Houston men’s basketball came just a few minutes short of winning the 2025 national championship.Â
As many oldheads in the college basketball odds market could probably tell you, it wasn’t the first near-miss the Cougars have seen over the years.Â
Has Houston Ever Won the National Championship?
No. Houston men’s basketball has existed as a Division I program since 1950, but the Cougars have never won the national championship.Â
That doesn’t mean they haven’t been really close. Under former head coach Guy Lewis, Houston played in the national semifinals in 1967 and 1968.Â
Years later, Lewis fielded probably the most famous Houston teams of all time – the Phi Slamma Jama teams of the early 1980s with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, among others.Â
The Cougars reached the Final Four in 1982, 1983, and 1984 – they even played for the title in ’83 and ’84 – but they never won the national championship.
Under current head coach Kelvin Sampson, Houston has reached the Final Four twice (2021, 2025) and lost one championship game.Â
The Cougars may not be national champions just yet, but as the new college basketball national championship odds market reveals, Houston basketball odds remain in very good standing.Â
Best Houston College Basketball Seasons
| Season | NCAA Tournament Result | Final Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Lost Championship Game | 35-5 |
| 2023-24 | Sweet 16 | 32-5 |
| 2022-23 | Sweet 16 | 33-4 |
| 2020-21 | Final Four | 28-4 |
| 1983-84 | Lost Championship Game | 32-5 |
| 1982-83 | Lost Championship Game | 31-3 |
| 1981-82 | Final Four | 25-8 |
| 1967-68 | Final Four | 31-2 |
| 1966-67 | Final Four | 27-4 |
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