College Basketball Roundup
Houston and Texas Tech both dominant, battling for seeding
Feb 26, 2019, 6:41 am
College Basketball Roundup
TEXAS LONGHORNS (15-12) 7-7 Big XII
Last week (0-1): L- @ Oklahoma 69-67
This week: Wednesday @ Baylor, Saturday vs. Iowa State
Texas lost a close one in Norman, 69-67 to Oklahoma over the weekend. The Horns played without leading scorer Kerwin Roach, who was suspended indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Texas had a chance to win the game, but Jamal Bieniemy blocked a last second 3-point attempt from Matt Coleman III. Jase Febres, who started for Roach, led the Horns in scoring and hit several key 3 pointers in the final moments. Texas showed some fight in the second half after being down 14 at the break. Roach is unlikely to play against Baylor, but Shaka Smart said he wouldn't rule out a return for Roach at some point this season. Texas has a road game at Baylor and a home date with Iowa State this week.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (12-14) 5-9 SEC
Last week (2-0): W- Alabama 65-56, W- @ Arkansas 87-80
This week: Tuesday @ LSU, Saturday vs. Vanderbilt
Texas A&M is arguably playing their best ball of the season. The Aggies came back from a 12-point second half deficit to beat Alabama, 65-56. Savion Flagg and Wendell Mitchell each had 18 points for the Aggies in the win. The difference in the game was made at the free throw line. A&M hit 15 of 16 from the line, while Alabama made just 4 of 7 free throws. The win gave the Aggies a season sweep of Bama. They followed that up with just their third road win of the season, 87-80 at Arkansas. Flagg led the way again with 22, and Mitchell added 20 more in the win. The Ags overcame an 18 turnover day with a strong day on the glass, out rebounding the Hogs by 10. Texas A&M gets LSU and Vanderbilt this week.
HOUSTON COUGARS (26-1) 13-1 American
Last week (1-0): W- South Florida 71-59
This week: Wednesday @ East Carolina, Saturday vs. UCF
The Cougars inched closer to the 2-line with a win over South Florida, 71-59. After a 12-2 run to start the game, USF drew within 1 with 4 minutes to go in the half, but the Cougars took over from there. DeJon Jarreau scored 17 points off the bench to lead the Cougars in the victory. The Coogs shot 47% from the field, and held the Bulls to just 31%. Houston enters the week with a one-game lead in the AAC, with East Carolina and UCF on deck this week.
RICE OWLS (11-17) 6-9 CUSA
Last week (1-0): W- @ UTEP 85-81 2OT
This week: Sunday vs. Middle Tennessee State
Rice has been a tough read this season. They were awful, then had a spurt of being pretty solid, then back to awful. The game against UTEP was no different, as the Owls trailed by as many as 19 in the first half, before rallying to force overtime, and then a second overtime before leaving with an 85-81 win over the Miners. The Owls hit 46% from 3-point range in the game. Junior Robert Martin led the Owls with 23 points and 13 rebounds. The Owls are resting until Sunday when they take on Middle Tennessee State at home.
BAYLOR BEARS (18-9) 9-5 Big XII
Last week (2-0): W- @ Iowa State 73-69, W- West Virginia 82-75
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas, Saturday @ Kansas State
Baylor needed a big week after losing 3 out of 4, and they got it. The Bears went 2-0, including an upset road win at Iowa State, 73-69. Jared Butler led the way for Baylor with 17 points. Makai Mason returned from his toe injury with 14 points, but on an inefficient 18 shots. The Bears dominated the glass, 44-28, including 19 offensive rebounds. Baylor followed that up with a closer than expected win over a pretty bad West Virginia team, 82-75. The Bears had a 16-5 run in the last 3 minutes to seal the comeback victory. Mario Kegler paced the Bears with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Mason struggled again, going 0-7 from the field in 33 minutes on the floor. Baylor will try to carry that momentum through to this week when they face Texas and Kansas State.
TCU HORNED FROGS (18-9) 6-8 Big XII
Last week (1-0): W- Iowa State 75-72
This week: Tuesday @ West Virginia, Saturday vs. Texas Tech
Kouat Noi and Alex Robinson both had double doubles for TCU, who got a much needed win over Iowa State, 75-72. Noi, who previously missed the last two games, had 20 points and 12 rebounds in his return. Robinson had 12 points and 10 rebounds. JD Miller scored 17 and Desmond Bane scored 19 in a balanced scoring attack for the Frogs. TCU was helped by Iowa State's ineptitude from behind the arc, where the Cyclones shot just 2-20. The Frogs have West Virginia and Texas Tech on tap for this week.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (22-5) 10-4 Big XII
Last week (1-0): W- Kansas 91-62
This week: Wednesday vs. Oklahoma State, Saturday @ TCU
The defense showed up as usual, but the offense was amazing in Texas Tech's 91-62 win over Kansas this weekend. The Raiders were 61% from the field and an incredible 62% from 3-point range (16-26) in the blowout win. The game was never within a possession after the first 4 minutes of the game, and Tech had a 45-20 lead at halftime. Jarrett Culver was 10/21 from the field and had 26 points in the win. Texas Tech moved to 11th in the polls, and has games against Oklahoma State and TCU on tap for this week.
