College basketball report Week 14

The Baylor Bears keep rolling as the LSU Tigers experience their first loss in nearly two months

The Baylor Bears keep rolling as the LSU Tigers experience their first loss in nearly two months
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TEXAS LONGHORNS (14-10), (4-6)

Last week: (0-2): L - Texas Tech 62-57, L - Baylor 52-45

This week: Saturdayvs. Iowa State

Before becoming Baylor's latest victim, the Texas Longhorns dropped a winnable game on Saturday in a 62-57 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Overall, it was a tale of two halves for the Longhorns as the Red Raiders trailed by as many as 16 points during the first half. After a nearly perfect half, UT allowed the Red Raiders to outscored them 43-26 in the second period, as Texas Tech shot 54.5% from the field, 42.8% from behind the arc.

Up next, the Longhorns will look to end their two-game skid on Saturday in a road game against the Iowa State Cyclones.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (11-11), (5-5)

Last week: (1-1): W - Missouri 68-51, L - South Carolina 74-54

This week: Wednesdayvs. Florida, Saturday vs. Georgia

The roller-coaster season continued for the Texas A&M Aggies. They started the week taking a 68-51 victory over Missouri, in a game in which four players scored in double-figure with Josh Nebo led the way with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the win. It was a night the Tigers struggled offensively with Xavier Pinson leading the way with nine points.

Following the win, the Aggies suffered one of their worst defeats in conference play in a 20-point loss at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Up next, the Aggies will return to the court on Wednesday to take on the Florida Gators.

Houston Cougars (19-5), (9-2)

Last week: (2-0): W - Tulane 75-62, W - Wichita State 76-43

This week: Wednesdayvs. USF, Saturday vs. SMU

After a disappointing loss to Cincinnati which ended their five-game win streak, the Houston Cougars bounced back with back-to-back wins against the Tulane Green Waves and Wichita State Shockers.

As they look to stay atop the American Athletic Conference, the Cougars will hit the road for a showdown against the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday before taking on the SMU Mustangs on Saturday in Dallas.

RICE OWLS (12-13), (4-8)

Last week: (2-0): W- UAB 86-72, W - Middle Tennessee 91-83

This week: Thursdayvs. Old Dominion, Saturday vs. Charlotte 49ers

Currently, in the midst of riding their longest winning streak of conference play, the Rice Owl extended their win streak to three picking up victories against UAB and Middle Tennessee.

In a win against the Blue Raiders, the Owls went 12-of-12 from the free-throw line in the closing minutes as Rice held off Middle Tennessee, 91-83. In addition to picking up their fourth win of conference play, Rice earned its first-ever win in Murfreesboro, Saturday inside the Murphy Center.

Up next, the Owls will return home to take on Old Dominion in Houston.

BAYLOR BEAR (21-1), (10-0)

Last week: (2-0): W - Oklahoma State 78-70, W - Texas 52-45

This week: Saturday vs. West Virginia

The Baylor Bears survived a hard-fought battle against Oklahoma State on Saturday, as the ball club came away with an eight-point victory. As one of five players to score in double-figures, sophomore guard MaCio Teague recorded four made 3-point field goals to score 24 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for the Bears.

As the nation's top-ranked school, Baylor will put their 21 game winning streak on the line on Saturday, in a home Big-12 showdown against West Virginia inside the Ferrell Center in Waco.

TCU Horned Frogs (13-11), (4-6)

Last week: (0-3): L - Oklahoma State 72-57, L - Kansas 60-46, L - Texas Tech 88-42

This week: Saturday vs. Kansas State

By far their worst week of the season, the TCU Horned Frogs lost by an average margin of 25 points with their worst coming in an 88-42 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. In an attempt to end their six-game losing streak, the Horned Frogs will return to the court on Saturday to take Kansas State inside the Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (16-8), (7-4)

Last week: (3-0): W - Oklahoma 69-61, W - Texas 62-57, W - TCU 88-42

This week: Saturday vs. Oklahoma State

Before handing the TCU Horned Frogs a 46 point defeat, the Texas Tech Red Raiders won two close back-to-back games against Oklahoma and Texas this past week.

Their best win came in a 62-57 victory over the Longhorns, in a game in which the Red Raiders fought back from 16 points down to take the dub. Freshman guard Jahmi'us Ramsey led the way with 18 points (6-7 FG, 2-2) and two steals in the win.

