Oct. 14, 2009

HOUSTON - The University of Houston men's basketball team will compete on television eight times during the 2009-10 regular season, head coach Tom Penders announced Wednesday afternoon.

The Cougars will compete once on ESPN2, twice on CBS College Sports and five times on CSS. This marks the fifth straight season that the Cougars will compete on television at least eight times. A year ago, the team competed nine times in front of a television audience.

The Cougars open their television slate when they face Mississippi State at 1 p.m., Dec. 19, on CSS in Hofheinz Pavilion.

From there, the team competes against Conference USA- and crosstown-rival Rice at 8 p.m., Jan. 6, in a game shown on CSS. The Cougars face C-USA rival Tulsa at 6 p.m., Jan. 19 in Hofheinz Pavilion in a game shown on CBS College Sports.

The Cougars close out the month of January and open the month of February with four straight games on television. UH squares off against Memphis at 7 p.m., Jan. 23, on ESPN2 and returns home to face Conference USA-foe Marshall at 5 p.m., Jan. 30 in Hofheinz Pavilion on CSS.

UH meets Conference USA-rival UTEP at 9 p.m. (CST), Feb. 3 on CBS College Sports and wraps up the stretch at 5 p.m., Feb. 6 against league-foe Southern Miss in a game televised by CSS from Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Cougars face Conference USA-rival UCF at 6 p.m. (CST), Feb. 16 in Orlando.

This schedule marks only the Cougars' televised games during the regular season. Additional games from the Conference USA Tournament, scheduled for March 10-13 in Tulsa, Okla., and postseason tournaments may also be televised and will be announced later in the season.

Fans should visit UHCougars.com for the latest information regarding the Cougars' television schedule. In addition, fans should note that starting times for some televised games were changed from earlier published schedules.

ABOUT HOUSTON
Four starters and seven lettermen return from last season's team that finished 21-12 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament. The Cougars also competed in the College Basketball Invitational for the second straight season and advanced to a postseason tournament for the fourth time in the last five years.

Senior guards Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis are the top two returning scorers in the league this season after averaging 19.0 and 18.4 points per game, respectively, a year ago.

Coleman was honored as the league's Newcomer of the Year and earned a place on the All-Conference USA First Team, while Lewis garnered Third Team honors and was a member of the All-Defensive Team.

STARTING UP
The Cougars take their first steps of the 2009-10 season with the start of practice Friday evening inside Hofheinz Pavilion. UH is scheduled to work out for about two hours, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Friday.

SEASON TICKETS
Fans can renew their season tickets or purchase new season tickets on-line at UHCougars.com by clicking the "Tickets" link, by calling 713-GO-COOGS (462-6647) or by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Athletics/Alumni Center during regular business hours, Monday through Friday.

Season tickets can be purchased for as low as $135.

ABOUT CSS
CSS is a 24-hour sports channel serving approximately 5.9 million cable subscribers across twelve southeastern states. Launched in 1999, the channel is a partnership between Comcast Corporation and Charter Communications. CSS carries a full slate of college sports programming.

With over 40 live football games including the SEC, Sun Belt, Conference USA, and Gulf South conferences, the channel offers a comprehensive sports lineup throughout the year. The channel also offers more than 200 men's and women's live college basketball games and over 50 live baseball games, as well as a comprehensive mix of sports news and in-depth sports analysis geared toward fans in the Southeast.

2009-10 HOUSTON COUGARS MEN'S BASKETBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Day • Date • Opponent • Site • Network • Site
Sat. Dec. 19 • MISSISSIPPI STATE • HOFHEINZ PAVILION • CSS • 1 p.m.

Wed • Jan. 6 • * at Rice • Houston, Texas (Autry Court) • CSS • 8 p.m.
Sat. • Jan. 9 • * TULSA • HOFHEINZ PAVILION • CBS College Sports • 6 p.m.
Sat. • Jan. 23 • * at Memphis • Memphis, Tenn. • ESPN2 • 7 p.m.

Sat. • Jan. 30 • * MARSHALL • HOFHEINZ PAVILION • CSS • 5 p.m.
Wed. • Feb. 3 • * at UTEP • El Paso, Texas • CBS College Sports • 9 p.m. (CST)
Sat. • Feb. 6 • * SOUTHERN MISS • HOFHEINZ PAVILION • CSS • 5 p.m.
Tue. • Feb. 16 • * at UCF • Orlando, Fla. • CSS • 6 p.m. (CST)

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