The Texas Longhorns stay perfect as the Houston Cougars sufferer a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer

College Basketball Report: Week 2

Coty Davis
Nov 19, 2019, 7:14 am

TEXAS LONGHORNS (4-0)

Last week (2-0): W: California Baptist (67-54), W: Praire View A&M (70-56)

This week: Thursday vs. Georgetown, Friday vs. Duke or California

Thanks to another 2-0 week, the Texas Longhorns are off to a 4-0 start to begin the new season. Winning by an average margin of 13.5 points per game, the Longhorns won a blowout victory over the California Baptist Lancers, a game in which Texas' sophomore guard Courtney Ramey tied his career-high with 19 points (8-11 FG) and six rebounds.

To no one surprise, the Longhorns ended the week with a 70-56 victory over the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Up next, the Longhorns will travel to New York City to continue their 2K Empire Classic, where they will face off against the Georgetown Hoyas on Thursday.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (2-1)

Last week (1-1): W: ULM (63-57), L: Gonzaga

This week: Wednesday vs. Tory

The Aggies started the week extending their winning streak to three in a 63-57 comeback victory over the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks. In a surprising turn of events, the Warhawks held a 30-22 led over the Aggies heading into the halftime break. Behind a second-half surge, Texas A&M outscored Louisiana Monroe 41-27 in the second half en route to a win.

Unfortunately, the Aggies' winning streak came to an end with an embarrassing 30-point loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Up next, it's a short week for Texas A&M as they take on the Troy Trojans on Wednesday, inside Reed Arena in College Station.

HOUSTON COUGARS (1-1)

Last week (1-1): W: Alabama State (84-56), L: BYU (72-71)

This week: Tuesday vs. Rice, Friday vs. Oregon

The Houston Cougars' opened their season with an 84-56 victory over the Alabama State Hornets. It was an all-around performance from Houston, as the Cougars had five players scoring in double-figures with freshman guard, Marcus Sasser, leading the way with 14 points (5-9 FG, 4-7 3PT).

The Cougars would go on to suffer a heartbreaking loss on Friday, losing to BYU on a buzzer-beater by TJ Haws. Houston would hit the road this week for a showdown against the Rice Owls and an early-season showdown against the Oregon Ducks.

RICE OWLS (4-1)

Last week (2-0): W: Northwestern State (80-74), W: UC Santa Barbara (82-81)

This week: Tuesday Vs. Houston, Friday vs. Milwaukee

After losing their season opener to Arkansas, the Rice Owls extended their win streak to four last week. The Owls recorded an 80-74 win over the Northwestern State Demons, a game where Rice endured a second-half surge (50-36) for a thrilling comeback victory.

The Owls won another nail biter on Saturday, with an 82-81 win over the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho. The Owls were led in scoring by sophomore guard, Trey Murphy III, who averaged 21.5 points while shooting an efficient 54.1% from the field, 55% from deep this past week. The Owls will look to extend their winning streak against Houston on Tuesday before kicking off the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on Friday.

BAYLOR BEARS (2-1)

Last week (1-0): W: Texas State 72-63 โ€‹

This week: Thursday vs. Ohio

The Baylor Bears recorded their second consecutive win with a 72-63 win over the Texas State Bobcats. It was a strange win for the Bears as the Bobcats out-shot Baylor from the floor, shooting 42.6% in comparison to 41.0%, 35.3% to 26.1% from 3-point range. The Bears will hit the road to tip-off their Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday against the Ohio Bobcats in Conway, S.C.

TCU HORNED FROGS (3-0)

Last week (2-0): W: Louisiana 98-65, W: Air Force 65-54

This week: Thursday vs. UC Irvine, Sunday Clemson

The Horned Frogs are letting it be known that they may be one of the nation's Cinderella teams during the 2019-20 college basketball season. TCU opened the week at a 98-65 victory over the Louisiana Ragin Cajun, a game in which the Horned Frogs set a school record with 18 3-pointers in the win.

TCU followed their record-breaking performance with a 65-54 win over Air Force on Monday. After a perfect week, TCU is off to a 3-0 start and will put their win streak on the line Thursday in a home match against UC Irvine. The Horned Frogs will begin their MGM Resorts Main Event Tournament on Sunday, in a match against the Clemson Tigers.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (3-0)

Last week: (2-0) W: Houston Baptist 103-74

This week: Thursday vs Tennessee State, Sunday vs Long Island

The Texas Tech Raiders have opened their new season with three straight wins. Their most recent victory came in a convincing 103-74 win over the Houston Baptist Wolves. In the win, five players scored in double-figures with freshman guard, Jahmi'us Ramsey, leading the way with 25 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field, 3-4 from deep. Up next, the Raiders will open their Las Vegas Classic Regional Round against Tennessee State on Thursday, and Long Island on Sunday.

