The Baylor Bears extend their winning streak to seven, while the Texas Longhorns continue a streak of their own.

College Basketball Report: Week 6

UT basketball coach Shaka Smart
Shaka Smart and Texas. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

TEXAS LONGHORNS (9-1)

Last week (1-0): W-Central Michigan 87-76

This week: Saturdayvs. Providence

The Texas Longhorns had a short week but continued their winning ways against Central Michigan on Saturday. The Longhorns extended their winning streak to five in an 87-76 victory over the Chippewas.

It was a backcourt affair inside the Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center in Austin as Texas' junior guard, Jase Febres posted a game-high 23 points (7-11 FG, 7-10 3PT), while second-year guard Courtney Ramey added in a career-high 20 points in the win. Following the victory, the Longhorns will return to action on Saturday for a road match against Providence in Rhode Island

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (4-5)

Last week (1-0): W - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 63-60

This week: Saturday vs. Oregon State

The Texas A&M Aggies ended their four-game losing skid in a 63-60 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Sunday. It was a big come from behind win for the Aggies, as Texas A&M trailed by 11 early in the second half. They went on to outscore the Islanders by 10 in the second half (39-29), as Emanuel Miller scored 20 points while shooting 7-8 from the floor.

After allowing nine made 3-point field goals in the first half, the Aggies picked up their defensive intensity and held the Islanders to shoot 20% (2-10 3PT) from behind the arc in the second half. With one game on the schedule, the Aggies will look to make it two straight wins on Saturday when they take on Oregon State.

HOUSTON COUGARS (6-3)

Last week (1-1): W - UT Arlington 71-63, L - Oklahoma State 61-55

This week: Thursday vs. UTEP, Sunday Portland

The Houston Cougars had one heck of the week that ended in heartbreak. The Cougars extended their winning streak to four in a 61-55 victory over the UT-Arlington Mavericks on Wednesday. It was a wire-to-wire victory on a night where sophomore guard, Nate Hinton, scored a career-best 25-points (9-15 FG, 4-8 3PT) and 10 rebounds in the win.

Unfortunately, Houston's win streak came to a halt on Sunday in a 61-55 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. On a night where the Cougars struggled to buy a basket, freshman guard, Caleb Mills, was one of two players who scored in double-figures with a career-best 25 points in the loss. Mill's performance against OSU was enough to award him with the American Athletic freshman Player of the Week.

Following the win, the Cougars will return to the Fertitta Center for a contest against UTEP before opening their Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Sunday against Portland.

RICE OWLS (7-4)

Last week (1-0): W - Houston Baptist 96-84

This week: Thursday vs. St. Thomas

The Rice Owls overcame a 29-point performance from Houston Baptist' Ian DuBose to pick a victory over the winless Huskies on Saturday in a 96-84 win. Senior guard Robert Martin led the Owls with 20 points while shooting 8-for-9 from the field, 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

Following the win, the Rice Owls will return to Tudor Fieldhouse for a match against the St. Thomas Celts.

BAYLOR BEARS (8-1)

Last week (1-0): W - Butler 53-52

This week: Wednesday vs. Tennessee-Martin

The sizzling Baylor Bears continued their early-season success with a 53-52 victory against the No. 11 Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday. Junior forward Mark Vital sealed the one-point victory for the Bears with a game-winning block on Butler's Kamar Baldwin with 1.5 seconds remaining in the second half.

It was a total team effort by Baylor as guards MaCio Teague and Devonte Bandoo led the Bears in scoring with 10 points apiece.

Win the win, Baylor has extended their winning streak to seven, ahead of their home match against the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on Wednesday.

TCU HORNED FROGS (8-2)

Last week (2-0): W - Winthrop 70-60, W - Lamar 79-50

This week: Sunday vs Xavier

After a heartbreaking loss to USC, TCU picked up back-to-back convincing wins over Winthrop (70-60) and Lamar (79-50) last week. Both the Eagles and the Cardinals did not have an answer to slowing down the Horned Frogs, as TCU shot 47.3 from the floor, 34.4% from deep. Sophomore guard R.J. Nembhard averaged 14.0 points on 42% shooting from the floor, to go along with 6.5 rebounds in a two-game sweep.

