Come On Out To The Hof
Houston is on the right track: After 78-71 win, Cougars hope NCAA tourney will come calling (Bill Fay, Houston Chronicle)
There may be no better indication of how much things have changed around the University of Houston basketball program in the last month than the relative ease with which the Cougars dispatched the University of Central Florida on Wednesday.
Lanny Smith scored 25 points and handed out nine assists, and three other Cougars scored in double figures as Houston won 78-71 for its seventh straight victory.
There is a sentiment among players that the Cougars (17-6, 7-3 Conference USA) are destined for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
[snip]
"We don't have to rely on just one or two guys anymore and that's been the real growth of our team," head coach Tom Penders said.
Fans aren't flocking to see Cougars in action: Penders and Maggard look to new incentives (Michael Murphy, Houston Chronicle)
Cougars coach Tom Penders and athletics director Dave Maggard have more than delivered on their promise to revive the basketball program. Now it's time for the fans to deliver.
[snip]
Looking down the line, Maggard is pushing for a "Red Sea" for the March 1 game against Rice -- a sold-out Hofheinz Pavilion with every Cougar fan wearing a red shirt for the CSTV cameras. And to make it even easier, if you don't have a red shirt, the Cougars will provide one for you.
There's only one catch -- fans have to actually show up, which they've been somewhat reluctant to do thus far this season, even though the Cougars take a six-game win streak and a 16-6 record into tonight's game.
"I think we're doing our job, putting an exciting basketball team on the floor, a winning basketball team on the floor -- a tournament contender," Penders said. "It would help if we had at least 6,000 fans at every home game, but I'm not going to chastise those who haven't been here."
Penders said he and Maggard are considering bumping the opening tip for weekday games back 30 minutes from its present 7 p.m. time, which would allow fans a bit more time to get home from work and make it to the game.
"We have to find creative ways (of getting fans out)," Penders said. "I don't care if we give away tickets. When I was at Texas we used to give away 4,000 and 5,000 tickets a night just to expose them (the fans) to (the team). We have to do those things, expose people to it and make it a place to be."
I haven't missed a home game the past two seasons, and I have to say that even when the Coogs have lost at home (rarely), it's never been because of a lack of effort. They play exciting basketball, and they come out to play every night. I had lost interest in college hoops in recent years, until Penders arrived. He has definitely revived a moribund program.
I wish the place was more packed, but these things do take time. The team is averaging somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 fans per game. The numbers are up from last year, and they are up considerably from the pre-Penders levels, when the Hof might have a few hundred fans in the joint.
Last year's Cougars were 16-10 as of this date, and finished 18-13 in the regular season. This year's Cougars are 17-6 as of today, with two tough road games and two winnable home games left. They seem to be peaking after a mid-season swoon. They've played onto the bubble, and now have a chance to play themselves into the NCAA tourney (my co-sports-podcaster Ethan doesn't like their chances, but I'm more optimistic). It's hard to ask much more of a team, especially given the pre-Penders/post-Guy V performance of the program.
If you haven't been out to the Hof this season, give some thought to coming out to Saturday night's game against Tulsa.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/16/06 22:46 | Sports | Technorati
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Comments
Every game, I intend to come. But then I either fall asleep, forget, or am too busy.
And I can't come Sat. either. Darnit!
Posted by Evan @ 00:43 on 02/17/06
Kevin, if their RPI is anything like Nebraska's (16-8, 6-5 Big12, 5th place), the Coogs could be 23-6 heading into their conference tournament and still not get in unless they get to at least the semifinals of the CUSA tournament. And Nebraska has the sked to run the table the rest of the way.
Posted by Brad S @ 09:20 on 02/17/06
The good thing is, the Coogs have the schedule the rest of the way to play their way in. Beat the two dogs at home, and Memphis or UTEP on the road, AND get two wins in the CUSA tourney, and I think they look pretty good. Beat the two dogs at home and Memphis on the road (but not UTEP), and get a win in the CUSA tourney, and they look pretty good. Lose to both UTEP and Memphis on the road, and they probably have to win the CUSA tourney (at Memphis, no less).
I hate to speculate too much right now, because a lot depends also on what happens in other conferences down the stretch (is the MVC really going to get 4 teams in? I'd be shocked, but some people think so). And there are no guarantees that UH will take care of Tulsa or Rice at home, let alone get one or two big road wins! But it's nice to be talking about tourney chances again. This program has been dead so long that the awakening is a hell of a lot of fun. I just wish more fans were coming out to see it! Hofheinz is a hard place to play when it's full.
Posted by Kevin @ 09:35 on 02/17/06
Kevin, at this juncture, Texas and Kansas are the ONLY Big12 teams that are locks for bids. Not a good year at all:(
Posted by Brad S @ 13:22 on 02/17/06
Big win.
Posted by Evan @ 12:36 on 02/19/06
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