College Basketball report: week 4

The Texas A&M Aggies embark on a three-game losing streak while the SMU Mustangs bring home the Southwestern Showdown championship

The Texas A&M Aggies embark on a three-game losing streak while the SMU Mustangs bring home the Southwestern Showdown championship
Are Buzz Williams and the Aggies No. 1?

TEXAS LONGHORNS (6-1)

Last week (1-0): W: McNeese State 73-71

This week: Tuesdayvs. UAB, Sunday Texas A&M

The Texas Longhorns improved to 4-0 at the Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center with a 73-71 victory over the McNeese State Cowboys on Saturday. In a surprising turn of events, it took a pair of free throws by Courtney Ramey to seal the deal for Texas, as the sophomore guard recorded 14 points in the win.

Texas' guard, Andrew Jones, also registered 14 points off the bench while shooting 6-for-14 (42.8%) from the field. Following the win, the Longhorns will take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Tuesday, before opening up their Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M on Sunday.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-4)

Last week (0-3): L: Harvard 62-51, L: Temple 65-42, L: Fairfield 67-62

This week: Sunday vs. Texas

The Orlando Invitational did not go as planned for the Texas A&M Aggies over the past week. A&M finished the tournament in last place after dropping all three games, which began with a 62-51 loss to the Harvard Crimson.

After suffering through a 23-point defeat to Temple ā€”where only one player (Josh Nebo, 12) scored in double figures ā€” the Aggies ended the tournament with a 67-62 loss to Fairfield. While riding a three-game losing streak and sitting under .500 on the season, the Aggies will look to bounce back against the Texas Longhorns on Sunday.

HOUSTON COUGARS (3-2)

Last week (1-0): W: Houston Baptist 112-73

This week: Wednesday vs. Texas State, Sunday South Carolina

The Houston Cougars took a 39-point victory over the Houston Baptist Huskies in a game that was over within the first five minutes. Sophomore Nate Hinton recorded a career-high 24 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3PT) and 15 rebounds in the blowout win. Marcus Sasser also recorded a career-high with 18 points, as the sharpshooting freshman from Red Oak, Texas shot 6-for-9 (66%) from 3-point range.

Following the win, the Cougars will look to make it two straight on Wednesday when they take on the Texas State Bobcats, before traveling to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks.

RICE OWLS (5-4)

Last week (0-0): No Games Scheduled

This week: Saturday vs. Lamar

The Rice Men's Basketball program had a peaceful Thanksgiving break with no game on the schedule. The Owls will look to end their two-game losing streak on Saturday against the Lamar Cardinals inside the Montagne Center in Beaumont.

BAYLOR BEARS (5-1)

Last week (0-0): No Games Scheduled

This week: Tuesday vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks, Saturday vs. Arizona Wildcats

While riding a four-game win streak, the Baylor Bears will return to the court on Tuesday to take on the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks, and the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday inside the Ferrell Center in Waco.

TCU HORNED FROGS (5-1)

Last week (1-0): W: Wyoming 64-47

This week: Tuesday vs Illinois State, Friday USC

The TCU Men's Basketball team closed their MGM Resorts Main Event showcase with a 64-47 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys. Although TCU shot 42.4% from the floor, their play on the defensive end played a tremendous factor in the Horned Frogs' victory. They held the Cowboys to 14 points in the first half while shooting 17.8% from the field, 18% from behind the arc. Desmon Bane recorded his second consecutive double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

After going 1-1 during their MGM Resorts Main Event exhibition, the Horned Frogs will return to Fort Worth for a showdown against the Illinois State Redbirds on Tuesday, and USC on Friday.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (5-2)

Last week: (0-2) L: Iowa 72-61, L: Creighton 83-76

This week: Wednesday vs. Depaul

Following a 5-0 start to the season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders are riding a two-game skid after going winless during the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. The Red Raiders dropped their first contest of the first round in a 72-61 loss to Iowa. Following the loss, the Red Raiders endured a tough defeat to the Creighton Bluejays.

After trailing by 14-points at the half, Texas Tech outscored the Bluejays 42-28 in the second period to force overtime en route to an 83-76 loss. Texas Tech had no answer for Marcus Zegarowski, who scored a game-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-8 3PT) in a win for Creighton. Up next, Texas Tech will travel to Chicago to play DePaul (8-0) inside the Wintrust Arena on Wednesday.

SMU MUSTANGS (7-0)

Last week (2-0): W: Hartford 90-58, W: Abilene Christian 70-51

This week: Tuesday vs. Northwestern State, Saturday vs Georgetown

The wins keep coming for the SMU Mustangs who are currently riding a seven-game win streak. The Mustangs breezed to the Southwestern Showdown title with back-to-back blowout victories over Hartford (90-58) and Abilene Christian (70-51). After averaging 18 points and 7.3 assists, Kendric Davis took home tournament MVP honors, while Tyson Jolly and Feron Hunt join Davis on the All-Tournament team.

The Mustangs will return to Dallas as champions for a two-game homestand on Tuesday, to take on Northwestern State, and Georgetown on Saturday.