SMU MUSTANGS (13-13) 5-9 American
Last week (1-1): W- Connecticut 77-59, L- @ UCF 95-48
This week: Wednesday vs. Cincinnati, Sunday vs. Wichita
Mixed bag of results for the Mustangs last week. Things started out well enough, with a 77-59 blowout win over Connecticut. SMU had lost five straight and 7 of 8, with their only win coming against lowly Tulane before the UConn win. Jahmal McMurray led the way for the Ponies with 25 points in the win. The defense was also sharp, as they held the Huskies to just 31% from the field. Things took a drastic turn for the worse on the road, where the Mustangs were obliterated by UCF, 95-48. The Mustangs had no answer for Tacko Fall, who had 23 points and 20 rebounds for the Golden Knights. SMU didn't have anyone in double digit scoring, as Ethan Chargois led them with 9 points. The Mustangs get Cincinnati and Wichita at home this week.
LSU TIGERS (22-5) 12-2 SEC
Last week (1-1): L- Florida 82-77, W- Tennessee 82-80
This week: Tuesday vs. Texas A&M, Saturday @ Alabama
LSU had a frustrating home loss to Florida, 82-77 to start the week. The Tigers gave up 15 offensive rebounds, a department they usually dominate. The other downfall came at the free throw line, where the usually sure shooting Tigers shot just 64%. Tremont Waters shot just 3-12 for LSU, who were paced by Skylar Mays' 18 points in defeat. LSU followed it up with an improbable 82-80 win over Tennessee. Javonte Smart hit two free throws with .6 seconds left to cap a career-high 29 point night. Mays added 23 points on a night where leading scorer Waters sat out with an illness and 3rd leading scorer Nad Reid scored just 1 point. The Tigers now have 2 top-5 wins in the last 10 days. 13th ranked LSU gets Texas A&M and Alabama this week.
Is Jose Altuve’s move to left field overblown?
In Altuve's first start in left field last week, he didn't have a single ball hit in his direction. In his second start in left, Altuve had two opportunities. The first was a ground ball in which Altuve made a throwing error trying to throw out a runner at home. The second opportunity went better, with Altuve making a nice catch at the wall. If Altuve only gets two or three balls hit his way per game, which could very well be the case, will this be a smoother transition than initially thought?
Astros manager Joe Espada is making it clear—if Altuve is moving to left field, it won’t be a temporary experiment. “I would like to leave him at one position for the majority of games,” Espada said. “The back and forth is something that I am going to avoid.”
Barring injuries or roster changes, Espada expects Altuve to get more starts in left field than at second base. The shift also allows the Astros to be flexible, potentially opening up DH opportunities when Yordan Alvarez gets some occasional starts in left field.
Outfield depth still a concern
Houston’s outfield situation remains shaky. Ben Gamel has yet to record a hit this spring and has been sidelined with back soreness, though he’s expected to return this week. Jake Meyers, who was also off to a slow start, finally showed signs of life Sunday with a pair of RBI singles. Meanwhile, prospect Jacob Melton has been reassigned to minor league camp but could see more Grapefruit League action down the line.
The offensive struggles don’t end there. Heading into Monday's game, Chas McCormick and Mauricio Dubon had yet to record a hit this spring. However, McCormick did come through with a hit and an RBI on Monday. Yippee!
A call for help?
Outfielder Alex Verdugo is still on the market. Astros GM Dana Brown reportedly checked in on Verdugo several weeks ago, but his price tag appears too rich for Houston as they try to stay under the luxury tax. With Altuve appearing to be a staple in left field, should the club consider adding Verdugo to replace Meyers or McCormick, considering their continued struggles at the plate? Or should Verdugo's disappointing 2024 season be enough to scare the club away from signing him?
Bullpen questions linger
Josh Hader, once a fixture on Buster Olney's top reliever lists, was relegated to the "honorable mention" section this year following a down season. With Houston hoping to manage the workload of Hader and Bryan Abreu, should they have considered bringing back Hector Neris? The veteran reliever recently signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta.
Prospects and pitching notes
While several of the big-league bats have struggled, prospects Shay Whitcomb and Zack Dezenzo have shown some promise. Whitcomb has collected three hits, including a home run, while Dezenzo has five hits in sixteen at-bats with a double.
On the mound, Lance McCullers Jr. faced live hitters and reached nearly 95 mph on the radar gun, a positive sign for his return.
Cam Smith continues to rake, driving in three runs with a triple on Monday. So that's three walks, two homers, and a bases clearing triple. Pretty, pretty good.
With Isaac Paredes (homered over the weekend), Hayden Wesneski (pitched two scoreless innings on Monday), and Smith looking as advertised, the haul for Kyle Tucker is looking good so far!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
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