College Bertoua, Cameroon
F 15 Devin Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Odessa College Indianapolis, Indiana
C 20 Valentine Sangoyomi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Northern Oklahoma College Lagos, Nigeria
G 21 Damyean Dotson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Oregon Houston, Texas
G 25 Galen Robinson Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Westbury Christian School Houston, Texas
G 30 Mateen Hirbod (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr The Bentley School Danville, California
G 32 Rob Gray 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Howard College Forest City, North Carolina
C 33 Kyle Meyer 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Eastern Florida State College Atlanta, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/05/2016*
7:00 pm 		UNC Pembroke W 94–67 
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,611)
Houston, TX
11/16/2016*
7:00 pm 		Angelo State W 84–72 
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,695)
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Morgan State W 93–52  1–0
 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,005)
Houston, TX
11/21/2016*
6:30 pm 		vs. George Mason
Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals 		W 93–56  2–0
 Germain Arena (1,000)
Estero, FL
11/22/2016*
6:30 pm 		vs. South Dakota
Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals 		W 85–58  3–0
 Germain Arena (1,000)
Estero, FL
11/23/2016*
6:30 p.m. 		vs. Vermont
Gulf Coast Showcase final 		W 72–71  4–0
 Germain Arena (1,000)
Estero, FL
11/26/2016*
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		Cornell W 83–53  5–0
 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,223)
Houston, TX
11/29/2016*
8:00 pm, SECN 		at LSU L 65–84  5–1
 Maravich Center (6,695)
Baton Rouge, LA
12/03/2016*
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		Prairie View A&M W 105–61  6–1
 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,091)
Houston, TX
12/06/2016*
6:00 pm, SECN 		at Arkansas L 72–84  6–2
 Bud Walton Arena (13,455)
Fayetteville, AR
12/10/2016*
12:30 pm, ESPNU 		Rhode Island W 82–77  7–2
 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,371)
Houston, TX
12/17/2016*
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		Texas–Rio Grande Valley W 83–58  8–2
 Hofheinz Pavilion (2,856)
Houston, TX
12/21/2016*
7:00 pm, ASN 		Liberty W 77–54  9–2
 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,540)
Houston, TX
12/23/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		Harvard L 56–57  9–3
 Hofheinz Pavilion (4,004)
Houston, TX
AAC regular season
12/28/2016
 ESPN2 		at UConn W 62–46  10–3
(1–0) 		XL Center (11,538)
Hartford, CT
12/31/2016
11:00 am, ESPNU 		at South Florida W 70–56  11–3
(2–0) 		USF Sun Dome (2,353)
Tampa, FL
01/04/2017
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		Tulsa W 64–61  12–3
(3–0) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (3,415)
Houston, TX
01/07/2017
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 22 Cincinnati L 58–67  12–4
(3–1) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (4,875)
Houston, TX
01/11/2017
5:00 pm, ESPNews 		at East Carolina W 74–58  13–4
(4–1) 		Williams Arena (4,197)
Greenville, NC
01/14/2017
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		at UCF L 70–77  13–5
(4–2) 		CFE Arena (5,489)
Orlando, FL
01/19/2017
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		Memphis L 67–70 OT 13–6
(4–3) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (4,815)
Houston, TX
01/21/2017
5:00 pm, ESPNU 		at SMU L 64–85  13–7
(4–4) 		Moody Coliseum (7,002)
Dallas, TX
01/24/2017
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		Tulane W 65–51  14–7
(5–4) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (3,421)
Houston, TX
01/28/2017
9:00 pm, ESPNU 		Temple W 79–66  15–7
(6–4) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (3,627)
Houston, TX
02/01/2017
6:00 pm, ESPNU 		UCF W 82–64  16–7
(7–4) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (3,681)
Houston, TX
02/08/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNews 		at Tulane W 91–62  17–7
(8–4) 		Devlin Fieldhouse (1,165)
New Orleans, LA
02/11/2017
5:00 pm, ESPNU 		at Tulsa W 73–64  18–7
(9–4) 		Reynolds Center (4,229)
Tulsa, OK
02/18/2017
5:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 19 SMU L 66–76  18–8
(9–5) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479)
Houston, TX
02/22/2017
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		UConn W 75–70  19–8
(10–5) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (4,131)
Houston, TX
02/26/2017
4:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Memphis W 72–71  20–8
(11–5) 		FedEx Forum (12,381)
Memphis, TN
03/02/2017
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		at No. 18 Cincinnati L 47–65  20–9
(11–6) 		Fifth Third Arena (13,176)
Cincinnati, OH
03/05/2017
3:00 pm, CBSSN 		East Carolina W 73–51  21–9
(12–6) 		Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479)
Houston, TX
AAC tournament
03/10/2017
9:00 pm, ESPNU 		(3) vs. (6) UConn
Quarterfinals 		L 65–74  21–10
 XL Center (7,365)
Hartford, CT
NIT
03/15/2017*
6:30 pm, ESPNU 		(2) (7) Akron
First round – California Bracket 		L 75–78  21–11
 Health and Physical Education Arena (1,928)
Houston, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5]

References

  1. ^ AMORE, DOM. "Jalen Adams Helps UConn Stun Houston In AAC Quarterfinals". courant.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  2. ^ "NIT 2017: Akron Zips hold off Houston, 78-75". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  3. ^ "Tulane vs. Houston (Quarterfinal #3) (The American Men's Championship) -". www.espn.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  4. ^ Sugiura, Ken. "Georgia Tech throttles Houston in NIT opener". ajc. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "2016-17 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.