COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT: WEEK 13

The LSU Tigers look to keep up their winning ways alongside the nation's best team, the No. 1 Baylor Bears

The LSU Tigers look to keep up their winning ways alongside the nation's best team, the No. 1 Baylor Bears
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TEXAS LONGHORNS (14-8), (4-5)

Last week: (2-1): W - TCU 62-61, W - Iowa State 72-68, L - Kansas 69-58

This week: Saturday vs Texas Tech, MondayĀ vs. Baylor

Before dropping a close one to the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks, the Texas Longhorns picked up back-to-back wins against the TCU Horned Frogs and the Iowa State Cyclones.

After trailing by one at the half, the Longhorns went on an 11-0 run in the final three minutes to come away victorious against the Cyclones. Sophomore guard Courtney Ramey recorded 14 points while freshman guard Donovan Williams tied his career-high with 13 points in the win.

Up next, the Longhorns will return home for an in-state showdown against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (10-10), (4-4)

Last week: (1-1): W - Tennessee 63-58, L - Georgia 63-48

This week: TuesdayĀ vs. Missouri, Saturday vs. South Carolina

The roller-coaster season continued for the Texas A&M Aggies. They started the week taking a 63-58 victory over Tennessee, in a game where senior guard Wendell Mitchell led A&M to the win with 23 points. It also helped that the Volunteers went cold from behind the arc as Tennessee shot 27.3% from deep.

Following the win, the Aggies suffered one of their worst defeats in conference play with a 15-point loss at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. A&M had no answer for Georgia's Anthony Edwards, as the freshman guard recorded a career-high 29 points while shooting 48% from the floor.

Up next, the Aggies will return to the court on Tuesday to take on the Missouri Tigers.

Houston Cougars (17-5), (7-2)

Last week: (1-1): W - ECU 69-59, L - Cincinnati 64-62

This week: ThursdayĀ vs. Tulane, Sunday vs. Wichita State

One poor decision from Dejon Jarreau put the Houston Cougars in a critical light despite their outstanding play throughout the season. After winning their fifth straight game in a victory over ECU, the Cougars drop their second game in conference play in a 64-62 defeat to the Cincinnati Bearcats.

The Cougars' play on the court was overshadowed by Jarreau's poor decision to bite Cincinnati's Mamoudou Diarra during a fight for a loose ball. As a result, Cougars' head coach Kelvin Sampson has suspended Jarreau for one game.

"After further reviews from multiple angles, it can clearly be seen that DeJon Jarreau bit Mamoudou Diarra." Sampson said. "With that in mind, I have chosen to suspend DeJon for Thursday's game against Tulane. I am confident DeJon will learn from this incident and the consequences of his actions."

RICE OWLS (10-13), (2-8)

Last week: (1-1): L - UTSA 90-88, W - North Texas 84-75

This week: ThursdayĀ vs. UAB, Saturday vs. Middle Tennessee

After extending their losing streak to five in a loss to UTSA, the Rice Owls pulled off an upset over the top-seeded North Texas Mean Green in an 84-75 victory in Houston.

The Owls completed a comeback late in the second half over North Texas after Rice connected on seven of their final eight baskets to close out the game on a 17-6 run. Trey Murphy III and Josh Parrish scored 15 points apiece, as Drew Peterson recorded 13 points and seven boards in the win.

Up next, the Owls will take on the UAB Blazers inside the Bartow Arena in Birmingham on Thursday.

BAYLOR BEAR (20-1), (9-0)

Last week: (3-0): W - Iowa State 67-53, W - TCU 68-52, W - Kansas State 73-67

This week: SaturdayĀ vs. Oklahoma State, Monday vs. Texas

After picking up two blowout victories in back-to-back wins against Iowa State and TCU, the Baylor Bears survived a hard-fought battle against Kansas State on Monday. Sophomore guard Jared Butler recorded four made 3-point field goals and scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half to lead the way for the Bears.

