2012–13 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

2012–13 Houston Cougars men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
ConferenceConference USA
Record20–13 (7–9 C-USA)
Head coach
Associate head coachAlvin Brooks
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHofheinz Pavilion
2012–13 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 19 Memphis 16 0   1.000 31 5   .861
Southern Miss 12 4   .750 27 10   .730
UTEP 10 6   .625 18 14   .563
East Carolina 9 7   .563 23 12   .657
UCF* 9 7   .563 20 11   .645
Tulsa 8 8   .500 17 16   .515
Houston 7 9   .438 20 13   .606
UAB 7 9   .438 16 17   .485
Tulane 6 10   .375 20 15   .571
Marshall 6 10   .375 13 19   .406
SMU 5 11   .313 15 17   .469
Rice 1 15   .063 5 26   .161
2013 C-USA tournament winner
As of April 2, 2013
Rankings from AP poll
*Ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions

The 2012–13 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by third year head coach James Dickey, played their home games at Hofheinz Pavilion and participated as a member of Conference USA. The season marked the last for the Cougars as a member of C-USA as they joined the American Athletic Conference in July 2013.

The Cougars ended the regular season with a 3-game winning streak and a 7–9 conference record. This placed the team as the number six seed in the C-USA tournament and a matchup with cross-town rival Rice in the first round. The Cougars won the game 72–67 and advanced to the quarterfinals to face UTEP where they lost 80–69.

After the UTEP loss, UH officials looked into options for the team to play in either the CBI or CIT postseason tournaments to give the young team more experience. The Cougars were later invited to participate in the 2013 College Basketball Invitational and paired up with Texas in the first round. Houston defeated the Longhorns and advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to George Mason in overtime.

A highlight of the 2012–13 schedule was that it featured matchups with five former Southwest Conference rivals (Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas, and Texas A&M).