BEAUMONT, Texas – The last time the Lamar University men's basketball team was on the court they recorded one of their most impressive performances of the season trouncing rival McNeese, 80-59, in the opening round of the 2020 Southland Conference Tournament. Big Red's season came to an end shortly thereafter as the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cardinals will now look to open the 2020-21 campaign with the same momentum as they ended last season as they travel to Houston Wednesday for an afternoon contest.
 
Ranked among the nation's top 25 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls, the Cougars enter the new season coming off a 23-8 (.742) mark last season, and were nearly unstoppable at home posting a near perfect 14-2 (.875) mark. The Cougars return three of their top four scorers from last year, including sophomore Caleb Mills who led the team averaging better than 13 points per game.
 
Similar to Houston, the Cardinals also return three of their top four scorers, including sophomore guard Davion Buster who averaged nearly 15 points per game. Buster is joined by senior Avery Sullivan who is coming off a career year averaging better than 12 points and eight rebounds per game for a 2019-20 squad that posted a 17-15 record.
 
The Cardinals only lost two seniors from last year's squad, but the were heavy losses. Despite only having two seniors in 2019-20, the Cardinals return 62.6 percent (1,448 points) of their scoring and 60.7 percent (691 rebounds) of their rebounds from last year. Big Red's current roster consists of seniors Anthony Cameron (forward), Ellis Jefferson (guard) and Avery Sullivan (center), juniors Quinlan Bennett (guard), Davion Buster (guard), Tarig Eisa (forward), Mason Senigaur (forward) and Lincoln Smith (forward), sophomores David Muoka (center), Anderson Kopp (guard), Corey Nickerson (forward) and Ayaan Sohail (guard) and freshman Kasen Harrison (guard).
 
Wednesday's contest will be the 28^th meeting between the two schools, and the second in the past three seasons. The Cougars have dominated the overall series posting a 24-3 (.889) record. UH has also won 5 of the past 6 meetings between the two schools. LU is looking for their first road win in series history, 0-16.
 
The game against Houston kicks off a tough stretch for the Cardinals who will play eight of their first nine games away from the Montagne Center, including three of their first four in Southland action. The Cardinals' 2020-21 docket has them playing in front of their home fans only 10 times this season. After the game against the Cougars, LU will travel to New Orleans, La., to compete against Tulane and Lipscomb in the Tulane Invitational.