As the nation's top-ranked school, Baylor will put their 19 game winning on the line on Saturday, in a showdown against the Oklahoma State Cowboys inside the Ferrell Center in Waco.

TCU Horned Frog (13-8), (4-4)

Last week: (0-2): L - Texas 62-61, L - Baylor 68-52

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

The TCU Horned Frogs have now lost five of their last six games after going winless during the previous week. Prior to dropping their third straight game in a loss against Baylor, the Horned Frogs suffered a heartbreaking 62-61 defeat to the Texas Longhorns.

Early in the second half, Texas held its largest lead at 45-35 before TCU responded with an 8-0 run of their own, which was ignited by RJ Nembhard's 3-pointer to tie the game at 59 points. With a chance for TCU to win the game, Texas' defense forced Nembhard to commit a traveling violation in the closing seconds. In the loss, Nembhard and Kevin Samuel led TCU on the night with 17 points apiece.

Up next, TCU will look to end their losing skid in a tough match against Oklahoma State on Wednesday.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (13-8), (4-4)

Last week: (1-1): W - West Virginia 89-81, L - Kansas 78-75

This week: Tuesday vs. Oklahoma, Saturday vs. Texas

After a tough overtime non-conference loss to Kentucky, the Texas Tech Red Raiders picked up an enormous 89-81 victory over No. 12 West Virginia.

In the win, three players registered 20 or more points with junior Davide Moretti scoring a career-high 25 points with four 3-pointers on the night. Terrence Shannon, Jr. added 23 points while Jahmi'us Ramsey had 21 inside the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. Unfortunately, Texas Tech could not carry their momentum over to Kansas on Saturday, where the Red Raiders suffered a 78-75 loss.

Up next, Texas Tech will return home for a Big 12 match against Oklahoma on Wednesday.

SMU MUSTANGS (16-5), (6-3)

Last week: (1-1): L - Cincinnati 65-43, W - Tulane 82-67

This week: Saturday vs. Temple

With their three-game winning streak coming to an end in an embarrassing loss to Cincinnati (65-43), the SMU Mustangs recorded their own blowout win in an 82-67 victory over the Tulane Green Waves.

While shooting 50% from the floor, junior guard Tyson Jolly scored 20 points and sophomore Kendric Davis added a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds for their sixth win in conference play. Up next, the Mustangs will look to build off their big win on Saturday against the Temple Owls in Philadelphia.

LSU TIGERS (17-4), (8-0)

Last week (2-0): W - Alabama 90-76, W - Ole Miss 73-63

This week: Wednesday vs Vanderbilt, Saturday vs Aubrun

The LSU Tigers continued their hot start in conference play and extended their overall winning streak to 10 last week. Unlike their play on the football field, the Alabama Crimson Tide proved to be no match for LSU, as the Tigers had five players scored in double-digits with Emmitt Williams leading the Tigers with 23 points.

Following a close win over the Ole Miss, LSU will hit the road for an SEC matchup against Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

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Houston Astros get a reminder, and maybe a wake-up call

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Astros struggles continue as Texas turns up the heat

Can top prospect Brice Matthews give Houston a boost? Composite Getty Image.

What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.

Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.

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Depth finally runs dry

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It would be easy to point to a ā€œDodger hangoverā€ as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But thatā€™s not the story here.

Houstonā€™s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesdayā€™s finale.

But scoring isnā€™t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.

The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.

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Cracks in the pitching core

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And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.

Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasnā€™t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.

But the struggles werenā€™t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpenā€™s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.

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Injury handling under fire

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Houstonā€™s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesdayā€™s finale. He didnā€™t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.

No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.

Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astrosā€™ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.

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Pressure mounts on Dana Brown

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All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.

Brown will need to act ā€” and soon.

At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. Heā€™s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio DubĆ³n stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthewsā€™ upside into the infield is a logical step.

*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!

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Thereā€™s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins,Ā but excitement has been tepid. His numbers donā€™t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.

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A final test before the break

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Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio ā€” Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown ā€” to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.

The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.

There's so much more to discuss! 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 ā€˜Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.

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