Houston Headlines Local Big 12-SEC Exhibition Doubleheader

Houston holds a 5-2 all-time series lead against Mississippi State, a series in which the Cougars began 5-0 with its last win being a 68-62 victory in Starkville, Miss., on Nov. 30, 1983, in the same season they marked consecutive national championship game appearances.

The most recent meeting saw Mississippi State win its second straight matchup in the official series with a 70-64 victory at Hofheinz Pavilion on Dec. 16, 2009. In the same season, Houston, in its final season with coach Tom Penders, would go on to clinch an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament, its first bid since 1992, with a Conference USA tournament title.

Coach Kelvin Sampson, now in his 12th season at Houston and his third as a member coach of the Big 12 Conference, will open with a second consecutive exhibition matchup against an SEC opponent, after hosting Texas A&M, in its final season with coach Buzz Williams at the helm, at Fertitta Center prior to the start of the 2024-25 season.

Coach Chris Jans enters his fourth season at Mississippi State, fresh off a 10th place finish in an unprecedented season of at-large bids in the SEC and R10th-placeound of 64 finish as a No. 8 seed in the East region.

The matchup serves as a tool for Houston to further strengthen its presence in facing SEC opponents after recording a 1-3 record against the conference in 2024-25, with the lone win coming in form of a 69-50 victory over Tennessee in the Elite Eight to send the Cougars to their seventh Final Four appearance in program history, which featured all top seeds in each region.

Despite reaching the final 40 minutes in San Antonio and holding a lead as large as 12 and forcing over 10 early turnovers, Houston ultimately fell victim to its own late missed free throws and finished with nine turnovers late, as senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. issued a stop on redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp in the middle of his motion on the final possession of the game.

The returns of Sharp, junior guard Milos Uzan, and the incoming highest-ranked recruiting class in program history featuring guards Isiah Harwell and San Antonio Brennan High School alum Kingston Flemings, along with stretch center Chris Cenac, are all pivotal pieces to Houston's path to redemption. The earliest glimpse of the roster can be caught at the Oct. 26 exhibition, where it is open to the public.