SMU MUSTANGS (4-0)

Last week (3-0): W: New Orleans (77-64), W: Jackson State (80-63), W: Evansville 59-57

This week: Saturday vs UNLV

The SMU Mustangs had a full week of games but still managed to stay perfect to start the season. The Mustangs most nail-biting win came in a narrow 59-57 win over the Evansville Purple Aces on Monday. Coming up, SMU will take part in the Southwestern Showdown Tournament, where they take on UNLV in Las Vegas, NV.

LSU TIGERS (2-1)

Last week (1-1): L: VCU (84-82), W: Nicholls (75-65)

This week: Tuesday vs UMBC, Friday vs Utah ST., Sunday Rhode Island

Still not the same buzz as their acquaintances on the gridiron, but the LSU Tigers seem poised for a solid year for the 2019-2020 season. The Tigers week got off to a heartbreaking loss with an 84-82 defeat to VCU. They trailed by 15 in the first half, and nearly pulled off a comeback Wednesday night.

Thankfully, LSU did not dwindle on the loss too long, as the Tigers bounced back with 75-65 win over Nicholls. LSU's senior guard, Skylar May, led the Tigers averaging 20.5 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the week. LSU will return to the court on Tuesday to take on UMBC on their home floor, before traveling to Jamaica to open their Jamaica Classic against Utah on Friday.

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Houston scored in droves

Astros drub Twins in finale to take series win

Houston's offense showered Minnesota with hits in Sunday's finale. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

After splitting the first two games, with Houston's offense uncharacteristically ineffective in the loss on Saturday, they tried to turn things around with a win to take the series on Sunday. The Astros would bounce right back at the plate, getting hits and runs all through the afternoon to rout the Twins.

Final Score: Astros 14, Twins 3

Astros' Record: 37-28, second in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Framber Valdez (3-0)

Losing Pitcher: Michael Pineda (3-4)

Valdez keeps rolling

Framber Valdez continued to impress in 2021 after starting his season on the IL, posting another quality start with a win against the Twins. After four scoreless frames, he allowed a solo homer to start the bottom of the fifth, just the third hit of the game for Minnesota to that point. He went on to retire the next three batters to get through the inning.

He faltered a bit in the bottom of the sixth, allowing a leadoff double followed by a single, with a run coming across on an error on that play. He once again rebounded to finish that frame, then put up a 1-2-3 seventh to finish his day off, notching another quality start and a win. His final line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 97 P.

Houston keeps their foot on the gas

While Valdez's outing was a highlight of its own, Houston's offense was the story of the day. They put their foot down on the pedal all day and did not let up, starting in the top of the first when Jose Altuve turned the first pitch of the game around for a single, later scoring on a sac fly by Alex Bregman to put the Astros in front 1-0.

After two scoreless innings, they got right back on the scoreboard in the fourth with a two-run homer by Kyle Tucker, then kept pouring it on with two runs in the fifth on a sac fly by Yuli Gurriel and an error, making it 5-0 at the time. The runs kept coming in the top of the sixth, with a two-RBI double by Michael Brantley, who would score later on a two-run bomb by Yordan Alvarez. Then, in the top of the seventh, Brantley struck again to push it to double-digits with a two-RBI single to make it 11-2 and give Brantley 4 RBI on the afternoon.

With Houston swapping out starters with the hefty lead, even their pinch-hitters were getting involved, with Chas McCormick leading the top of the eighth off with a solo shot to make it a ten-run game. They then loaded the bases with no outs, setting up a sac fly for Myles Straw to make it 13-2.

Astros take the series

In the bottom of the eighth, Ralph Garza Jr. came in as the first reliever out of the bullpen for Houston. He recorded two quick outs but then met Nelson Cruz, who lasered a solo homer to put it back at a ten-run game before finishing the frame. Houston put their twentieth hit on the board in the top of the ninth, their highest total this season, en route to another scoring inning with a sac fly by Robel Garcia to make it 14-3. Garza came in for his second inning of work to wrap things up in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Astros a successful end to this series and road trip.

Up Next: Houston will travel home before an off day on Monday to rest before 20 days of consecutive games. They'll kick off a six-game homestand on Tuesday, welcoming in the Rangers for two starting at 7:10 PM Central. Lance McCullers Jr. (3-1, 2.96 ERA) will make his return from the IL for the Astros, though Jake Odorizzi will "piggy-back" him, and Kyle Gibson (4-0, 2.13 ERA) will take the mound for Texas.

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