2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars are led by eleventh-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The team plays their home games at the Fertitta Center as second-year members of the Big 12 Conference.

2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7т
AP	No. 7
Record	2–1 (0–0 Big 12)
Head coach	Kelvin Sampson (11th season)
Assistant coaches	K.C. Beard Kellen Sampson Quannas White
Home arena	Fertitta Center

2024–25 Big 12 men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Kansas	0	–	0		–			5	–	0		1.000
BYU	0	–	0		–			4	–	0		1.000
No. 18 Cincinnati	0	–	0		–			4	–	0		1.000
Colorado	0	–	0		–			4	–	0		1.000
No. 5 Iowa State	0	–	0		–			3	–	0		1.000
Arizona State	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
Texas Tech	0	–	0		–			5	–	1		.833
No. 13 Baylor	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Oklahoma State	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
TCU	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
UCF	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Utah	0	–	0		–			4	–	1		.800
Kansas State	0	–	0		–			3	–	1		.750
West Virginia	0	–	0		–			3	–	1		.750
No. 17 Arizona	0	–	0		–			2	–	1		.667
No. 7 Houston	0	–	0		–			2	–	1		.667
† 2025 Big 12 tournament winner As of November 21, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2023–24 season 28–3, 15–3 in Big 12 play to win the regular season championship in their first year in the conference. They defeated TCU and Texas Tech to advance to the Big 12 tournament championship game where they lost to Iowa State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the South Regional. They defeated Longwood in the First Round and Texas A&M in overtime in the Second Round to advance to their fifth consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance. There they were defeated by Duke after losing their starting point guard, Jamal Shead, to an ankle sprain during the game.

Offseason

Departing players

Houston Departing Players

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jamal Shead	1	G	6'1"	200	Senior	Manor, TX	Graduated/declared for the 2024 NBA draft; selected 45th overall by the Sacramento Kings
Damian Dunn	11	G	6'5"	205	Senior	Kinston, NC	Graduated; transferred to Pittsburgh
Ryan Elvin	20	G	6'1"	170	Senior	Round Rock, TX	Walk-on; graduated

Incoming transfers

Houston Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Milos Uzan	7	G	6'4"	193	Junior	Las Vegas, NV	Oklahoma

2024 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mercy Miller CG	Sherman Oaks, CA	Notre Dame High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 30, 2021
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 85
Chase McCarty SF	Huntsville, AL	IMG Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Oct 13, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 45
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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 16, 2024.

Preseason

Big 12 Preseason Poll

	Big 12 Coaches	Points
1.	Kansas	215 (9)
2.	Houston	211 (5)
3.	Iowa State	194 (1)
4.	Baylor	185
5.	Arizona	179 (1)
6.	Cincinnati	140
7.	Texas Tech	135
8.	Kansas State	133
9.	BYU	116
10.	TCU	90
11.	UCF	83
12.	Arizona State	64
13.	West Virginia	62
14.	Oklahoma State	46
15.	Colorado	37
16.	Utah	30
Reference: (#) first-place votes

Pre-Season All-Big 12 Team

First Team

Player	School
Caleb Love	Arizona
LJ Cryer	Houston
J’Wan Roberts
Tamin Lipsey	Iowa State
Hunter Dickinson†	Kansas
† denotes unanimous selection Reference:

Second Team

Player	School
Norchad Omier	Baylor
Jeremy Roach
Keshon Gilbert	Iowa State
Dajuan Harris Jr	Kansas
Coleman Hawkins	Kansas State
† denotes unanimous selection Reference:

• Player of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
• Co-Newcomer of the Year: Jeremy Roach, Baylor & Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State
• Freshman of the Year: V. J. Edgecombe, Baylor

Roster

2024–25 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Kordelius Jefferson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Martin HS Arlington, TX C 2 Cedric Lath 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS So Balboa School Abidjan, Ivory Coast G 3 Ramon Walker Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Shadow Creek HS Pearland, TX G 4 LJ Cryer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Baylor Katy, TX F 5 Ja'Vier Francis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Montverde Academy New Orleans, LA G 7 Milos Uzan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Oklahoma Las Vegas, NV G 8 Mylik Wilson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS Texas Tech Rayville, LA F 11 Joseph Tugler 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Cypress Falls HS Houston, TX C 12 Jacob McFarland 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Rancho Verde HS Moreno Valley, CA F 13 J'Wan Roberts 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) GS Shoemaker HS Saint Thomas, USVI G 21 Emanuel Sharp 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Bishop McLaughlin CHS Tampa, FL G 23 Terrance Arceneaux 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Beaumont United HS Beaumont, TX F 24 Chase McCarty 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr IMG Academy Huntsville, AL G 25 Mercy Miller 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Notre Dame HS Sherman Oaks, CA	Head coach Kelvin Sampson (UNC Pembroke) Assistant coach(es) K.C. Beard (Boise State) Kellen Sampson (Oklahoma) Quannas White (Oklahoma) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: September 2, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 4	No. 13 Texas A&M	W 79–64	−	18 – Cryer	9 – Tugler	4 – Wilson	Fertitta Center (5,981) Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 4	Jackson State	W 97−40	1−0	16 – Cryer	7 – Tied	10 – Uzan	Fertitta Center (7,035) Houston, TX
November 9, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ESPNU	No. 4	vs. No. 11 Auburn The Battleground 2k24	L 69–74	1–1	13 – Tied	7 – Roberts	4 – Uzan	Toyota Center (6,901) Houston, TX
November 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 8	Louisiana	W 91–45	2–1	14 – Arceneaux	6 – Roberts	5 – Uzan	Fertitta Center (7,035) Houston, TX
November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 7	Hofstra						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
November 26, 2024* 7:00 p.m., TBS		vs. Alabama Players Era Festival Impact Tournament						MGM Grand Garden Arena  Paradise, NV
November 27, 2024* 11:30 p.m., TBS		vs. Notre Dame Players Era Festival Impact Tournament						MGM Grand Garden Arena  Paradise, NV
November 30, 2024* TBA		vs.  Players Era Festival						MGM Grand Garden Arena  Paradise, NV
December 7, 2024* 4:30 p.m., ESPN2		Butler Big East–Big 12 Battle						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
December 10, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Troy						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
December 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Toledo						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
December 21, 2024* 1:00 p.m., CBSSN		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
Big 12 regular season
December 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Oklahoma State						Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		BYU						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
January 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		TCU						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
January 11, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kansas State						Bramlage Coliseum  Manhattan, KS
January 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		West Virginia						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
January 18, 2025 11:00 a.m., CBSSN		at UCF						Addition Financial Arena  Orlando, FL
January 21, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Utah						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
January 25, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Kansas						Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, KS
January 29, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at West Virginia						WVU Coliseum  Morgantown, WV
February 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Texas Tech						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
February 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Oklahoma State						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
February 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Colorado						CU Events Center  Boulder, CO
February 10, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN		Baylor						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
February 15, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Arizona						McKale Center  Tucson, AZ
February 18, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Arizona State						Desert Financial Arena  Tempe, AZ
February 22, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Iowa State						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
February 24, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN		at Texas Tech						United Supermarkets Arena  Lubbock, TX
March 1, 2025 3:30 p.m., CBS		Cincinnati						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
March 3, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN		Kansas						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
March 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN		at Baylor						Foster Pavilion  Waco, TX
Big 12 tournament
March 11–15, 2025 TBA		vs.						T-Mobile Center  Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source

Rankings

See also: 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final
AP	4 (4)	8	7
Coaches	4 (4)	10	7т