1945–46 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1945–46 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the college basketball 1945–46 season. It was their inaugural year of season play. The head coach for the Cougars was Alden Pasche, who was serving in his 1st year in that position. The team played its home games at Jeppesen Gymnasium on-campus in Houston and were members of the Lone Star Conference. Houston captured its first conference regular season title, and competed in the postseason in the 1946 NAIA basketball tournament where they were defeated by eventual national runner-up Indiana State in the second round.

1945–46 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Lone Star Conference champions
NAIA Tournament, Second Round
Conference	Lone Star Conference
Record	10–4 (8–2 LSC)
Head coach	Alden Pasche (1st season)
Assistant coach	Ned Thompson
Home arena	Jeppesen Gymnasium

Roster

Charlie Manichia also served as Houston's first starting quarterback. Guy Lewis served as an assistant for Houston from 1953 to 1956, and as head coach from 1956 to 1986.

1945–46 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown 31 Charlie Manichia 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Houston, Texas 31 Bill McPhail — — 32 Bobby Dwyer — — F 33 Charlie Carpenter 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — So G 34 Simon Wiederman 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Sr 36 Bill Swanson — — C 37 Guy Lewis (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — So Arp, Texas 38 Billy Graham — — F 39 Willie Wells (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Jr Houston, Texas F 40 Dick Pratt — — G Louis Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Fr	Head coach Alden Pasche (Rice) Assistant coach(es) Ned Thompson (Stephen F. Austin) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2011-02-09

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
01/10/1946 no, no	North Texas State	W 62–35	1–0 (1–0)	Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
01/17/1946 no, no	Sam Houston State	L 40–41	1–1 (1–1)	Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
02/02/1946 no, no	Southwest Texas State	W 62–57	2–1 (2–1)	Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
02/04/1946* no, no	at Southwestern	W 42–40	3–1	Unknown  Georgetown, Texas
02/08/1946 no, no	at Sam Houston State	L 39–40	3–2 (2–2)	Unknown  Huntsville, Texas
02/09/1946 no, no	at Stephen F. Austin	W 45–38	4–2 (3–2)	Shelton Gymnasium  Nacogdoches, Texas
02/16/1946 no, no	East Texas State	W 54–51	5–2 (4–2)	Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
02/19/1946* no, no	Southwestern	L 57–58	5–3	Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
02/20/1946 no, no	at Southwest Texas State	W 62–55	6–3 (5–2)	Unknown  San Marcos, Texas
02/23/1946 no, no	Stephen F. Austin	W 65–39	7–3 (6–2)	Jeppesen Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
03/01/1946 no, no	at North Texas State	W 61–56	8–3 (7–2)	Unknown  Denton, Texas
03/02/1946 no, no	at East Texas State	W 61–54	9–3 (8–2)	Whitley Gymnasium  Commerce, Texas
NAIA Tournament
03/11/1946* no, no	vs. High Point First Round	W 63–34	10–3	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, Missouri
03/13/1946* no, no	vs. Indiana State Second Round	L 43–62	10–4	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.