College basketball week in review
Texas in a tailspin; LSU and Baylor surging this week
Jan 29, 2019, 8:05 am
Shaka Smart and Texas are fading fast. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
TEXAS LONGHORNS (11-9) 3-4 Big XII
Last week (0-2): L- @ TCU 65-61, L- @ Georgia 98-88
This week: Tuesday vs. Kansas, Saturday @ Iowa State
Texas' tournament chances are fading. They lost both of their games this week, and have now lost five of their last six games. They started off with a 65-61 loss at TCU. Texas actually kept pace with the Frogs from a shooting standpoint (46.1%-45.6%) but lost the turnover and rebounding battles. The Horns hung in the game until late, but missed a desperation 3-point attempt with a chance to tie after the Frogs used their fouls to give to disrupt the Texas offense. Kerwin Roach III led the Horns with 15 points in the loss. Things went from bad to worse against Georgia, with the Dawgs taking down Texas 98-88 in the Big XII-SEC Challenge. The Bulldogs had their way from the field, shooting 67% from the field and 71% from 3-point range. Texas forced 26 turnovers, but the hot shooting of Georgia prevented them from taking advantage of it. Courtney Ramey scored 19 points to lead Texas in the loss. Things don't get much easier this week for Shaka Smart's team, with Kansas and a road trip to Iowa State on the schedule.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (8-10) 1-5 SEC
Last week (1-1): L- @ Florida 81-72, W- Kansas State 65-53
This week: Wednesday vs. LSU, Saturday vs. Tennessee
Odd week for the Aggies. First, they dropped an 81-72 battle to Florida, dropping them to 1-5 in SEC play. Florida killed the Aggies from outside, shooting 18-37 from distance. The Aggies led for a long portion of the game, from the middle of the first half to the middle of the second half, but finally gave up the lead for good with about nine minutes to play. Wendell Mitchell scored 25 points to lead the Aggies in the loss. Texas A&M then got their best win of the season, and their first win over a likely tournament team, beating Kansas State 65-53. The Aggies trailed by four at halftime, but dominated the second half. Wendell Mitchell scored 22 to lead the Aggies, and all of them came after halftime. The Aggies used a zone-heavy defensive scheme, and it paid dividends, as the Wildcats shot just 33% from the field and 23% from 3-point range. The Aggies have tough matchups this week against LSU and the No. 1 team in the country, Tennessee.
HOUSTON COUGARS (20-1) 7-1 American
Last week (2-0): W- East Carolina 94-50, W- @ Tulsa 77-65
This week: Thursday vs. Temple
Houston continues to roll through AAC competition. They got a dominant win over East Carolina, 94-50. Armoni Brooks led the Cougars with 17 points, but it was a balanced attack from UH. Twelve players saw minutes in the blowout win, with 10 of them logging points. The Coogs dominated on the boards, 47-22 and at the 3-point line, 67% to 9%. Houston then went on the road, and got an impressive road win over an underrated Tulsa team, 77-65. Brooks again led the way for the Coogs, scoring 22 points, including six 3-pointers. The rebounding difference again told the story, with the Coogs grabbing 49 boards to Tulsa's 24. Houston became the first team in the country to hit the 20 win mark. The 2-0 week bumped the Cougars to 13 in the latest polls. UH has just one game this week, a home game with Temple that will give them the opportunity to avenge their lone loss of the season.
RICE OWLS (8-13) 3-5 CUSA
Last week (1-1): W- Middle Tennessee 72-68, L- UAB 89-86
This week: Thursday @ Charlotte, Saturday @ Old Dominion
It's hard to say that Rice is having a solid season, but they are definitely better than expected. The Owls got their eighth win of the season last week, 72-68 over Middle Tennessee, surpassing their 2017-18 win total. Chris Mullins had 19 and Trey Murphy put up 18 in the win. The two combined to go 7-of-12 from deep. The Owls trailed by four at halftime, but controlled the second half on their way to an easy win. They followed it up with a tough loss, 89-86 against UAB. Murphy put up 24 points in the losing effort. Rice shot the ball well (52%) but the difference came in the turnover department, where the Blazers bested the Owls 13-3. The Owls have a good shot at another win this week, with a road game at CUSA bottom-feeding Charlotte before heading to Old Dominion.
