by US Fed News

Winners of five of its last six games, the University of Houston men's basketball returns to action at 7:05 p.m., Wednesday when it faces Conference USA-rival Tulsa inside the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Cougars (17-8, 8-4 C-USA) enter this week's game on the heels of a 77-72 win against Conference USA-rival UCF on Saturday inside Hofheinz Pavilion. With that win, the Cougars swept the regular-season series against the Knights following a 97-69 win in Orlando on Feb. 4. Wednesday's game features two of the top teams in Conference USA.

With 8-4 league records, both the Cougars and Golden Hurricane are tied for third place, only a game behind second-place UAB. The top-four teams in the final regular-season standings earn a first-round bye at the 2009 C-USA Championship, scheduled for March 11-14 inside Memphis' FedExForum. Junior guard Aubrey Coleman continues to lead the Cougars with 20.3 points per game and ranks second on the team with 7.9 boards per contest. The Houston native, who scored a career-high 38 points at Marshall last week, is the only player to rank among the top-four individual leaders in Conference USA in both scoring and rebounding. Junior guard Kelvin Lewis poured in 22 points, including four 3-pointers, against the Knights and ranks second on the team and fifth in the league with 18.3 points per game. The Cougars are the only team that can boast of two of the top-five scorers in the league. Senior center Marcus Cousin leads the Cougars and ranks second in C-USA with 9.0 rebounds per game. The Baltimore native posted nine points and 10 rebounds against the Knights last weekend, marking the fifth time this season that he fell one point OR one rebound shy of a double-double. RADIO / TV INFORMATION Cougar Men's Basketball games can be heard live on 790 AM The Sports Animal or on the Internet at UHCougars.com with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action. The pregame show is slated to begin 15 minutes before tip-off. LIVE STATS Fans can follow the play-by-play action by clicking the GameTracker link at UHCougars.com. SERIES HISTORY This marks the fourth straight season that the Cougars will meet Tulsa on the hardwood. The Cougars own a 19-17 (.528) lead in the all-time series, which began during the 1950-51 season but has been played at least once every year since the 2005-06 campaign. The Cougars has won five of the last six games against the Golden Hurricane. However, Tulsa can boast of the most recent success after enjoying a 73-69 win on March 26, 2008, at Tulsa during the College Basketball Invitational semifinals. That was UH's first loss to the Golden Hurricane since a 75-71 setback on Dec. 29, 1988, during the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. The Cougars have posted an 7-10 (.412) all-time record against the Knights in Oklahoma. Despite the losing record on the road, the Cougars have enjoyed recent success in Oklahoma, winning four of the last five games against the Golden Hurricane in Tulsa. Again, Tulsa owns the most recent advantage following its 73-69 win on March 26, 2008, during the CBI semifinals. Prior to the loss in the CBI, the Cougars had not lost in Tulsa since an 88-80 decision on Feb. 28, 1963. ABOUT Tulsa Picked to finish third in the 2009 Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll, Tulsa enters Wednesday's game after a 72-62 win against Conference USA-rival East Carolina on Saturday. That win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Golden Hurricane. Guard Ben Uzoh leads Tulsa with 14.6 points per game, while center Jerome Jordan, a member of the Coaches' Preseason All-Conference Team ranks second with 14.1 points per game but leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per contest. Uzoh also is tops on the team with 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Now in his fourth season at Tulsa and overall, head coach Doug Wojcik has compiled a 56-42 (.571) all-time record during his career.. Wojcik is 1-3 (.250) all-time against the Cougars. NEXT GAME FOR Houston Following the Tulsa game, the Cougars hit the road but don't need to leave the city limits to meet Conference USA-rival Rice at 3 p.m., Saturday, inside Tudor Fieldhouse. The Cougars look to sweep the regular-season series after enjoying a 72-65 win on Feb. 14 inside Hofheinz Pavilion. The game can be heard live on 790 AM The Sports Animal or on the Internet at UHCougars.com with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action. The pregame show is slated to begin 15 minutes before tip-off. Fans also can follow the play-by-play action by clicking the GameTracker link at UHCougars.com. NEXT HOME GAME FOR Houston Following the Tulsa game and a road contest at Rice on Feb. 28, the Cougars wrap up the regular season with a pair of home games during the final week of the regular season. The Cougars play host to No. 8/5 Memphis at 7 p.m., March 4, and then close out the regular season at 7 p.m., March 7, against Conference USA-rival SMU during Senior Day. Both games will be played inside Hofheinz Pavilion on the UH campus. Free admission is available to approved groups of 10 or more people for the remaining Saturday home game against Conference USA-rival SMU on March 7. For more information, please call the Marketing Office at 713-743-9453. Fans can purchase their tickets by calling 713-GO-COOGS or by stopping by the Athletics Ticket Office in the Athletics/Alumni Center during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Fans always can purchase tickets by visiting UHCougars.com and clicking on the Tickets links.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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