Coogs upset #3 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in Midwest Regional

Houston beat third-ranked Kansas, 66-53, at historic Allen Fieldhouse in the 1967 Midwest Regional Semifinal. The win pushed the Cougars into the Regional Final to face SMU, who beat #2 Louisville the same day. The winner would advance to the Final Four.

UH’s future first-rounders each shot 50% vs. the Jayhawks: Don Chaney had 20 points on 8/16 shooting from the floor, while Elvin Hayes finished with 19 points on 9/18 shooting (Hayes pulled down ten boards as well). Guy V’s zone defense held Kansas’ two All-Big 8 players, JoJo White and Rodger Bohnenstiehl, in check before a stunned crowd of over 16,000.

The Cougars outrebounded Kansas 34-25 and led by three at the half. But Chaney and Hayes took over after halftime: Chaney outdueled White from the outside, and Elvin locked down the lane defensively. White scored 18 points but needed 24 shots to do it.

Due to the NCAA’s unbalanced tournament bracket, UH was forced to play the Midwest Regional’s only “First Round” game the week before. The Cougars traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado, and just got by New Mexico State, 59-58. It was Coach Lewis’s 4th tournament since being hired, and Houston had to play the qualifying round in all four just to get into the Regional.

He won all four.

The game against the NMSU Aggies was the lowest-scoring game to that point of the season for UH and helped future opponents in their game-planning. Chaney struggled shooting (5/17) against the Aggies before fouling out.

Kansas tried the same approach in Lawrence, but Chaney was ready. Duck shot himself out of a mini-slump to help the Cougar Cagers pull the upset.

Berkeley Gazette

Kansas City Times

Because the AP conducted their final poll before the Regional, UH finished 7th in the country while Kansas (3) and Louisville (2) finished higher. The Cards lost to the Jayhawks in the Midwest Region 3rd Place game.

Cougar Box Score vs. Kansas