College Basketball Report Week 10

The No. 2 Baylor Bears and Horned Frogs keep their winning streaks alive during the second week of conference play

TCU Basketball
TCU/Facebook

TEXAS LONGHORNS (10-4), (1-2)

Last week (1-1): L - Oklahoma 72-62, W - 64-50

This week: Wednesdayvs. Oklahoma State, Saturday vs. Kansas

After dropping their second consecutive conference game, the Texas Longhorns picked up their first win with a 64-50 victory over Kansas State, Saturday night, inside the Frank C. Erwin Center in Austin.

In the win, Texas had one of their best defensive performances of the season, as the Longhorns held the Wildcats to a season-low 50 points, which includes 23 points on 30.0% field goal shooting (9-30) in the second half.

Following the win, UT will hit the road to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Wednesday, before hosting a Big 12 match against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (8-6), (2-1)

Last week (2-0): W - Ole Miss 57-47, W- Vanderbilt 69-50

This week: Tuesday vs. LSU, Saturday South Carolina

Unlike their in-state rivals in Austin, the Texas Aggies had a perfect week after dropping their conference opener against Arkansas. Texas A&M pulled off a victory against Ole Miss (57-47) and Vanderbilt (69-50) to improve on 2-1 in conference play.

In both games, Josh Nebo came up huge for the Aggies, but none more so than in the win against Ole Miss. The senior forward from Houston scored 17 points while shooting 5-for-5 from the floor, and grabbing nine rebounds and collected four blocks in the win. Following the win, The Aggies will host LSU and South Carolina inside the Reed Arena in College Station.

Houston Cougars (12-4), (2-1)

Last week (1-1): W - Temple 78-74, L- Tulsa 63-61

This week: Wednesday vs. SMU, Saturday vs. Wichita State

The Houston Cougars extended their winning streak to six before dropping a two-point loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday. In the loss, the Cougars missed seven consecutive shots in the last five minutes despite holding a 60-54 lead midway through the second half.

In both games, freshman guard Caleb Mills came up huge averaging 22.5 points on 51.5% shooting from the field, 48.2% from 3-point range. After the tough loss, the Cougars will return to the Fertitta Center for a Texas showdown against SMU before taking on Wichita State on Saturday.

RICE OWLS (9-8), (1-3)

Last week (1-1): L - Florida Atlantic 81-76, W - FIU 92-78

This week: Thursday vs. Louisiana Tech, Saturday Southern Miss

After losing their fourth straight game in a loss to the Florida Atlantic Owls on Thursday, the Rice Owls bounced back with a convincing 14-point victory over the FIU Panthers on Saturday.

In the win, Rice shot a blazing 52.9% from the field, 40.0% from 3-point land. Five players led the Owls in scoring with Ako Adams leading the way with 19 points (7-13 FG, 5-10 3PT), while Josh Parrish added in 18. Up next, Rice will look to make it two straight against Louisiana Tech on Thursday.

BAYLOR BEARS (13-1), (3-0)

Last week (2-0): W - Texas Tech 57-52, W - Kansas 67-55

This week: Wednesday vs. Iowa State, Saturday Oklahoma State

While improving their national rank to No. 2, the Baylor Bears extended their conference play winning streak to three with wins against Texas Tech on Tuesday and Kansas on Saturday.

In the win against Texas Tech, only one player scored in double digits (Davion Mitchell 14), as the Bears struggled offensively on the road. However, in their 12-point victory over the Jayhawks, Baylor had four players to score in double figures with Jarred Butler leading the way with 22 points shooting 50% from the field, 42.8% from behind the arc.

Following their overall 12th straight victory, the Bears will put their winning streak on the line against Iowa State on Wednesday.

TCU HORNED FROGS (12-3), (3-0)

Last week (2-0): W - Kansas State 59-57, W - Oklahoma State 52-40

This week: Tuesday vs West Virginia, Saturday vs Oklahoma

Currently riding a four-game winning streak, the TCU Horned Frogs are off to a great start to their Big 12 Conference play with wins against Kansas State (59-57) and Oklahoma State (52-40) this past week.

In both games, Desmond Bane proved to be too much for his opponents to handle, averaging 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Following the win, TCU will continue their conference play against West Virginia on Tuesday.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (10-5), (1-2)

Last week: (0-2) L - Baylor 57-52, West Virginia 54-66

This week: Tuesday vs. Kansas State, Saturday vs. Iowa State

After falling to the Baylor Bears on their home floor, the Texas Tech Red Raiders dropped their second consecutive game in a 66-54 loss to No. 17 West Virginia.

With their star guard Jahmi'us Ramsey scoring a season-low eight points, Davide Moretti led Texas Tech with 16 points after connecting on four 3-point field goals. Outside Moretti, the Red Raiders struggled as a whole shooting just 30.9 percent from the field. Up next, Tech will look to end their two-game losing skid against Kansas State on Tuesday.

SMU MUSTANGS (12-3), (2-1)

Last week: (1-1) W - UCF 81-74, L - ECU 71-68

This week: Wednesday vs. Houston, Saturday Temple

Following an 81-74 victory over UCF, the SMU Mustangs lost a heartbreaking 71-68 defeat at the hands of East Carolina on Saturday. Tristen Newton scored a 3-point basket in the final second of the game to lead ECU to the upset win over the Mustangs.

Isiaha Mike tallied in 21 points, as SMU's four-game winning streak came to end. Following the loss, the Mustang will look to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday, in an American Athletic showdown against the Houston Cougars in Houston.

LSU TIGERS (11-4), (3-0)

Last week (2-0): W - Arkansas 79-77, W - Mississippi State 60-59

This week: Tuesday vs Texas A&M, Saturday Ole Miss

Nowhere near the same level of excitement as their colleagues on the gridiron who just took home the National Championship title, the LSU Tigers are currently riding a four-game winning streak after picking up wins against Arkansas and Mississippi State.

In the win against the Mississippi State, Skylar Mays scored a go-ahead buzzer beater in the final seconds of the game to lead the Tigers to a nail-biting one-point victory. Following the win, the Tigers will travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies, before moving on to Oxford Mississippi to take on Ole Miss.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
Can the Texans pull off the upset? Composite Getty Image.

The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.

And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.

ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.

However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.

It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.

But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).

Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.

But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.

If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.

Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.

Bulls on Parade

Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.

Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.

The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.

Outlook on offense

We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.

Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.

X-factor

At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.

What does Vegas think?

The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points

Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome