The 2022–23 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by ninth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The team played their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the American Athletic Conference. In September 2021, Houston and fellow conference members Cincinnati and UCF accepted bids to join the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 33–4, 17–1 in AAC play, to win the AAC regular season championship. They defeated East Carolina and Cincinnati to advance to the AAC tournament championship game where they lost to Memphis. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional. They defeated Northern Kentucky and Auburn to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. There they lost to Miami (FL).
On November 28, 2022, the team reached the number one ranking in the AP poll, marking the first time they had held the top spot since 1983. The season marked Houston's last as a member of the AAC. They became a member of the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.
Previous season The Cougars finished the 2021–22 season 26–5, 15–3 in AAC play, to win the AAC regular season championship. They defeated Cincinnati, Tulane and Memphis to win the AAC tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South region. They defeated UAB and Illinois to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive season. There they defeated Arizona before losing to Villanova in the Elite Eight.
Offseason Departing players Houston departing players Robbie Armbrester 2 G 6'4" 220 Freshman Atlanta, GA Transferred to Stephen F. Austin Tazé Moore 4 G 6'5" 195 Graduate student Southaven, MS Exhausted eligibility Kyler Edwards 11 G 6'4" 205 Senior Arlington, TX Graduated; declared for the 2022 NBA draft Josh Carlton 25 F/C 6'10" 245 Graduate student Winterville, NC Exhausted eligibility Fabian White Jr. 35 F 6'8" 230 Graduate student Atascocita, TX Exhausted eligibility Kiyron Powell 52 C 6'8" 210 Sophomore Evansville, IN Transferred to Southern Indiana
Incoming transfers Houston incoming transfers Mylik Wilson 13 G 6'3" 175 Senior Rayville, LA Texas Tech Sadarius Bowser 22 C 6'9" 230 Graduate student Gaffney, SC Charleston Southern
2022 recruiting class
2023 recruiting class
Preseason
AAC preseason media poll
On October 12, The American released the preseason poll and other preseason awards.
Coaches Poll 1 Houston 100 (10) 2 Memphis 87 (1) 3 Cincinnati 82 4 Tulane 74 5 Temple 66 6 UCF 51 7 SMU 43 8 Wichita State 35 9 South Florida 33 10 Tulsa 21 11 East Carolina 13
Preseason awards Player of the Year – Marcus Sasser Rookie of the Year – Jarace Walker All-AAC First Team – Marcus Sasser All-AAC Second Team – Jamal Shead
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| AAC Regular Season
!colspan=12 style=| AAC tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Source
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.
Awards and honors
All-American Marcus Sasser – AP (1st), USBWA (1st), NABC (1st), SN (2nd)
Jerry West Award Marcus Sasser
American Athletic Conference honors
All-AAC Awards Player of the Year: Marcus Sasser Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson Freshman of the Year: Jarace Walker Defensive Player of the Year: Jamal Shead Most Improved Player: J'Wan Roberts Sixth Man of the Year: Reggie Chaney
All-AAC First Team Marcus Sasser
All-AAC Second Team Jamal Shead J'Wan Roberts Jarace Walker
All-Freshman Team Jarace Walker Terrance Arceneaux Emanuel Sharp
Source
References