2022–23 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by ninth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The team played their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the American Athletic Conference. In September 2021, Houston and fellow conference members Cincinnati and UCF accepted bids to join the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 33–4, 17–1 in AAC play, to win the AAC regular season championship. They defeated East Carolina and Cincinnati to advance to the AAC tournament championship game where they lost to Memphis. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional. They defeated Northern Kentucky and Auburn to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. There they lost to Miami (FL).

On November 28, 2022, the team reached the number one ranking in the AP poll, marking the first time they had held the top spot since 1983. The season marked Houston's last as a member of the AAC. They became a member of the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.

Previous season
The Cougars finished the 2021–22 season 26–5, 15–3 in AAC play, to win the AAC regular season championship. They defeated Cincinnati, Tulane and Memphis to win the AAC tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South region. They defeated UAB and Illinois to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive season. There they defeated Arizona before losing to Villanova in the Elite Eight.

AAC preseason media poll
On October 12, The American released the preseason poll and other preseason awards.

Preseason awards

 * Player of the Year – Marcus Sasser
 * Rookie of the Year – Jarace Walker
 * All-AAC First Team – Marcus Sasser
 * All-AAC Second Team – Jamal Shead

Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season

!colspan=12 style=| AAC Regular Season

!colspan=12 style=| AAC tournament

!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament

Source

Rankings
* AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.

All-American

 * Marcus Sasser – AP (1st), USBWA (1st), NABC (1st), SN (2nd)

Jerry West Award

 * Marcus Sasser

All-AAC Awards

 * Player of the Year: Marcus Sasser
 * Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson
 * Freshman of the Year: Jarace Walker
 * Defensive Player of the Year: Jamal Shead
 * Most Improved Player: J'Wan Roberts
 * Sixth Man of the Year: Reggie Chaney

All-AAC First Team

 * Marcus Sasser

All-AAC Second Team

 * Jamal Shead
 * J'Wan Roberts
 * Jarace Walker

All-Freshman Team

 * Jarace Walker
 * Terrance Arceneaux
 * Emanuel Sharp

Source