Program history
Houston
in the tournament.
Houston appears in 27 tournaments in this archive, between 1956 and 2026, with an all-time record of 45–31. It has reached the title game three times — 1983, 1984 and 2025 — without winning it.
In its opening game it is 8–10. 9 of its 17 games decided by three points or fewer went its way.
Its biggest upset as the underdog came in 2022, when a 5th seed beat the 1st-seeded Arizona 72–60. The reverse happened in 2023: as a 1st seed it lost to the 5th-seeded Miami (FL) 89–75.
Its longest run of consecutive appearances is 8, from 2018 to 2026. Its longest absence ran 18 years, between 1992 and 2010. It has met SMU 3 times, more than any other opponent.
This archive carries no numeric seed before 1979. Since then it has entered as high as a 1st seed and as low as a 13th.
- 27 Appearances
- 45–31 All-time record
- 0 Titles
Season by season
| Year | Seed | Record | Coach | Conference | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | — | 19–7 | Alden Pasche | Missouri Valley | Regional Fourth Place |
| 1961 | — | 17–11 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional Fourth Place |
| 1965 | — | 19–10 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional Fourth Place |
| 1966 | — | 23–6 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional third place |
| 1967 | — | 27–4 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Third Place |
| 1968 | — | 31–2 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Fourth Place |
| 1970 | — | 25–5 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional Fourth Place |
| 1971 | — | 22–7 | Guy Lewis | Independent | Regional third place |
| 1972 | — | 20–7 | Guy Lewis | Independent | First round |
| 1973 | — | 23–4 | Guy Lewis | Independent | First round |
| 1978 | 4 | 25–8 | Guy Lewis | Southwest Conference | Round of 32 |
| 1981 | 8 | 21–9 | Guy Lewis | Southwest Conference | Round of 48 |
| 1982 | 6 | 25–8 | Guy Lewis | Southwest Conference | National semifinals |
| 1983 | 1 | 31–3 | Guy Lewis | Southwest Conference | Runner Up |
| 1984 | 2 | 32–5 | Guy Lewis | Southwest Conference | Runner Up |
| 1987 | 12 | 18–12 | Pat Foster | Southwest Conference | lost in the Round 1 to Kansas, 55–66 |
| 1990 | 8 | 25–8 | Pat Foster | Southwest Conference | lost in the First round to UC Santa Barbara, 66–70 |
| 1992 | 10 | 25–6 | Pat Foster | Southwest Conference | lost in the Round 1 to Georgia Tech, 60–65 |
| 2010 | 13 | 19–16 | Tom Penders | Conference USA | lost in the round of 64 to Maryland, 77–89 |
| 2018 | 6 | 27–8 | Kelvin Sampson | American | lost in the round of 32 to Michigan, 63–64 |
| 2019 | 3 | 33–4 | Kelvin Sampson | American Athletic Conference | lost in the regional semifinal to Kentucky, 58–62 |
| 2021 | 2 | 28–4 | Kelvin Sampson | American Athletic Conference | lost in the national semifinal to Baylor, 59–78 |
| 2022 | 5 | 32–6 | Kelvin Sampson | American Athletic Conference | lost in the regional final to Villanova, 44–50 |
| 2023 | 1 | 33–4 | Kelvin Sampson | American Athletic Conference | lost in the regional semifinal to Miami (FL), 75–89 |
| 2024 | 1 | 32–5 | Kelvin Sampson | Big 12 Conference | lost in the regional semifinal to Duke, 51–54 |
| 2025 | 1 | 35–5 | Kelvin Sampson | Big 12 Conference | lost in the championship game to Florida, 63–65 |
| 2026 | 2 | 30–7 | Kelvin Sampson | Big 12 Conference | lost in the regional semifinal to Illinois, 55–65 |
How the games went
| Round | W–L |
|---|---|
| Opening | 8–10 |
| Round of 64 | 16–8 |
| Round of 32 | 7–1 |
| Round of 8 | 5–1 |
| Semifinal | 9–8 |
| Final | 0–3 |
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