TCU will return to action on Sunday to face off against the Xavier Musketeers.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (7-3)

Last week: (2-0) W - Louisville 70-57, W - Southern Mississippi 71-65

This week: Saturday vs. UTRGV

The Texas Tech Raiders ended their three-game losing skid in a convincing 70-57 victory over No. 1 ranked Louisville Cardinals. The win over the Cardinals was the first victory against a top-ranked team in the Red Raiders' program history.

Texas Tech completed the upset with a great defensive performance, as the Red Raiders held the Cardinals to 34.0% shooting from the field, and an unpleasant 17.6% from behind the arc. Following their second straight win over Southern Mississippi (71-65), Texas Tech will return to the court on Saturday for a showdown against the Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.

SMU MUSTANGS (8-1)

Last week (0-0): No Games Scheduled

This week: Tuesday vs Georgia Bulldogs, Monday Georgia State

With no games on the schedule, SMU will return to the floor on Tuesday, December 20th against the Georgia Bulldogs.

LSU TIGERS (7-2)

Last week (0-0): No Games Scheduled

This week: Wednesday vs East Tennessee St., Saturday USC

With no games on the schedule, LSU will return to the floor on Wednesday against East Tennessee St before taking on USC on Saturday.

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The Astros are back in action Friday night against Seattle. Composite Getty Image.

The Astros were a season low 12 games under .500 (12-24) on May 8th but were able to turn things around and entered the All-Star break with a respectable 50-46 record.

The turnaround can be attributed to better performances on the field by a multitude of players, but there are still things that could be improved to ensure a successful second half of the season.

As it currently stands, Houston is only one game behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West division race, and the Astros should have key players returning from injury to further bolster their playoff ambitions.

The return of the King

Kyle Tucker has been on the injured list with a shin contusion for six weeks now, and looks to return in the near future.

The Astros have done surprisingly well without their three-time All-Star outfielder thanks to contributions from guys like Joey Loperfido, Jake Meyers and Marcio Dubon in the outfield. Plus, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Yanier Diaz and Jeremy Pena carrying the offense while King Tuck is away.

Before getting hurt, the 27-year-old was hitting .266/.395/.584 through 60 games. Houston already has one of the best offenses in baseball, and adding Tucker back would give the Astros another high-quality bat to further bolster their lineup.

The latest update is Tucker has been playing catch and could start a rehab assignment soon if all goes well.

Fix the rotation

Starting pitching has been a major issue this season due to a multitude of injuries.

Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy and J.P. France have all been lost for the year with various surgeries and guys like Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia are trying to work their way back from their injured list stints.

Garcia was recently pulled from his rehab assignment and won’t pitch again until he is ready. Meanwhile, Verlander could be closer to his return and is throwing bullpen sessions as of July 14. Getting both of these pitchers back at some point this season will be a huge boost to this roster.

The current Astros’ rotation consists of Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss. Although not a bad rotation by any means, the starting pitching depth is getting pretty thin and Houston can ill afford another injury to their staff.

Astros general manager Dana Brown has been vocal about his desire to add starting pitching, and could have some options heading into the trade deadline. Players like Jack Flaherty, Garrett Crochet or Yusei Kikuchi, just to name a few, could be low risk high reward pitchers the Astros could acquire to add depth to their rotation.

Another option would be to call up A.J. Blubaugh from Sugar Land. The 24-year-old has a 6-2 record with a 3.46 ERA in 71.1 innings pitched this season for the Space Cowboys and could be a necessary depth piece to add to the rotation.

Play Astros baseball

The Astros have been playing better baseball as of late and have won 18 of their last 23 games. With players like Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander potentially returning soon, there is reason to believe Houston can make the playoffs for the 8th consecutive season.

The 'Stros will try to take sole possession of first place in their division from the Mariners when the two teams meet for three games at T-Mobile Park starting on Friday night.

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