Following a near-perfect week, Texas Tech will look to make it four straight wins in a road game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday.

SMU MUSTANGS (16-6), (6-4)

Last week: (1-0): L - Temple 97-90

This week: Wednesday vs. Connecticut, Saturday vs. Houston

With one game on the schedule, the SMU Mustangs dropped a heartbreak loss to the Temple Owls on Saturday.
After leading 48-31 at the half, the Mustangs had no answer for the Owls in the second half and overtime, as Temple outscored SMU 66-42 to take the comeback victory. Temple's Quinton Ross scored a game-high 25 points, as the senior guard registered 10 during the extra period.

Up next, the Mustangs will take on Connecticut on Wednesday before going to war in an in-state battle against Houston on Saturday.

LSU TIGERS (17-6), (8-2)

Last week: (0-2): L - Vanderbilt 99-90, L - Auburn 91-90

This week: Tuesday vs. Missouri, Saturday vs. Alabama

The LSU Tigers' 10 game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday after dropping a nine-point defeat to the Vanderbilt Commodores. While Trendon Watford led the way with 26 points (8-13, 9-10 FT), the freshman forward from Birmingham would be outplayed by Vanderbilt's Saben Lee, who recorded 33 points (13-20 FG), six assists, and four rebounds in the win.

After an overtime loss to Alabama, the Tigers will look to keep their place atop of the SEC in a home match against the Missouri Tigers on Tuesday.

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Astros bats go silent again in shutout loss to Royals

The Warriors beat the Rockets, 104-93. Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.

Stephen Curry closed his eyes and rested his tired head on Jimmy Butler's right shoulder as the superstars shared another postgame moment.

This time, with Butler injured and wearing street clothes — a full-length fur coat at that.

“Well first, he had a fantastic coat on,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought he was going to be way too hot in that thing.”

Sidelined for Game 3 of Golden State's first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Butler had a front-row seat to watch his teammate take over Saturday night in a 104-93 win that gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead.

Curry scored 36 points with five 3-pointers and had nine assists and seven rebounds in nearly 41 minutes. He had been determined to do more if Butler couldn't play after injuring his pelvis and suffering a deep gluteal muscle contusion in a hard fall during Game 2.

Butler and Curry can compare notes on their injured backsides, given that Curry has dealt with a bruised tailbone multiple times. For now, Curry appreciates the support, whether Butler is in uniform or not.

And the fur Butler was wearing?

“I almost didn't need a hot pack on the sideline sitting next to him. There was plenty of heat emanating from him,” Curry said before adding, “He's a savvy veteran, high-IQ guy, he's got a presence whether he's active or not where his voice matters, and we needed him to lift everybody up on the bench and give us that energy. His presence matched the fit for sure.”

Kerr wasn't ready to guess whether Butler will be able to play in Game 4 on Monday night.

“He’s literally day-to-day. We have tomorrow off. It will be helpful for him to have another day, and then it’s a night game,” Kerr said. “So he gets a few extra hours. So we’ll see. I have no idea right now if he’s going to play.”

Butler had been set to go through his pregame routine, which he does out of sight on the team's practice court and not the playing floor before games at Chase Center. He had an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area a day after he was hurt in Houston.

“We had to have Jimmy’s back while he was out,” said Gary Payton II, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. “Hopefully we get Jimmy back for Game 4 and get back to our regularly scheduled program.”

Jonathan Kuminga, who didn't play for three straight games before rejoining the rotation in Game 2 when Butler got hurt, was in the starting lineup for his fourth career playoff start.

Butler went down hard when he was fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss on Wednesday night.

Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors star’s feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.

Kerr appreciated Butler's insight on the bench.

“Jimmy is so smart. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala," Kerr said. “Incredible basketball IQ and then the ability to communicate what he’s seeing to his teammates on the bench. I thought Jimmy was important for us tonight in that regard. He was talking to guys throughout the game, and giving them advice, giving some help, and that was big.”

In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, Butler had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. The Warriors are 26-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the three games against Houston.

“We know they are still dangerous without Butler, so that doesn’t change anything as far as that," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We didn’t make them pay, especially with the paint shots.”

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