| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 2019–20 |
| Team: | Houston Cougars |
| Conference: | American Athletic Conference |
| Short Conf: | AAC |
| Coachrank: | 23 |
| Aprank: | 22 |
| Record: | 23–8 |
| Conf Record: | 13–5 |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Asst Coach2: | Kellen Sampson |
| Asst Coach3: | Quannas White |
| Champion: | AAC regular season co-champions Diamond Head Classic champions |
The 2019–20 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by sixth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. This was the second season that the team played its home games at the Fertitta Center.
Houston finished the 2018–19 regular season 29–2, including an AAC-best 16–2 record in conference play. They were the runner-up in the American Athletic Conference tournament, falling 69–57 to Cincinnati in the final. The Cougars earned the #3 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament, where they went 2–1, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen before falling 62–58 to Kentucky. Houston's final overall season record of 33–4 set a program record for wins.
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, Kelvin Sampson agreed to a six-season contract to remain Head Coach at Houston.[1]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landon Goesling | 2 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Graduated | |||
| 3 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Play professionally | ||||
| 5 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Graduated | ||||
| Neil VanBeck | 15 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Walk-on; left team | |||
| Breaon Brady | 24 | F | 6'8" | 260 | Graduated | |||
| 25 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Tyson | 5 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Sophomore | Transferred from Idaho. Under NCAA transfer rules, Tyson has to sit out the 2019–20 season. Tyson will have three years of remaining eligibility.[2] | ||
| 24 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Sophomore | Transferred from Kansas. Grimes was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[3] |
The AAC media poll was released on October 14, 2019, with the Cougars tied for first place with the Memphis Tigers. However, the Cougars received more 1st place votes in the poll.[4]
| Media poll | |||
| T-1 | Houston | 113 (7) | |
| T-1 | Memphis | 113 (4) | |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 94 (1) | |
| 4 | Wichita State | 88 | |
| 5 | USF | 79 | |
| 6 | UConn | 75 | |
| 7 | Temple | 72 | |
| 8 | SMU | 47 | |
| 9 | UCF | 40 | |
| 10 | Tulsa | 36 | |
| 11 | East Carolina | 20 | |
| 12 | Tulane | 15 | |
|-!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| AAC regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| AAC Tournament
1.Cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic
See main article: 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
*Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll