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

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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.

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The Astros are back in action Friday night against Seattle. Composite Getty Image.

The Astros were a season low 12 games under .500 (12-24) on May 8th but were able to turn things around and entered the All-Star break with a respectable 50-46 record.

The turnaround can be attributed to better performances on the field by a multitude of players, but there are still things that could be improved to ensure a successful second half of the season.

As it currently stands, Houston is only one game behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West division race, and the Astros should have key players returning from injury to further bolster their playoff ambitions.

The return of the King

Kyle Tucker has been on the injured list with a shin contusion for six weeks now, and looks to return in the near future.

The Astros have done surprisingly well without their three-time All-Star outfielder thanks to contributions from guys like Joey Loperfido, Jake Meyers and Marcio Dubon in the outfield. Plus, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Yanier Diaz and Jeremy Pena carrying the offense while King Tuck is away.

Before getting hurt, the 27-year-old was hitting .266/.395/.584 through 60 games. Houston already has one of the best offenses in baseball, and adding Tucker back would give the Astros another high-quality bat to further bolster their lineup.

The latest update is Tucker has been playing catch and could start a rehab assignment soon if all goes well.

Fix the rotation

Starting pitching has been a major issue this season due to a multitude of injuries.

Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy and J.P. France have all been lost for the year with various surgeries and guys like Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia are trying to work their way back from their injured list stints.

Garcia was recently pulled from his rehab assignment and won’t pitch again until he is ready. Meanwhile, Verlander could be closer to his return and is throwing bullpen sessions as of July 14. Getting both of these pitchers back at some point this season will be a huge boost to this roster.

The current Astros’ rotation consists of Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss. Although not a bad rotation by any means, the starting pitching depth is getting pretty thin and Houston can ill afford another injury to their staff.

Astros general manager Dana Brown has been vocal about his desire to add starting pitching, and could have some options heading into the trade deadline. Players like Jack Flaherty, Garrett Crochet or Yusei Kikuchi, just to name a few, could be low risk high reward pitchers the Astros could acquire to add depth to their rotation.

Another option would be to call up A.J. Blubaugh from Sugar Land. The 24-year-old has a 6-2 record with a 3.46 ERA in 71.1 innings pitched this season for the Space Cowboys and could be a necessary depth piece to add to the rotation.

Play Astros baseball

The Astros have been playing better baseball as of late and have won 18 of their last 23 games. With players like Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander potentially returning soon, there is reason to believe Houston can make the playoffs for the 8th consecutive season.

The 'Stros will try to take sole possession of first place in their division from the Mariners when the two teams meet for three games at T-Mobile Park starting on Friday night.

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