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The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. They compete as members of the Big 12 Conference. In addition to 27 NCAA tournament appearances, the Cougars have won 22 conference championships and have had three players and a coach elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
| Season | Final record | AP Poll | Coaches Poll |
| 1965–66 | 23–6 | 14 | |
| 1966–67 | 27–4 | 7 | 6 |
| 1967–68 | 31–2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1969–70 | 25–5 | 12 | 11 |
| 1970–71 | 22–7 | 14 | 18 |
| 1972–73 | 23–4 | 13 | 18 |
| 1977–78 | 25–8 | 16 | |
| 1982–83 | 31–3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1983–84 | 32–5 | 5 | 5 |
| 2017–18 | 27–8 | 21 | 22 |
| 2018–19 | 33–4 | 11 | 12 |
| 2019–20 | 23–8 | 22 | 23 |
| 2020–21 | 28–4 | 6 | 3 |
| 2021–22 | 32–6 | 15 | 7 |
| 2022–23 | 33–4 | 2 | 6 |
| 2023–24 | 32–5 | 3 | 3 |
| 2024–25 | 35–5 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025–26 | 30–7 | 7 | 6 |
| Coach | Tenure | Overall record | Conference record | Conference regular season titles | Conference tournament titles | NCAA tournament appearances |
| Alden Pasche | 1945–1956 | 135–116 ( ) | 63–55 ( ) | 4 | 1 | |
| Guy Lewis | 1956–1986 | 592–279 ( ) | 134–98 ( ) | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| Pat Foster | 1986–1993 | 142–73 ( ) | 70–38 ( ) | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Alvin Brooks | 1993–1998 | 54–84 ( ) | 26–46 ( ) | |||
| Clyde Drexler | 1998–2000 | 19–39 ( ) | 7–25 ( ) | |||
| Ray McCallum | 2000–2004 | 44–73 ( ) | 24–40 ( ) | |||
| Tom Penders | 2004–2010 | 121–77 ( ) | 56–38 ( ) | 1 | 1 | |
| James Dickey | 2010–2014 | 64–62 ( ) | 26–40 ( ) | |||
| Kelvin Sampson | 2014–present | 329–91 ( ) | 165–52 ( ) | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| Totals | 1,500–894 ( ) | 13 | 9 | 27 | ||
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1956 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | SMU Kansas State | L 74–89 L 70–89 | |
| 1961 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Marquette Kansas State Texas Tech | W 77–61 L 64–75 L 67–69 | |
| 1965 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Notre Dame Oklahoma State SMU | W 99–98 L 60–75 L 87–89 | |
| 1966 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Colorado State Oregon State Pacific | W 82–76 L 60–63 W 102–91 | |
| 1967 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional finals Final Four National 3rd-place game | New Mexico State Kansas SMU UCLA North Carolina | W 59–58 W 66–53 W 83–75 L 58–73 W 84–62 | |
| 1968 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional finals Final Four National 3rd-place game | Loyola–Chicago Louisville TCU UCLA Ohio State | W 94–76 W 91–75 W 103–68 L 69–101 L 85–89 | |
| 1970 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Dayton Drake Kansas State | W 71–64 L 87–92 L 98–107 | |
| 1971 | Regional quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | New Mexico State Kansas Notre Dame | W 72–69 L 77–78 W 119–106 | |
| 1972 | Regional quarterfinals | Texas | L 74–85 | |
| 1973 | Regional quarterfinals | Southwestern Louisiana | L 89–102 | |
| 1978 | (4Q) | First round | (2L) Notre Dame | L 77–100 |
| 1981 | First round | Villanova | L 72–90 | |
| 1982 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | Alcorn State Tulsa Missouri Boston College North Carolina | W 94–84 W 78–74 W 79–78 W 99–92 L 63–68 | |
| 1983 | Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship | Maryland Memphis State Villanova Louisville NC State | W 60–50 W 70–63 W 89–71 W 94–81 L 52–54 | |
| 1984 | Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship | Louisiana Tech Memphis State Wake Forest Virginia Georgetown | W 77–70 W 78–71 W 68–63 W 49–47 OT L 75–84 | |
| 1987 | First round | Kansas | L 55–66 | |
| 1990 | First round | UC Santa Barbara | L 66–70 | |
| 1992 | First round | Georgia Tech | L 60–65 | |
| 2010 | First round | Maryland | L 77–89 | |
| 2018 | First round Second round | San Diego State Michigan | W 67–65 L 63–64 | |
| 2019 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen | Georgia State Ohio State Kentucky | W 84–55 W 74–59 L 58–62 | |
| 2021 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | Cleveland State Rutgers Syracuse Oregon State Baylor | W 87–56 W 63–60 W 62–46 W 67–61 L 59–78 | |
| 2022 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | UAB Illinois Arizona Villanova | W 82–68 W 68–53 W 72–60 L 44–50 | |
| 2023 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen | Northern Kentucky Auburn Miami (FL) | W 63–52 W 81–64 L 75–89 | |
| 2024 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen | Longwood Texas A&M Duke | W 86–46 W 100–95 OT L 51–54 | |
| 2025 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship | SIU Edwardsville Gonzaga Purdue Tennessee Duke Florida | W 78–40 W 81–76 W 62–60 W 69–50 W 70–67 L 63–65 | |
| 2026 | First round Second round Sweet Sixteen | Idaho Texas A&M Illinois | W 78–47 W 88–57 L 55–65 |
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1962 | Quarterfinals | Dayton | L 77–94 |
| 1977 | First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final | Indiana State Illinois State Alabama St. Bonaventure | W 83–82 W 91–90 W 82–76 L 91–94 |
| 1985 | First round | Lamar | L 71–78 |
| 1988 | First round Second round | Fordham Colorado State | W 69–61 L 61–71 |
| 1991 | First round | Stanford | L 86–93 |
| 1993 | First round | UTEP | L 61–67 |
| 2002 | Opening round | Vanderbilt | L 50–59 |
| 2005 | Opening round | Wichita State | L 69–85 |
| 2006 | First round Second round | BYU Missouri State | W 77–67 L 59–60 |
| 2016 | First round | Georgia Tech | L 62–81 |
| 2017 | First round | Akron | L 75–78 |
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2008 | First round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Nevada Valparaiso Tulsa | W 80–79 W 91–67 L 69–73 |
| 2009 | First round | Oregon State | L 45–49 |
| 2013 | First round Quarterfinals | Texas George Mason | W 73–72 L 84–88 OT |