The Longhorns rallied late for a 2-0 start, as the Houston Cougars look to begin their season on the right note following an exhibition win.

College basketball report: Week 1

Coty Davis
Nov 11, 2019, 3:33 pm
Shaka Smart. Jamie Squire/Getty Images


TEXAS LONGHORNS (2-0)

Last week (2-0): W-Northern Colorado 69-45, W-Purdue 70-66

This week: Tuesday vs. California Baptist, Friday Prairie View A&M

The Texas Longhorns are off to a 2-0 start to begin their 2019-20 college basketball season. Led by Andrew Jones who scored a career-best 20 points (8-13 FG, 4-5 3PT) in an emotional return following treatment for leukemia, Texas opened the week with a 69-45 victory over the Northern Colorado Bears. Following the blowout victory, The Longhorns finished the week with an early-season test at Purdue on Saturday. Behind junior guard, Matt Coleman III —who recorded 22 points and seven assists— the Longhorns knocked off the Boilermakers in a 70-66 comeback victory inside the Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN. Texas trailed 62-57 with a little over three minutes remaining in the second half before closing the game on a 13-4 run. Up next, the Longhorns will return to Austin to take on the California Baptist Lancers on Tuesday, and the Prairie View A&M Panthers on Friday.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (1-0)

Last week (1-0): W- Northwestern State 77-63

This week: Monday vs. ULM, Friday Gonzaga

The Aggies opened their season with a 77-63 win over the Northwestern State Demons inside the Reed Arena in College Station. Texas A&M new head coach, Buzz Williams, picked up his first win thanks to a 22 point performance by Savion Flagg. Up next, the Aggies will continue their four-game homestand against the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks on Monday, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Friday.

HOUSTON COUGARS (0-0)

Last week (1-0): W-ASU 106-42 (exhibition)

This week: Tuesday vs. Alabama State, Friday BYU

The Houston Cougars have yet to open their 2019-20 college basketball season, but still found their way into the win column with a 106-42 exhibition victory over the Angelo State Rams. The Cougars will tip-off their new season with a two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Alabama State Hornets, and the BYU Cougars on Friday.

RICE OWLS (2-1)

Last week (2-1): L-Arkansas 91-43, W-Pennsylvania (80-61), W-Wayland Baptist 65-40

This week: Tuesday at Northwestern State, Saturday at UCSB.

With a full set of games to begin the season, the Rice Owls had a solid start to their 2019-20 campaign. After opening the new year with a loss to Arkansas Razorbacks (91-43), the Owls won back-to-back games against the University of Pennsylvania Quakers (80-61), and Wayland Baptist Pioneers (65-40). The Owls will begin a two-game road trip starting on Tuesday against the Northwestern State Demons and the UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

BAYLOR BEARS (1-1)

Last week (1-1): W: Central Arkansas 105-61 -57, L: Washington 67-64

This week: Friday vs. Texas State

The Baylor Bears' 2019-20 season got off to a convincing start with a 105-61 victory over the Central Arkansas Bears. In the win, Baylor recorded 18 3's with Jared Butler leading the way with 30 points and eight triples on the night. The celebration would not last for Baylor as they closed out the week with a 67-64 loss to the Washington Huskies. The Bears will look to bounce back from a disappointing outing against Washington on Friday when they take on the Texas State Bobcats.

TCU HORNED FROGS (1-0)

Last week (1-0): W: Southwestern University 83-62

This week: Tuesday vs Louisiana

The TCU Men's Basketball team recorded their first victory of the new season with an 83-62 win over the Southwestern Pirates on Thursday. Senior guard, Desmond Bane, kicked off his final year with 26 points shooting 63% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc. The Horned Frogs will hit the floor for one game next week against the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns on Tuesday.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (2-0)

Last week: (2-0) W: Eastern Illinois 85-60, W: Bethune-Cookman 79-44

This week: Wednesday vs. Houston Baptist

The Texas Tech Raiders have opened their new season with back-to-back blowout victories. The first came in an 85-60 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers, and a 79-44 win over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. The Raiders' defense played a tremendous role in their victories, as Texas Tech held its opponents to an average of 52.0 points on 35% percent shooting, 27.3% from behind the arc. The Raiders will return to the court on Wednesday for a game against Houston Baptist inside the Chaparral Center in Midland.

SMU MUSTANGS (1-0)

Last week (1-0): W: Jacksonville State 74-65

This week: Tuesday vs. New Orleans, Saturday vs Jackson State

Unlike their in-sate AAC rival (UH), the SMU Mustangs opened their season on Tuesday with a 74-65 victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. SMU's junior guard Tyson Jolly poured in a career-high 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the win. The Mustangs will host the New Orleans Privateers on Tuesday, and the Jackson State Tigers on Saturday.

LSU TIGERS (1-0)

Last week (1-0): W: Bowling Green 88-79

This week: Wednesday @ VCU, Saturday vs Nicholls

Although they did not create the same buzz as their acquaintances on the gridiron, the Tigers opened their season with back-to-back home wins over the Louisiana Tech Readies, and the Bowling Green Flacons. The Tigers will hit the road for a battle against VCU on Wednesday and will return home for an in-state match against the Nicholls Colonels.

texas a&m uh college basketball

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Nate Hinton scored a career-high 25 points in the Cougars' win over the UT Arlington Mavericks.

Cougars defeat UT Arlington  Mavericks for their fourth consecutive win

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The American Athletic Conference Player of the Week winner, Quentin Grimes, ended the game with 10 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3PT), but the sophomore guard set the tone early for the Houston Cougars.

Grimes opened the game scoring the first two out of three baskets for the Cougars, which gave way to an early 14-2 lead within the first five minutes of the period. Houston never relinquished the lead in a wire-to-wire 71-63 victory over the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks, Wednesday night, inside the Fertitta Center in Houston. With the win, the Cougars have won four consecutive games including five of their last six.

It was an outstanding performance by Nate Hinton, who recorded a career-high 25 points (9-15 FG, 4-8 3PT) to go along with 10 rebounds in the win — his fourth double-double on the young season.

"I've been focused more but mainly on defense," Hinton said. "If I come into the game thinking about offense, I am no good. I just focused on defense and rebounding, as well as being the leader of the team."

Outside of connecting on 44.6% of their shots from the field, 40.0% from behind the arc, defense and cleaning the glass played an enormous factor in the Cougars' win. Houston's defense held UT Arlington's offense to 28.3% shooting from the floor, and a dreadful 28.6% from deep. The Cougars won the battle of the boards 49-31 (15 offensive rebounds.), something head coach, Kelvin Sampson, was most impressed by.

"Hinton is the heart and soul of this team," Sampson said. "Do you know how hard it is for a guard to average nearly 10 rebounds a game? "As an entire team, we are the No. 1 rated offensive rebounding percentage team in the nation and that is huge for us. That is apart of our culture."

After a slow start to the contest, the Mavericks battled back to make it a competitive game against the Cougars. UT Arlington outscored Houston 28-22 to close out the first half trailing 36-30, after falling behind by as many as 12 points. Although they played a great defensive game, the Cougars had no answer for the Mavericks' Brian Warren, as the senior guard scored 15 of his 27 points (8-19 FG, 5-10 3PT) in the first half.

Providing UH with some key production coming from their second unit, Caleb Mills scored 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field, as the freshman guard gave the Cougars an extra boost off the bench.

Following the win, the Cougars will look to extend their winning streak to five on Sunday, when they take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sunday, inside the Fertitta Center in Houston. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 P.M. CT.

uh college basketball

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