The Houston Cougars win their third straight game
Grimes leads Cougars to road victory over the UCF Bulls
Feb 12, 2020, 11:30 pm
The Houston Cougars win their third straight game
The Houston Cougars held a two-point advantage (53-51) late in the second half when Quentin Grimes knocked down an open 3-point field goal off an assist by Fabian White Jr. The basket scored by Grimes was enough to keep the Cougars in the lead en route to a 62-58 victory over the South Florida Bulls, Wednesday night, inside the Yuengling Center in Tampa, FL.
While improving to 10-2 in conference play, the Cougars have now won eight of their last nine games following the win.
While scoring nine of his final point-total in the final three minutes, Grimes led Houston on the night with 22 points (6-14 FG, 3-6 3PT), six rebounds and five assists. His performance Wednesday night marked the first time since the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Class in December, where the sophomore guard from The Woodlands scored over 20 points.
Despite the game coming down to the final seconds, it was a wire-to-wire victory for the Cougars. Houston opened the first period on a 10-4 run, which gave way to a 31-26 lead into the halftime break. While connecting on five of his seven field-goal attempts, Fabian White Jr added in 10 points and five rebounds, as the junior big man came up tremendous on the defensive end with two steals and a block in the win.
With only two players scoring in double-figures, senior guard Laquincy Rideau led the Bulls with a team-high 21 points shooting 63.3% from the floor, while his backcourt mate, Nate Hinton, added in 13 points in the loss.
Cougars' head coach Kelvin Sampson moved past Alden Pasche as the third-winningest coach in school history, trailing only Guy Lewis (592) and Pat Foster (142).
Following the win, the Cougars will hit the road on Saturday to take on the 17-6, 7-4 SMU Mustangs inside the Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. CT.
As we begin another week of MLB free agency, we still haven't seen any movement when it comes to Alex Bregman. Several reports are indicating that the market for Bregman is being impacted by Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander.
The thought being, Santander is expected to command less than Bregman, and teams are waiting to see how his market shakes out before making an offer to Breggy.
Which is interesting, because we're seeing reports about Santander softening his stance on demanding a four or five year deal. It appears he's willing to consider a shorter contract with a high yearly salary.
If that is indeed the case, should the Astros consider moving some salary if they can come to an agreement on a short-term deal with Santander?
In theory, trading Pressly's $14 million contract along with Victor Caratini's $6 million dollar deal could allow them to pay Santander $20 million. Of course finding a club to take on all of Pressly's money may not be realistic, but if they could pull it off, should they do it?
This move would weaken the bullpen and the depth at catcher, but the team still has Caesar Salazar to back up Yainer Diaz. And both Pressly and Caratini aren't likely to be back with the Astros anyway after their contracts expire after the 2025 season.
Should we be worried about the Rangers?
MLB Network's Robert Flores (huge Astros fan) joined the Locked on Astros YouTube channel last week and said he likes the Rangers chances to win the AL West this year, despite Vegas giving Houston better odds to win the World Series. Does he have a point?
Farewell to Justin Verlander
Verlander signed a one-year deal with the Giants last week, so it appears he's played his last game in an Astros uniform. But should we close the door on him being traded to Houston again if the 'Stros need another starter and the Giants are looking to move him at the deadline?
Plus, we share some of our favorite Verlander moments from the team's dynastic run!
Be sure to watch the video above as the guys from Stone Cold 'Stros break it all down! And be sure to share your favorite Verlander memories in the comment section on YouTube.