LSU TIGERS (5-2)

Last week (1-0): W: Missouri St. 73-58

This week: Tuesday vs New Orleans, Sunday vs Northwestern State

The LSU Tigers put on a shooting client on Friday in their 73-58 win over the Missouri St. They shot 53.7% from the field, and most of their damage came on the inside as LSU scored 34 points in the paint. Forward Darius Day helped the Tigers come away victorious with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

The Tigers will continue their four-game homestand on Tuesday against New Orleans and Northwestern State on Sunday.

texaslsu reportcollege basketball

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
It's go time! Composite Getty Image.

96 games down, 66 games to go as the Astros tackle a fairly significant series in Seattle to open up the figurative second half of the season Friday night. Itā€™s actually just over 40 percent of the schedule remaining. With the Astros having closed within one game of the Mariners in the American League West itā€™s the biggest series possible for them as the season resumes. But itā€™s not remotely make or break. Measuring by run differential the Astros should already be out front. They have outscored their opponents by 49 runs while Seattle is just plus-19. The actual standings can be explained in no small part by this comparison: in one-run games the Astros are a pitiful 7-17 while the Mariners are 19-14.

The spectrum of outcomes this weekend ranges from the Astros sweeping and leaving the Emerald City two games on top, to getting swept and heading down the coast to Oakland four games behind. Of note, the Mariners beat the Astros in five of the seven meetings to date this season. So if Seattle wins this series it clinches the season series and playoff tiebreaker should a spot come down to it. The Astros and Mariners have another series to come after this one, three games in Houston the final week of the regular season.

Trade deadline looming

What may be even more important than this weekendā€™s games is who gets what done between now and the July 30 trade deadline. With Justin Verlander clearly not close to returning, Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss both performance question marks, and both Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown being asked to handle unprecedented workloads for them, the Astrosā€™ rotation needs obvious fortification. The Marinersā€™ rotation is second to none in the American League and their bullpen is good. Seattleā€™s lineup is atrocious. The Chicago White Sox are on pace to be one of the worst teams of all-time. The ChiSoxā€™ offense is a joke with a team batting average of .220. The Marinersā€™ team average is .219. Only the White Sox and pathetic Marlins are scoring fewer runs per game than the Mā€™s.

The Mariners have 11 players with at least 100 at bats this season. Eight of them have an OPS of .690 or lower. Cal Raleigh has the highest at .734. The Astros have 12 guys with at least 100 at bats including Jose Abreu. Abreu, Chas McCormick, and Mauricio Dubon are the only .690 or worse OPS guys. Kyle Tucker is the Astrosā€™ OPS leader by a significant margin, .979 to Yordan Alvarezā€™s .912. Whatā€™s that you ask? Who is this Kyle Tucker? 35 missed games and counting for ā€œTuckā€ with his leg bone bruise, with return not imminent. T-Mobile Park is a notably better pitchersā€™ park than is Minute Maid Park, but not enough to shrug off the Marinersā€™ offensive ineptitude. The Mariners team payroll is more than 100 million dollars below the Astrosā€™ payroll. The Mariners have the clearly better farm system from which to deal. If Seattle doesnā€™t add offense, its ownership and front office will deserve a continued fade in the second half, on top of the Marinersā€™ 8-15 gimp into the All-Star break.

Don't forget about the Rangers

With the Astros and Mariners going at it this weekend with the division lead in the balance, a reminder that this is not a two-team race. The Texas Rangers rallying to take the final two games at Minute Maid Park last weekend sent up a flare that the reigning World Series Champions are definitely still in the picture. The Rangers sit four games behind the Astros, five back of the Mariners. If the Rangers manage to win their series in Arlington with the Orioles this weekend, they are guaranteed to gain ground on at least one team ahead of them. The Astros-Rangers season series sits tied at five wins apiece with three games left, it will be decided in Arlington the first week of August. The Rangers and Mariners play seven more times.

In broader view, as measured by opponentsā€™ records, the Astros have the toughest remaining schedule among the three. Among the 30 big league clubs the Rangers have the fourth easiest slate left, the Mariners have the fifth easiest, the Astros have the 15th easiest. If the Astros ultimately are not to win the West, there is the Wild Card race to keep in mind. The Astros are seven games behind the Yankees, four behind the Twins, and three and a half back of the Red Sox. Those three currently hold the Wild Card spots. The Astros are also a game and a half behind the Royals. The Astros have already lost the season series and tiebreakers to the Yankees, Twins, and Royals. The Astros and Red Sox have all six of their meetings yet to come.

Remembering Ken Hoffman

This is my first column since the passing last Sunday of my friend and eventual colleague Ken Hoffman. I originally learned of Kenā€™s quirkiness and wit through his columns at the Houston Post. He was a big sports fan. Our friendship was driven in part by our shared passion for tennis. We played probably more than a thousand times over nearly 20 years. Tennis and baseball were Kenā€™s two favorite sports. His two favorite athletes were Roger Federer and Jose Altuve. Well, after he and his wife Erinā€™s son Andrew, who was a pitcher on Trinity Universityā€™s 2016 NCAA Division Three national championship-winning team.

*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ā€˜Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

astroshouston astrosmlbtrade deadline

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome