College basketball area roundup
Houston, Texas Tech and Texas shining in early conference action
Jan 8, 2019, 4:55 pm
Shaka Smart and UT picked up a big win. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
TEXAS LONGHORNS (10-4) 2-0 Big XII
Last week (2-0): W- @ Kansas State 67-47, W- West Virginia 61-54
This week: Tuesday @ Oklahoma State, Saturday vs. Texas Tech, Monday @ Kansas
Texas couldn't have asked for a better start to Big XII play, winning in a rout at Kansas State against a Wildcat team that was without a couple of key players due to injury. You'd be hard-pressed to convince me that it would have mattered. Texas shot 52% from 3-point range and held Kansas State under 33% shooting from the field. The Horns had just a 3-point lead at halftime, but Jace Febres scored 15 of his team-leading 23 points in the second half, and Texas ran away with the win. Febres was 7-9 from 3-point range. Texas then defended their home court in their second conference game, defeating West Virginia 61-54. Matt Coleman had 17 points to lead the Horns. The Texas point guard also had 0 turnovers in his 35 minutes of play. Dylan Osetkowski had 14 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Texas plays at Oklahoma State on Tuesday, then get the top two teams in the conference in Texas Tech and Kansas.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (6-6) 0-1 SEC
Last week (0-1): L- Arkansas 73-71
This week: Tuesday @ Kentucky, Saturday @ Alabama
The Aggies can't be pleased with their start to the season in non-conference play, and Arkansas made sure that SEC play didn't make them feel any better. The Hogs knocked off the Aggies 73-71 in the conference opener. The poor shooting for A&M from long range did them in, with the Aggies hitting just 5 of their 24 3-point attempts. TJ Starks and Sauvion Flagg provided the only offense for the Aggies, scoring 43 of their 71 points. The future schedule won't get easier this week, with road games on tap against Kentucky and Alabama.
HOUSTON COUGARS (15-0) 2-0 American
Last week (2-0): W- Tulsa 74-56, W- Memphis 90-77
This week: Wednesday @ Temple, Saturday vs. Wichita State
Houston has placed themselves in the argument for the best team in the state with another 2-0 week. The Cougars started with a 74-56 win over Tulsa. Corey Davis, Jr., as he has done much of the year, led the way for UH, scoring 21 points and hitting 6 3-pointers. A +12 rebounding edge helped the Cougars overcome a poor shooting night (36% from the field). Houston continued their best-ever start with a 90-77 win over Memphis, extending the nation's-best 28 game home winning streak. A major factor for the Cougars was their 18 offensive rebounds, allowing them to have 21 more shot attempts than Memphis. Armani Brooks paced UH with 22 points on 8-14 shooting. The Cougars will look to continue the best start in school history, taking on Temple and Wichita State this week.
RICE OWLS (7-9) 2-1 CUSA
Last week (2-0): W- Southern Miss 73-65, W- Louisiana Tech 78-66
This week: Thursday @ UTSA, Saturday @ UTEP
Rice used a strong second half performance to pick up their first of two conference wins this week. The Owls trailed by 9 at the half, but Ako Adams and Jack Williams combined for 22 points in the 2nd half en route to a 73-65 win over Southern Miss. The Owls were +10 in rebounding and hit 17 of their 20 free throw attempts. Rice kept it rolling against Louisiana Tech, with a 78-66 win. Rice again trailed at halftime, but rallied behind Williams and Adams to get the victory. The duo combined for 31 points in the victory. Rebounding was again a deciding factor for Rice, as they had a +13 edge in boards, including 13 offensive rebounds. The back to back wins was a first for the Owls since February/March of 2017. The Owls travel to UTSA and UTEP this week.
BAYLOR BEARS (8-5) 0-1 Big XII
Last week (0-1): L- @ TCU 85-81
This week: Tuesday vs. Iowa State, Saturday vs. Kansas
Baylor dropped their conference opener against TCU, 85-81. Baylor led 2-0, then TCU went on to lead by as many as 17. Baylor clawed back to cut the Frog lead to two with 30 seconds left, but TCU was able to hang on for the win. Tristan Clark led the Bears with 18, and freshman Matthew Mayer added 17 off the bench. Baylor shot just 25% from distance in the loss. Baylor has 2 matchups with ranked teams this week, as Iowa State and Kansas come to town.
