NCAA Basketball Recap
Houston stumbles, Tech dominates as season winds down
Mar 5, 2019, 7:07 am
Kelvin Sampson and UH took a tough loss. Jackson Gatlin/SportsMap
TEXAS LONGHORNS (16-14) 8-9 Big XII
Last week (1-1): L- @ Baylor 84-83, W- Iowa State 86-69, L- @ Texas Tech 70-51
This week: Saturday vs. TCU
Texas lost a heartbreaker to Baylor to start the week. The Horns led by as many as 19 points in the second half, and Baylor stormed all the way back and sent the game to OT, where Texas finally fell 84-83. Texas had a run in the second half where they scored only 4 points in nearly 8 minutes. Texas shot the ball well from outside (56%), but were out rebounded 42-29. Jase Febres led Texas in the loss, scoring 23 points (including 7 3-pointers) in 43 minutes. Texas then came up big against Iowa State, taking an 86-69 win in Austin. Febres had 26 points, and 8-more 3-pointers, in the win. Freshman Courtney Ramey added 18 points. The Horns were 15-25 from behind the arc. Things went back downhill for the Horns at Texas Tech, losing a 70-51 tilt. Texas, who had been hot from outside, was held to just 4 of 18 from 3. Matt Coleman III led the Longhorns with 16 points. Febres unraveled, shooting just 1-10 from the field and 0-5 from deep.Texas closes out their season at home on Saturday against TCU.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (13-15) 6-10 SEC
Last week (1-1): L- @ LSU 66-55, W- Vanderbilt 64-57
This week: Tuesday South Carolina, Saturday @ Mississippi State
Texas A&M was a mixed bag this week, going 1-1. It started out on a rough foot, getting crushed at LSU, 66-55. The final score was closer than the game, as the Aggies were down by as many as 21 in the first half and never got back closer than 9. Wendell Mitchell led the Aggies with 14 points in defeat. TJ Starks went to the hospital with a shoulder injury he suffered in a collision under the basket. The Ags shot just 4-22 from 3. They did get a win on the board against Vanderbilt, 64-57 in College Station. Sauvion Flagg paced the Aggies with 22 points and 12 rebounds. The Aggies out rebounded the Commodores by 10 in the victory. Texas A&M finishes up the regular season this week with South Carolina and Mississippi State.
HOUSTON COUGARS (27-2) 14-2 American
Last week (1-1): W- @ East Carolina 99-65, L- UCF 69-64
This week: Thursday vs. SMU, Sunday @ Cincinnati
Houston started out the week as expected, blowing the doors off a bad East Carolina team, 99-65. Corey Davis led the four Cougars in double digits with his 26 points. Davis was 6-11 from 3-point range. ECU was 5-13 as a team. The Cougars then came home, and had their 33-game home win streak snapped by Central Florida, 69-64. Houston struggled from the free throw line particularly, making just 12 of 24 freebies. Davis again led the Coogs with 19 points in the loss. The loss likely ends any hope of a 2-seed for Houston, who finishes up the regular season with SMU and a trip to Cincinnati this week.
RICE OWLS (12-17) 6-9 CUSA
Last week (1-0): W- Middle Tennessee State 67-61
This week: Wednesday @ Charlotte, Saturday vs. Charlotte
Rice clinched a spot in the Conference USA tournament with a 67-61 win over Middle Tennessee. The Owls led by 13 at the half and coasted to their second win over the Blue Raiders this season. Freshman Drew Peterson led the Owls with 16 points. Rice held MTSU to just 1-15 from behind the 3-point line. The Owls get a home and home to close out the regular season with one of the conference's worst teams, Charlotte.
BAYLOR BEARS (19-10) 9-5 Big XII
Last week (1-1): W- Texas 84-83, L- @ Kansas State 66-60
This week: Wednesday vs. Oklahoma State, Saturday @ Kansas
Baylor got a wild win over Texas, 84-83. Mario Kegler scored 24 points, including the go-ahead free throws in the final seconds of overtime. Baylor was down 19 in the 2nd half, and came all the way back to send it to extra time. Baylor hit 20 of 24 from the line. Devonte Bandoo also had 18 points in the win. The win guaranteed Baylor a top-six tournament seed, which gets them a first round bye in the tournament. Baylor had another slow start against Kansas State, but were unable to overcome it this time, falling 66-60. Baylor was behind 24-9 in the first 10 minutes of the game, and clawed back to take a lead early in the 2nd half. K State got it back to 12 and held off another comeback attempt to get the win. Kegler scored 13 in the loss and Makai Mason added 11. Turnovers killed the Bears, as they gave it away 19 times. Baylor has a home game against Oklahoma State before closing out the regular season at Kansas.
