HOUSTON - The University of Houston men's basketball team continues its 2008 postseason run when it plays host to Valparaiso at 8 p.m., Monday during the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational at Hofheinz Pavilion. Monday's game features two upset winners. The Cougars, who are the No. 3 seed in the West Regional, overcame the second-seeded Nevada on Tuesday. In a game that featured 18 lead changes, the Cougars came out on top after junior center Marcus Cousin hit a free throw with 26.5 seconds remaining to break a 79-79 tie, and the UH defense made that lead stand up. Valparaiso, which was seeded No. 4, upset No. 1 seed Washington 72-71 in Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday night. Senior guard Robert McKiver leads the Cougars with 23.1 points per game, the second-highest average in Conference USA. Earlier this season, McKiver recorded a C-USA single-game record 52 points against C-USA rival Southern Miss. His total ranked as the third-highest total in UH single-game history. Elvin Hayes set the school record with 62 points against, ironically, Valparaiso on Feb. 24, 1968, in a 158-81 Cougar win. Hayes' point total and the Cougars' 77-point win remain UH single-game records that stand today. Senior forward Dion Dowell averages 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and has recorded a double-double in two of the last three games. Fans can hear the game live on 790 AM The Sports Animal with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action and Carl Dukes providing color analysis. The pregame show is slated to begin 10 minutes before tip-off. Fans can buy tickets to the game by calling 713-GO-COOGS or by visiting UHCougars.com and clicking the appropriate links. Reserved tickets are priced at $20 and general admission tickets for $15. Both UH and Valparaiso students with valid IDs can purchase a student ticket for only $5. All student tickets for both schools must be purchased in person either at the Houston Athletics Ticket Office in advance during normal business hours or at Hofheinz Pavilion, beginning at 6:30 p.m., Monday. Parking for Monday's quarterfinal game will be $5 for the Yellow (Robertson) Lot with a limited number of $10 spaces available in the Red (Garrison) Lot. Earlier in the week, head coach Tom Penders and director of athletics Dave Maggard donated $1,000 each for 200 student tickets and 200 tickets to be distributed to UH faculty and staff members for the game. The first 100 UH faculty or staff members with a valid ID who visit the Athletics Ticket Office during regular business hours on Monday will receive two free tickets. The student tickets will be given to the first 200 students with a valid ID that enter the Cullen Street entrance of Hofheinz Pavilion without a ticket. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. In addition, new football head coach Kevin Sumlin will be available to sign autographs and take photos with Cougar fans, beginning at 7 p.m., in the concourse area near the Holman Street entrance of Hofheinz Pavilion. For the first time since 1999 and only the second time during the last 32 years, the Cougars will face Valparaiso on the hardwood. The Cougars own a 3-1 record in the all-time series, which began during the 1955-56 season and was last played on Dec. 11, 1999. Valparaiso grabbed an early lead in the series with an 84-80 win on Dec. 9, 1955, during the Birmingham Classic in Alabama. However, the Cougars bounced back with three straight wins entering Monday's quarterfinal game. The Cougars have posted a 2-0 all-time record against Valparaiso on their home court during the series. UH has won those games handily, winning by an average of 47.5 points per game, including a 77-point win (158-81) on Feb. 24, 1967. This marks the first time that the Cougars will face Valparaiso in any postseason tournament. Valparaiso enters the game as winners of seven of its last eight games. Shawn Huff leads the Crusaders with 12.7 points per game, making him one of five Valparaiso players averaging double digits. Urule Igbavboa has recorded 10.9 and a team-best 7.3 points per game, while Jarryd Loyd averages 11.9 points and 4.0 assists per contest. http://uhcougars.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/032308aaa.html
Why the hate for this new tourney? If you hate the new tournament, just don't watch it. It seems like all of you haters of this are just ESPN, CBS's, etc. PAWNS!!! Look at the teams in the tournament. They aren't crappy teams. Of course nobody is going to confuse them for Elite final 4 teams, but they have an option besides the NIB. The NIB and the final 4 do their thing. You hate the CBI, look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you are just another droid of the National sports epicenter you love to be it's whipping boy to. Ohhh, the National Media doesn't respect the Rockets. Translation, "If the National Media doesn't respect the Rockets, then they aren't good - and I don't know anything about basketball." Forget the National media and it's domination of your mind about what is and shouldn't be.
Errrrrrr, I haven't been bashing the tournament, but there are teams with records of: 13-18, 15-15, 16-16, 16-14, 17-15, 17-15, 17-15, and an Ivy League team. On top of that, pretty much all a team had to do in order to get a home game was pay the tournament $60,000. Yes, there was a $60,000 entry fee that teams had to PAY to play in this thing.
I don't need CBS to tell me that a post-season basketball tournament that includes a team that finished .500 in the Horizon Conference isn't exactly a good tournament. Nor should a team that couldn't make the NIT or the NCAA call itself the Show unless it wants to be ridiculed. I say we have a Clutchfans benefit to raise $60,000 to put a team together and into this tournament next year. What is the NIB anyway? I think someone needs to tune into CBS or ESPN more often.
I agree it's definitely a 2nd tier tournament. We played good basketball for long stretches this year. But we did a poor job of scheduling and we got used to winning without having to play much at all in the way of defense or doing much on offense except making transition baskets or jacking up 3's. However since we accepted the invitation I want us to win the darn thing. I just hope that unless we win the tournament outright they don't hang a Final Four or worse Elite Eight CBI banner in Hofheinz...cause that would be a little weak.
Wait. Didn't you defend UH for calling itself "Your Home Team"? I think that slogan is more ridiculous.
I went to U of H - Downtown. So the coogs aren't even my alma mater mascot, because our mascot was the Aligator. But, darn it, I root for the Coogs each and every game. They had a stretch of bad luck and that basically eliminated them from the NCAA tournament. They were a solid and good team. But, most of their talent was from Junior colleges. Penders knows this team doesn't have Final Four talent. But he knows he has to recruit and show the talented players who may now be considering Houston as their destination. This entire CBI is just a recruiting thing. And I think it's genius what Penders is doing. If the Coogs would have been in a different conference, they'd of made the NCAA. But right now there is no respect for the Conf. USA. I think it means a lot more to win first CBI than to win the NIB. NOBODY even gives the NIB credibility. Go Coogs!!
Nobody gives the NIB any credibility because no one knows what the NIB is. What is the NIB? And you think Houston would have done better in a conference that garners more respect that the crappy CUSA? Doubtful.
Ask Ozzy what NIB is about! He put it in my head. I meant NIT - but the OZZman has brain washed me. The Coogs played extremely well against a lot of teams. They were humbled by Memphis, but the Coogs played every team strong. Coach Penders is squeezing a ton out of that group of players. They just don't have the guns YET. But this is the first time in a long time they've got the coaching. And good coaching does wonders.