TCU HORNED FROGS (12-1) 1-0 Big XII
Last week (1-0): W- Baylor 85-81
This week: Wednesday @ Kansas, Saturday @ Oklahoma
The Horned Frogs had just one game this week, taking an 85-81 win over Baylor. They dominated for most of the first half, but had to fight off a strong push by the Bears late in the game. Desmond Bane led the charge with 22 points on an efficient 8 of 11 shooting. The Frogs as a team shot 57% from the field and 43% from long range. TCU has two road trips coming up this week, to face Kansas and Oklahoma.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (13-1) 2-0 Big XII
Last week (2-0): W- @ West Virginia 62-59, W- Kansas State 63-57
This week: Tuesday vs. Oklahoma, Saturday @ Texas
A rough start for Texas Tech had them trailing at halftime, but a late push brought them back for a 62-59 road win over West Virginia. Jarrett Culver led the comeback, scoring all of his team-leading 18 points in the 2nd half. Tech shot 38% from the field and 17% from 3-point range in the win. They were also -10 in rebounds. Defense ruled the day, though, and Tech forced 22 Mountaineer turnovers in the game. The Red Raiders then took a 73-67 win over Kansas State to move to 2-0 in conference play. This time it was Tech holding the Wildcats to 33% shooting for the game. Davide Moretti led Texas Tech offensively with 19 points. Tech gets Oklahoma and a trip to Texas this week.
SMU MUSTANGS (10-4) 2-0 American
Last week (1-0): W- East Carolina 82-54, W- @ Tulane 74-65
This week: Thursday @ UConn, Saturday vs. Tulsa
SMU started 2-0 in American Conference play. They led off with an 82-54 drubbing of East Carolina, in a game that was competitive until about the 6:30 mark of the 1st half. Jahmal McMurray led the way for the Mustangs with 20 points in the win. SMU shot 49% from the field and held the Pirates to a feeble 34%. They followed it up with a 74-65 win at Tulane. McMurray continued to be the top contributor, pouring in 25 more points. Defense was key again, as they held their opponent to 34% for the 2nd straight game. The Ponies get a road trip to UConn and a home tilt with Tulsa this week.
LSU TIGERS (10-3) 0-0 SEC
Last week (0-0):
This week: Tuesday vs. Alabama, Saturday @ Arkansas
LSU hasn't played since handing UL Monroe an 81-69 defeat on December 28th. The Tigers open conference play this week, with a home game against Alabama and a road trip to Arkansas.
Takeaways from the Tigers sweep of the Astros
Total butt kicking. The offense was dreadful, scoring just two runs over three games. However, what’s killing the offense the most is the outfield. Outside of when Altuve plays left field, Houston doesn’t have another major league-quality outfielder right now. Jesus Sanchez not only swung at a Charlie Morton curveball that hit him in the knee, he’s also ice-cold, going 0-for-28 at the plate. At least he’s someone you expect to turn things around, but he’s in a huge slump currently. Beyond him, Jacob Melton, Taylor Trammell, and Chas McCormick have all been dragging down the offense. Cam Smith is struggling too, with just one hit in his last seven games.
Is Framber Valdez going to be okay?
Starting pitching was another big issue against the Tigers, and Valdez was a key part of the problem, basically losing the finale in the first inning after allowing six runs. This isn’t an outlier—he’s got a 7+ ERA through four starts in August. Spencer Arrighetti isn’t faring much better, posting a 7+ ERA through three starts. One silver lining with Valdez: the Tigers know him well. They had success against him in the playoffs last season, and it looks like they’re continuing that formula—force him to throw strikes, hit the other way on the sinker, and if the curveball isn’t up, let it go. AJ Hinch knows the deal.
Is the return of Yordan Alvarez enough to boost the offense?
It has to be. The only real way to give this lineup a spark is getting Yordan and Jake Meyers back. Yordan had a successful first rehab outing, collecting a couple of hits, a walk, and even a stolen base. Adding him back to the top of the lineup gives the Astros a formidable top four: Peña, Altuve, Yordan, and Correa. As for Meyers, the outfield has been the biggest drag on the offense. The key is whether he can continue to hit near .300 when he returns from injury. If he does, Altuve and Meyers in the outfield makes a huge difference, and Joe Espada can figure out right field with Sanchez and Smith.
Is the schedule not as soft as anticipated?
We’ve seen some strange results across the league this week, and some of that has to be chalked up to the Dog Days of Summer. Players are tired, and results have been wild. Thankfully, the Mariners are struggling too, giving the Astros some breathing room. Player adjustments after the trade deadline could also be a factor—Sanchez, anyone? Many big free agents have struggled immediately after changing teams, Walker and Juan Soto included.
Can they recover and take advantage of bad teams?
One thing we know about this year’s Astros: they can flip the switch and win multiple series on a moment’s notice. They’re just as capable of sweeping a series as they are of getting swept. Let’s hope that starts with four wins in Baltimore.
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