It was an early-afternoon game instead of a primetime evening start. It was played at Texas Southern University (the Cougars' temporary home as UH renovates its old Hofheinz Pavilion into the new Fertitta Center) instead of the Astrodome. The opponent was No.7 Wichita State instead of UCLA.
But today, on the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century -- January 20, 2018 -- the Houston Cougars once again stunned a nationally elite team, shocking the Shockers 73-59.
I would have preferred a UCLA-Houston rematch tonight, but it wasn't to be. The Bruins and Cougars played each other in 1993, marking the GOTC's 25th anniversary. But since at least 2005, when then-UH coach Tom Penders was trying to set up a 40th anniversary game between UCLA and Houston, it has become clear that UCLA has not been interested in any further rematches.*
The 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century did get considerable media attention, however. Most prominently, the CBS Sports Network aired a special earlier in the week on the game (see earlier posting below on this blog). Also, the Los Angeles Daily News had a nice retrospective on the game. The writer also included a link to this blog!
---
*This situation is not unique to UCLA vis-a-vis Houston. There was talk a few years ago of a 2016 game between Texas-El Paso and Kentucky to mark the 50th anniversary of the teams' historic 1966 NCAA championship game (UTEP was known in 1966 as Texas Western). However, that plan fell through.
