Entering their first season in the Big 12 Conference, the Cougars are the second highest-ranked team in the conference. | Anh Le/The Cougar
The UH men’s basketball will begin the season as the No. 7-ranked team in the country, according to the AP Preseason Poll which came out Monday morning.
Entering their first season in the Big 12 Conference, the Cougars are the second highest-ranked team in the conference, behind the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks. The other ranked Big 12 teams are No. 18 Texas and No. 20 Baylor.
The Cougars are also picked to finish second in the Big 12, also behind Kansas, receiving two first-place votes from the media.
Houston is coming off of a 33-4 season in which the Cougars secured the American Athletic Conference regular championship and a fifth straight Sweet 16 birth. UH was also ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll during the regular season for the first time since 1983.
UH is returning key veterans in senior guard Jamal Shead and redshirt senior forward J’Wan Roberts, and also added big-time transfers in senior guards L.J. Cryer and Damian Dunn from Baylor and Temple respectively. Houston’s freshman class features forward JoJo Tugler and centers Jacob McFarland and Cedric Lath.
UH will open the season on Nov. 6 at home against Louisiana-Monroe, and the Big 12 schedule will begin with a home game against West Virginia on Jan. 6.
