College Basketball Report: Week 12

The Baylor Bears and Houston Cougars look to continue their winning ways as Texas and A&M struggle

The Baylor Bears and Houston Cougars look to continue their winning ways as Texas and A&M struggle
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TEXAS LONGHORNS (12-7), (2-4)

Last week: (0-1): L - LSU 69-67

This week: Wednesday vs TCU,Saturdayvs. Iowa State

Even in a non-conference game, the Texas Longhorns have yet to get out of their slump. During their Big 12 vs SEC Conference showdown on Saturday, Texas dropped its third consecutive game in a two-point defeat to the streaking LSU Tigers.

In the loss, the Longhorns allowed LSU to record 15 offensive rebounds, in which the Tigers converted into 15 second-chance points. Following the win, Texas will look to end their losing skid in an interstate showdown against the TCU Horned Frogs.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (9-9), (3-3)

Last week: (1-1): W - Mizzou 66-64, L - Oklahoma State 73-62

This week: Tuesdayvs. Tennessee, Saturday vs. Georgia

The Texas A&M Aggies survived a recording-breaking night en route to a 66-64 victory over the Mizzou Tigers. in the loss, Mizzou hit a record 54 consecutive free throws—dating back to their loss against Alabama last season.

As Mizzou shot perfect from the line until their final attempt in the closing minutes of the games, Savion Flagg and Josh Nebo scored a combined 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win for the Aggies. Unfortunately, A&M would go on to lose their third game in four tries in a loss to the Mizzou Tigers.

Up next, the Aggies will return to the court on Tuesday for a match against Tennessee.

Houston Cougars (16-4), (6-1)

Last week: (2-0): W - UConn 63-59, W- USF 68-48

This week: Wednesday vs. ECU, Saturday vs. Cincinnati

Winners of 10 out of their last 11 games, the Houston Cougars swept through their opponents picking up wins against the UConn Mustangs and the USF.

DeJon Jarreau came two assists shy from recording the Cougars' first triple-double since Bo Outlaw in 1993, as the junior guard from New Orleans scored a season-high 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the win. Following the victory, the Cougars will hit the road for an American Athletic Conference showdown against ECU (Wednesday) and Cincinnati (Saturday).

RICE OWLS (9-13), (1-8)

Last week: (0-2): L - UTEP 72-64, L- UTSA 90-88

This week: Saturday vs. North Texas

Loser of eight of their last 10 games, the Rice Owls are currently riding a five-game losing streak after a winless week.

The Owls put up a good fight in both games, with their worst coming at the hands of UTSA on Saturday in a two-point defeat. Up next, Rice will look to end their worst skid of the season on Saturday in a CUSA showdown against North Texas.

BAYLOR BEARS (17-1), (6-0)

Last week: (1-0): W - Florida 72-61

This week: Wednesday vs. Iowa State, Saturday TCU

As the No. 1 top-ranked school in the nation, the Baylor Bears took part in the Big 12 vs SEC match in a 72-61 victory over Florida on Saturday.

While extending their winning streak to 16, Macio Teague led the Bears with 16 points, six rebounds and a block. Following the win, the Bears will put their winning streak on the line against Iowa State on Wednesday.

TCU HORNED FROGS (13-6), (4-2)

Last week: (1-1): W - Texas Tech 81-49, L - Arkansas 78-67

This week: Wednesday vs Texas, Saturday vs Baylor

Prior to losing to Arkansas on Saturday, the TCU Horned Frogs picked up a much-needed conference play win in a 65-54 victory over Texas Tech. In the win, Desmond Bane had one of his best performances of the season with 27 points (10-15 FG, 6-8 3PT), while Kevin Samuel recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards.

Up next, TCU will look to return to the court on Wednesday for a showdown against the struggling Texas Longhorns.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (12-7), (3-3)

Last week: (1-1): L - Texas Tech 65-54, L - Kentucky 76-74 OT

This week: Wednesday vs West Virginia, Saturday vs Kansas

After a hot start to the season, the No. 18 Texas Tech Red Raiders are not living up to the high expectations since the start of conference play. Texas Tech's quick two-game win streak came to an end in a 65-54 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs. In the loss, TCU outscored Texas Tech by 15 points (38-23) in the second half, as well as allowing 17 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.