BAYLOR BEARS (14-6) 5-2 Big XII
Last week (2-0): W- Alabama 73-68, W- @ Oklahoma 77-47
This week: Saturday vs. Alabama, Sunday @ Oklahoma
Baylor played their role in helping the Big XII win the Big XII/SEC Showdown with a 73-68 win over Alabama. Sophomore Mario Kegler led the way with 17 points in the victory. Statistically, the teams were even for the most part. Baylor used a slight edge in rebounding and turnover margin to seal the win. There wasn't anything even about Baylor's matchup with Oklahoma. The Bears trounced the Sooners, 77-47. The Sooners last lead was at 9-8, and Baylor went on to dominate on both ends. The Bears shot 54% from the field, compared to Oklahoma's 27%. Baylor dominated in basically every statistical metric. Makai Mason led the Bears with 12 points in the win. Baylor gets TCU at home on Saturday.
TCU HORNED FROGS (15-5) 3-4 Big XII
Last week (2-1): W- Texas 65-61, W- Florida 55-50, L- @ Texas Tech 84-65
This week: Saturday @ Baylor
TCU started the week strong, with a 65-61 win over Texas. Kouat Noi had missed the previous game with an illness, but showed no signs of it against the Horns, posting 15 points and 11 rebounds in his first career double-double. Desmond Bane led the Frogs with 17 points. TCU was +9 in rebounding, and was able to hold off a late Texas charge to take home the win. They followed that up with a non-conference win over a solid Florida team, 55-50. Noi was big again, this time leading the Frogs with 22 points. Again the Frogs dominated the glass, with a 45-33 rebounding advantage. Things didn't go as smoothly on the road, as TCU got smashed by Texas Tech in Lubbock, 84-65. Noi played well again, with 17 points, but TCU lost the rebounding battle and turned it over nearly twice as many times as the Raiders. TCU has an important road game against Baylor on Saturday.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (17-4) 5-3 Big XII
Last week (2-1): L- @ Kansas State 58-45, W- Arkansas 67-64, W- TCU 84-65
This week: Saturday @ Kansas, Monday vs. West Virginia
Texas Tech started off the week with their third straight loss, 58-45 to Kansas State. Tech got a taste of its own medicine, as the Wildcats held the Raiders to just 33% from the field. Jarrett Culver had 17 and Tariq Owens added 12 to lead Tech, but no other Red Raider scored more than 6 points in the loss. They righted the ship against Arkansas, taking a 67-64 victory at home. The Raiders got their shooting percentage back up to 51%, and Davide Moretti led the way with 21 points in the victory. Tech lost the turnover battle, a rarity this season, but overcame it with hot shooting from outside, hitting 10-of-19 from long range. The Red Raiders stepped on the gas against TCU, drubbing the Frogs 84-65. Culver and Matt Mooney both had 18 points in the win, and Owens added 17. The Raiders handled the ball well all night, dishing out 20 assists and committing only seven turnovers. Tech has a road trip to Kansas and a home tilt against West Virginia in the next week. They currently sit at 16th in the poll.
SMU MUSTANGS (12-7) 4-3 American
Last week (1-0): W-Tulane 85-75
This week: Wednesday @ Wichita State, Saturday @ Cincinnati
SMU rebounded from back to back losses last week with an 85-75 win over Tulane. This was a back and forth game for the most part, but a 9-0 run gave the Mustangs enough juice to pull ahead and stay ahead, taking the season sweep over the Green Wave. The Mustangs forced 16 turnovers, and only gave it back nine times. Jahmal McMurray led the Mustangs with 29 points. Isiaha Mike went 5-of-5 from 3-point range to help him to 20 points. SMU hits the road this week against a struggling Wichita State team and a strong Cincinnati squad.
LSU TIGERS (16-3) 6-0 SEC
Last week (2-0): W- Georgia 92-82, W- @ Mizzou 86-80 (OT)
This week: Wednesday @ Texas A&M, Saturday vs. Arkansas
LSU continued to roll through the SEC with another 2-win week. The Tigers got a 92-82 win over Georgia in a game that saw Tremont Waters break out. Waters was 9-of-14 from the field and had 26 points to go along with four assists and four steals. Skylar Mays added 20 points in the win. Mays came up even bigger against Mizzou, leading them to an 86-80 overtime win. Mays scored 11 of his 24 points with under three minutes to go in regulation. The Tigers were down by 14 points with just over two minutes to play, and were able to roar back and force overtime. LSU dominated in overtime to get a six-point win. Ja'Vante Smart and Nad Reid each added 14 in the win. The Tigers jumped from 25 to 19 in the latest polls. They get Texas A&M and Arkansas this week.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.