Houston's Robert McKiver Goes Off for 52

With March just around the corner, Houston is still on the NCAA Tournament bubble. But if the Cougars get there, guard Robert McKiver is a player everyone will want to watch.

McKiver scored 52 points in Wednesday night's 95-67 win over Southern Mississippi, the highest scoring total any NCAA Division I player has had so far this season.

"I was feeling it," McKiver said. "I was just feeling good out there.

"When I get it going like that, I'm in the zone. My teammates were telling me, 'Oh, you have this many points,' but I didn't really know how many points I had, even though nobody will believe that.

"I knew when I got to about 47 (that he was close to 50) because my teammates were telling me, but before that I really didn't know."

McKiver's line was 17-of-34 from the field, including 7-of-17 from beyond the arc, and 11-of-12 from the line. He also had five assists.

The 52 points represented a Hofheinz Pavilion record, eclipsing the record of 44 points, which was owned by two players, including Indiana State's Larry Bird in 1977.

McKiver sounded awed at having done something no other Houston player had accomplished.

"A lot of people don't know how much tradition we have here," he said. "Not to sound corny, but we've had so many great players come through here - Otis Birdsong, Michael Young, Elvin Hayes, Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon. We have a lot of tradition here, and it's an honor."