Following an overtime inter-conference loss to Kentucky on Saturday, Texas Tech will hit the court on Wednesday in a home match against No. 12 West Virginia.

SMU MUSTANGS (15-4), (5-2)

Last week (2-0): W - ECU 84-64, W - Memphis 74-70

This week: Tuesday vs Cincinnati, Saturday vs Tulane

After taking care of business in the blowout win over ECU, the SMU Mustangs picked up a huge victory over No. 20 Memphis. It was an all-around team effort led by Kendric Davis who scored a game-high 20 points (5-11 FG, 2-6 3PT) and five assists, while Emmanuel Bandoumel added in 14 points.

Up next, the Mustangs will look to build off their perfect week on Tuesday against one of their conference rivals, the Cincinnati Bearcats in Cincinnati.

LSU TIGERS (15-4), (6-0)

Last week (2-0): W - Florida 84-82, W - Texas 69-67

This week: Wednesday vs Alabama, Saturday vs Ole Miss

The LSU Tigers continued their hot start in conference play and extended their overall winning streak to eight last week.Both games went down to the wire as the Tigers needed a potential game-winner by Florida's Keyontae Johnson waived off with 0.5 left to play. Six players scored in double-digits for LSU with Emmitt Williams leading the Tigers with 19 points.

The Tigers will return home for a SEC match against Florida on Tuesday.

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How the Houston Texans just got a lot more dangerous

The Astros are back in action Tuesday night, hosting the White Sox. Composite Getty Image.

The Astros are making noise again — not by bludgeoning teams with a powerhouse offense, but by grinding through games and getting elite production from a patched-together pitching staff. It’s a testament to their depth and resilience that they went 4-2 on a tough road trip while averaging just 3.6 runs per game. Even more impressive? The staff allowed just 2.3 runs per game during that stretch.

It’s fair to be impressed. This is a team still missing key pieces and leaning heavily on unproven arms, yet they’ve built a 2.5-game lead over Seattle in the AL West. If the rotation keeps performing like this, that cushion might not just hold through the All-Star break — it could grow.

Houston's pitching has been the great stabilizer. The Astros rank 1st in strikeouts, 9th in ERA, 4th in WHIP, and 2nd in batting average against. The numbers aren’t carried solely by the stars either. Youngsters like Brandon Walter and Colton Gordon have stepped in admirably. Walter has allowed just two runs combined across his first two starts (6 IP and 5 IP), while Gordon has quietly gone five innings in three straight outings, giving up 1, 4, and 3 runs. Ryan Gusto has been inconsistent — failing to get through five innings in his last three starts — but has kept the damage manageable (3, 2, and 2 runs in those outings).

Meanwhile, the top of the rotation has been lights out. Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown have become one of the most dominant 1-2 punches in baseball, and Lance McCullers Jr. is starting to look like a real contributor again. It’s a staff carrying the team while the bats slowly try to catch up.

That offense, while mediocre overall — 15th in OPS, 20th in runs, 19th in homers, and 18th in slugging — has shown signs of life in recent days. Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers have provided much-needed sparks. Peña is hitting .370 over the past week with an .851 OPS, while Meyers has been even hotter, posting a .381 average and .934 OPS.

The biggest news off the field this week was the potential end of the Forrest Whitley era. The former first-round pick was designated for assignment, a move that answers an early-season question: Who’s more likely to contribute this year — Whitley or McCullers? The answer is now clear.

Whitley’s DFA also serves as a reminder that not even elite GMs like Jeff Luhnow are immune to draft misses.

As the Houston Chronicle's Greg Rajan points out, Luhnow’s final four first-round picks with Houston all fell short: Whitley (2016), J.B. Bukauskas (2017), Seth Beer (2018), and Korey Lee (2019) have yet to become meaningful pieces for any club. The draft remains a gamble — even for the best.

Still, the Astros are finding answers. Despite an offense that’s still searching for consistency, their pitching — both from the top and the bottom of the depth chart — has been dominant. If that continues, this club won't just hold the lead. They’ll have momentum heading into July.

There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!

The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!

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