1961–62 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

1961–62 Houston Cougars men's basketball
1961–62 Houston Cougars men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Independent
Record	21–6
Head coach	Guy Lewis (6th season);
Assistant coach	Harvey Pate
Home arena	Jeppesen Fieldhouse

1961–62 NCAA University Division men's basketball independents standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Loyola (Ill.)		–		–	23	–	4	.852
Oregon State		–		–	24	–	5	.828
Creighton		–		–	21	–	5	.808
Dayton		–		–	24	–	6	.800
Butler		–		–	22	–	6	.786
Houston		–		–	21	–	6	.778
Holy Cross		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Providence		–		–	20	–	6	.769
Duquesne		–		–	22	–	7	.759
Villanova		–		–	21	–	7	.750
Air Force		–		–	16	–	7	.696
Boston College		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Memphis State		–		–	15	–	7	.682
Niagara		–		–	16	–	8	.667
St. Bonaventure		–		–	14	–	7	.667
Seattle		–		–	18	–	9	.667
Centenary (La.)		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Idaho State		–		–	17	–	9	.654
Florida State		–		–	15	–	8	.652
Saint Francis (Pa.)		–		–	14	–	8	.636
Seton Hall		–		–	15	–	9	.625
Navy		–		–	13	–	8	.619
Georgetown		–		–	14	–	9	.609
Louisville		–		–	15	–	10	.600
Marquette		–		–	15	–	11	.577
Canisius		–		–	12	–	9	.571
DePaul		–		–	13	–	10	.565
Detroit		–		–	15	–	12	.556
Gonzaga		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Miami (Fla.)		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Oklahoma City		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Xavier		–		–	14	–	12	.538
Penn State		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Pittsburgh		–		–	12	–	11	.522
Idaho		–		–	13	–	13	.500
Loyola (La.)		–		–	12	–	13	.480
Army		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Regis		–		–	10	–	11	.476
Montana State		–		–	10	–	13	.435
Iona		–		–	8	–	11	.421
Colgate		–		–	8	–	15	.348
Oregon		–		–	9	–	17	.346
Portland		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Washington State		–		–	8	–	18	.308
Notre Dame		–		–	7	–	16	.304
Boston University		–		–	5	–	15	.250
Syracuse		–		–	2	–	22	.083

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961–62 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA University Division competition in the 1961–62 season.

Houston, coached by Guy Lewis, played its home games in Jeppesen Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas, and was then an Independent.

Roster

1961–62 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	30	Don Schverak	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	So	Reagan HS	Houston, Texas
F	42	Lyle Harger	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr		Lubbock, Texas

Head coach

Guy Lewis (Houston)

Assistant coach(es)

Harvey Pate (Oklahoma State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1961	UC Davis	W 95–47	1–0	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Dec 5, 1961	at Texas A&M	L 49–64	1–1	G. Rollie White Coliseum College Station, Texas
Dec 7, 1961	at Lamar Tech	W 72–70 ^OT	2–1	McDonald Gym Beaumont, Texas
Dec 12, 1961	TCU	W 75–70	3–1	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Dec 15, 1961	vs. No. 10 Seattle City of Roses Tournament	L 63–66	3–2	Howard Hall Portland, Oregon
Dec 16, 1961	at Portland City of Roses Tournament	W 67–55	4–2	Howard Hall Portland, Oregon
Dec 20, 1961	Ole Miss	W 63–62 ^2OT	5–2	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Dec 22, 1961	UCLA Lions’ Club Tournament	W 91–65	6–2	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Dec 23, 1961	Auburn Lions’ Club Tournament	W 54–49	7–2	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Dec 26, 1961	vs. TCU All-College Tournament	W 82–76	8–2	Frederickson Fieldhouse Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dec 28, 1961	vs. Utah State All-College Tournament	W 51–46	9–2	Frederickson Fieldhouse Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dec 29, 1961	vs. Bowling Green All-College Tournament	L 45–47	9–3	Frederickson Fieldhouse Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jan 3, 1962	at North Texas State	W 57–44	10–3	Men's Gymnasium Denton, Texas
Jan 5, 1962	at Loyola (LA)	W 68–57	11–3	Loyola Field House New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 11, 1962	at Tulsa	W 69–61	12–3	Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 15, 1962	Lamar Tech	W 86–64	13–3	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Jan 25, 1962	at TCU	W 61–56	14–3	Daniel–Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 30, 1962	Texas A&M	W 73–69	15–3	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 1, 1962	No. 3 Cincinnati	L 52–60	15–4	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 5, 1962	Florida State	W 84–76	16–4	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 8, 1962	Miami (FL)	W 80–69	17–4	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 10, 1962	North Texas State	W 105–75	18–4	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 16, 1962	at No. 3 Cincinnati	L 47–59	18–5	Armory Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 20, 1962	Tulsa	W 98–71	19–5	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 23, 1962	USC	W 56–51	20–5	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
Feb 24, 1962	USC	W 76–68	21–5	Jeppesen Fieldhouse Houston, Texas
NIT
Mar 17, 1962	Dayton Quarterfinals	L 77–94	21–6	Madison Square Garden New York City, New York
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

^[1]

Rankings

^[2]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	19	—	—	—	16	—	—

References

^ "1961-62 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1] "1961-62 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved January 31, 2026.

[ESPN-2] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1]

[2]

Houston Cougars men's basketball
Venues	Sam Houston Coliseum (select games; 1937–19??) Jeppesen Gymnasium (1946–1966) Delmar Fieldhouse (1966–1969) Fertitta Center (1969–2017; 2018–present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Rice SMU
Culture & lore	Shasta Phi Slama Jama Game of the Century "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics