| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 2021–22 |
| Prev Year: | 2020–21 |
| Next Year: | 2022–23 |
| Team: | Houston Cougars |
| Conference: | American Athletic Conference |
| Short Conf: | AAC |
| Coachrank: | 7 |
| Aprank: | 15 |
| Record: | 32–6 |
| Conf Record: | 15–3 |
| Hc Year: | 8th |
| Asst Coach1: | K.C. Beard |
| Asst Coach2: | Kellen Sampson |
| Asst Coach3: | Quannas White |
| Champion: | AAC tournament champions AAC regular season champions |
| Tourney Result: | Elite Eight |
The 2021–22 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by eighth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The team played their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the American Athletic Conference.
Houston finished its 2021–22 regular season with an overall record of 26–5. They were regular-season champions of the American Conference with a record of 15–3 in conference play. They entered the conference tournament as the #1 seed and proceeded to win the tournament, defeating Memphis 71–53 in the final. The Cougars entered the NCAA tournament as the #5 seed in the South Regional. Houston went 3–1 in the tournament, reaching the Elite Eight before falling 44–50 to Villanova in the regional final.
Houston finished the season with a record of 32–6 and a ranking of #7 in the final Coaches Poll.
Houston finished the 2020–21 regular season 21–3, 14–3 in AAC play, finishing in second place for the regular season. They entered as the No. 2 seed in the AAC tournament, which the Cougars would go on to win for the first time to clinch an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. They were selected as a #2 seed in the Midwest Region. The team advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1984, where they lost to eventual national champions Baylor.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Transferred to Florida State (mid-season)[1] | ||||
| 3 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Graduated; declared for the 2021 NBA draft | ||||
| 4 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Graduated; declared for the 2021 NBA draft | ||||
| 5 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Transferred to Seattle[2] | ||||
| 24 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Declared for the 2021 NBA draft; selected 25th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers[3] | ||||
| 55 | F/C | 6'8" | 230 | Graduate transferred to Texas Southern[4] |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school | Years remaining | Date eligible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tazé Moore[5] | 4 | G | 195 | 1 | October 1, 2021 | |||||
| Kyler Edwards[6] | 11 | G | 205 | 2 | October 1, 2021 | |||||
| Josh Carlton[7] | 25 | F/C | 245 | 1 | October 1, 2021 |
On October 13, The American released the preseason poll and other preseason awards.[8]
| Coaches Poll | |||
| 1 | Houston | 98 (8) | |
| 2 | Memphis | 92 (3) | |
| 3 | SMU | 77 | |
| 4 | Wichita State | 76 | |
| 5 | UCF | 66 | |
| 6 | Cincinnati | 52 | |
| 7 | Tulsa | 43 | |
| 8 | Temple | 37 | |
| T-9 | South Florida | 25 | |
| T-9 | Tulane | 25 | |
| 11 | East Carolina | 14 | |
|-!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition |-!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| AAC regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| AAC tournament|-!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournamentSource[11]
See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.
^Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.
Kelvin Sampson
Source[12]