TCU HORNED FROGS (18-12) 6-11 Big XII
Last week (0-3): L- @ WVU 104-96, L- Texas Tech 81-66, L- Kansas State 64-52
This week: Saturday @ Texas
TCU continues to fade down the stretch, going 0-3 this week. They lost 104-96 at West Virginia in 3 overtimes. The game was tight throughout, and Desmond Bane turned it over with 4 seconds left in a tie game tied at 68. JD Miller let the Frogs with 24 in the game, and Kouat Not had a double double, with 17 points and 10 rebounds. TCU then fell to Texas Tech, 81-66, giving the Frogs 5 losses in their last 6 games. Miller led the Frogs again in the loss, posting 18 points and 8 rebounds. Things only got worse against Kansas State, with the Frogs losing 64-52. Kevin Samuel led the Frogs with 17 points on 8 of 11 shooting. The rest of the Frogs shot just 12 of 37 from the field. TCU will close out the regular season on Saturday at Texas.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (25-5) 13-4 Big XII
Last week (3-0): W- Oklahoma State 84-80, W- @ TCU 81-66,
This week: Saturday @ Iowa State
The battle for the regular season Big XII title rages on, with Texas Tech at the forefront. Tech may have sleepwalked into the game against Oklahoma State. The Raiders struggled, particularly on defense, but still got the win, 84-80 in overtime. The three-point shot wasn't dropping for Tech, either, hitting just 3 of 19. Davide Moretti scored 20 on a night where Jarrett Culver was inefficient, getting his 19 points on 7/22 shooting. Things were back to normal for Tech against TCU, where the Red Raiders took an 81-66 victory in Fort Worth. Culver and Moretti shared the lead with 15 points in the win. Tech had 8 steals in the game. The Red Raiders then got a 70-51 win over Texas. The Red Raiders shot 9 of 18 from 3-point range. Tech held the Horns to under 30% from the field. Jarrett Culver scored 16 points and pulled down 7 boards in the win. Tech closes out the season at Iowa State on Saturday.
SMU MUSTANGS (13-15) 5-11 American
Last week (0-2): L- Cincinnati 52-49, L- Wichita 67-55
This week: Thursday @ Houston, Sunday @ South Florida
SMU's season is mercifully entering into the final week of the regular season, coming off another 2-loss week. They dropped a tough one, 52-49 against Cincinnati. SMU held the Bearcats to just 27% from the field, but SMU only got to the line three times (hit 2). Jahmal McMurray scored 27 of the 49 total Mustang points. No one else made more than three shots for the Ponies. SMU followed it up with a 67-56 loss to Wichita State. SMU never had a lead in this game. The Mustangs shot just 11% from 3-point range. Freshman Feron Hunt led the Mustangs with 14 points in the loss. SMU has Houston and South Florida on the road this week to wrap up the regular season.
LSU TIGERS (24-5) 14-2 SEC
Last week (2-0): W- Texas A&M 66-56, W- @ Alabama 74-69
This week: Wednesday @ Florida, Saturday vs. Vanderbilt
LSU is back in business, winning two games this week, and remaining in a tie for 1st in the SEC (LSU holds the head to head win over Tennessee). They started with a 66-55 win over Texas A&M. Nad Reid, who did basically nothing against Tennessee last week, dominated the Aggies, scoring 18 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Javonte Smart added 17 points in the win. The offense is still not firing on all cylinders, hitting just 2 of 19 from 3-point range. LSU then took a 74-69 road win over Alabama. Tremont Waters returned after missing 2 straight games, but only posted 5 points. Skylar Mays scored 20, and Smart added 19 in the win. The Tigers grabbed 48 rebounds in the game. LSU finishes the season with a revenge game against Florida and a home game against Vanderbilt, who is winless in SEC play.
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Astros GM Dana Brown joined the Astros flagship on Wednesday and discussed several trending topics impacting the club right now.
Are they open to changing the batting order?
It's no secret Alex Bregman is off to another slow start. But how much longer can you bat a guy at cleanup who has 5 RBIs and no home runs on the season? When asked about it, Brown sounded open to the idea of moving Bregman until he starts heating up.
“Yeah, I think at some point Joe will make an adjustment there,” said Brown. Overall though, he sounds more concerned with the team's inability to hit with runners in scoring position. He's not happy with the quality of their at-bats in critical situations. He also made it clear that Espada is in charge of the lineup, just like Dusty Baker was before him.
That didn't take long!
The Astros lineup has been released for game two against the Cubs. Notice Bregman is hitting second and Yordan Alvarez is batting third.
The Astros against Jameson Taillon: Altuve 4, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Tucker 9, Diaz DH, Peña 6, Singleton 3, Caratini 2, Meyers 8
Arrighetti RHP
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 24, 2024
Injury updates
Cristian Javier heading to the IL was a “cautionary” move with the team having so many days off. Brown said Javier missing only two starts felt like the smart move. Pitching him too soon in a cold environment like Chicago felt too risky. And Framber Valdez could return to the rotation after the series in Mexico City.
Jose Abreu can't be the best option at first base
Brown addressed the Abreu situation just like Espada did on Tuesday. They both talked about “mixing and matching” and how they've already done some of that this year. But Abreu was in the lineup again on Tuesday, and once again did not record a hit. You have to wonder if Espada and Brown are being pressured to start Abreu. But then again, Brown made it clear that the guys getting opportunities when Abreu sits, aren't coming through either. He's not wrong. Singleton is getting the start on Wednesday, and Dubon (who has the third-most RBIs on the team) is sitting once again.
Is there any accountability for players that don't perform?
Brown responded by saying, “I do think these guys are taking this seriously.” He also mentioned there are some players in the minors playing well, and at some point they'll have to make a move. “There's some urgency in that respect,” said Brown. This comment applied to both position players and pitchers. Which makes me think JP France better get things going. Dana said in passing several times that you're not giving your team a legit chance to win by allowing five runs in the first inning. Even if you do settle down over the next few innings.
Playing with a sense of urgency
Brown was asked if the team's approach would be the same if they were 5.5 games back with only 30 games left to play. This response was very interesting.
He said, “Dubon would sneak in there a little more” and they would play the guys that are more consistently producing. That statement made me feel much better. Brown and Espada see the same things we see. Dana pointed out that you try to give your best hitters a chance to get going early in the year. If that doesn't work, you look for other options. Clearly, the Astros aren't to the point in the season when winning each game is the top priority. The MLB season is a marathon.
“You can't start sprinting too early,” said Brown. If the Astros were in a better division, you wonder if they would feel differently. They keep saying they're only 5.5 games back in the division, which is true. But he never mentioned that the team is ten games under .500.