Former CCS star looks to help upstart Peacocks make magic
Every time Michael Houge steps into his team’s college basketball gymnasium, the Run Baby Run Arena, he and his Saint Peter’s University teammates are reminded of and inspired by the Peacocks’ historic March Madness run.
The Chattanooga Christian School graduate hopes he can help another Cinderellalike story for head coach Bashir Mason’s team from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The spotlight once again shines on Saint Peter’s after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship to earn an invitation to the NCAA tournament to face second-seeded Tennessee Thursday at 9:20 p.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be televised on TNT.
“Our team mantra is toughness,” Houge said in an interview with the Times Free Press Tuesday morning, just hours before his team’s sendoff on their campus. “We have a great culture here. We play a lot of defense and we are just a really scrappy team. We are not scared of anybody. We have a tough bunch of dudes who are not backing down from any challenges. You know what the history is with Saint Peter’s and upsets, so we just want to keep that going.
“No one lets us forget our Elite Eight run in 2022. There is a standard that is set here.
We are not just happy to be here, we come here to win.”
The Peacocks (19-13) are once again a No. 15 seed, which they were when they shocked the nation by taking down No. 2 seed Kentucky followed by seventh-seeded Murray State and thirdseeded Purdue before falling to eight-seed North Carolina in the Elite Eight in 2022.
CBS Sports listed Saint Peter’s magical run from that
season as the third best Cinderella story in March Madness history, just behind the 1990 Loyola Marymount Elite Eight season and North Carolina State’s run to becoming NCAA champions in 1983. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Sweet 16 run in 1997 ranked 24th on the list.
Houge’s story has been an inspirational one as well.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Houge is the youngest of five siblings. He still wears the same gold cross around his neck that he wore when he starred as a senior for Chattanooga Christian School in the 2019-20 season and averaged over 22 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game.
His faith has played a pivotal role in his journey, as he has carried the loving memory of his mother Andrea with him since she passed away when he was only 12.
Houge spent his first two collegiate seasons playing for Mars Hill University in North Carolina from 2020-22 before transferring last season to Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee. The 6-foot-7 guard/ forward shined for the Senators in the 2022-23 season, averaging 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 58.7 percent from the field.
In his first season with Saint Peter’s, Houge has continued to deliver.
The Peacocks would not be in the big dance without him as Houge scored a season-high 20 points in the MAAC quarterfinals to narrowly defeat Rider, 50-48 ,last Thursday. Houge was 8-for-8 from the free throw line in that victory and added eight rebounds and two blocks.*
He has started in double digit games for the Peacocks and has been a mainstay, averaging nearly nine points and over five rebounds per game along with 0.6 blocks. His high-energy play is a perfect example of his team’s toughness.
“This has been a terrific journey,” Houge said. “Especially because I had to play at multiple levels (Division II, NJCAA and now Division I). The story couldn’t have been written any better. It’s a true testament to God and hard work.”
Watching the Sunday NCAA tournament selection show brought Houge back close to home when he saw Saint Peter’s draw Tennessee (24-8) in the Midwest region.
The winner of Thursday’s battle between the Peacocks and Volunteers will draw either No. 7 Texas or No. 10 Colorado State in the Round of 32 on Saturday in Charlotte.
“Man, watching the selection show was special,” Houge said. “Tennessee is definitely a place I call home and have a lot of friends and family there who support me. It really hit home that I am able to play the home team. Dalton Knecht is a really good player and they have a bunch of big guys over there. I am excited for the match up.”
Houge’s brothers will be in attendance in Charlotte along with several other former teammates.
As promised to him by his head coach, Houge will get to experience March Madness on the biggest stage for the first time. He certainly does not take the opportunity lightly either.
“The most important thing for me is to represent Chattanooga,” Houge said. “A lot of people have texted me and told me they are supporting me and that I have inspired them. It is a dream come true to be able to show people that they can do it from that area because not a lot of people get to experience this where we are from.
“This feeling is an absolute rush. A dream come true.”