COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT
NCAA hoops: Another big win for Tech, Baylor and A&M struggle
Jan 15, 2018, 9:03 am
What is going on with Billy Kennedy and A&M? SportsDay
TEXAS LONGHORNS (11-6, 2-3 BIG XII)
Last week (1-1): W-TCU 99-98 2OT, L-@ Oklahoma State 65-64
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas Tech, Saturday @ West Virginia
Playing their first game since the announcement that sophomore guard Andrew Jones has been diagnosed with leukemia, the Longhorns played possibly their game of the season and beat TCU 99-98 in double overtime. The Horns were forced to play with a limited rotation with the absence of Jones and the injured Kerwin Roach. Only seven players got minutes in the game, including Dylan Osetkowski logging 20 points in his 49 minutes on the floor. Eric Davis, Jr. led Texas in scoring with 22 off the bench. The Oklahoma State Cowboys wouldn’t miss their shot in the final seconds, as Tavarius Shine tipped in the game winner with only 6 seconds left in OSU’s 65-64 victory. Texas had a double digit lead throughout most of the 2nd half, but a late 13-0 run got the Pokes back in the game. Davis again led the Horns with 18 points in defeat. Mohamed Bamba put up 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Horns face the top of the conference this week, taking on Texas Tech and taking a road trip to West Virginia.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (11-6, 0-5 SEC)
Last week (0-2): L-@ Kentucky 74-73, L-@ Tennessee 75-62
This week: Tuesday vs. Ole Miss, Saturday vs. Missouri
Once off to an extremely promising start, the wheels may be falling off in College Station. Texas A&M got Robert Williams and Admon Gilder back, but their return wasn’t enough to stop their slide in SEC play. Kentucky, playing without Quade Green, stole a 74-73 victory over the Aggies on Tuesday. The Aggies had two missed three pointers in the closing seconds from Gilder and D.J. Hogg. Tyler Davis’ performance was the highlight of the loss, as he put up 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting. After a few close losses for the Aggies, they got blown out by Tennessee, 75-62. Rebounding and turnovers were a big part of the Aggies’ problems. They had 17 turnovers and got out-rebounded 38-29. Gilder had 16 points in the win. Next week’s schedule has the Aggies at home against Ole Miss and Mizzou.
HOUSTON COUGARS (14-3, 4-1 AAC)
Last week (2-0): W-Tulsa 104-71, W-@ East Carolina 65-49
This week: Wednesday @ Tulane, Saturday vs. Wichita State
Coming off a frustrating loss to Wichita State last week, Houston came out with a vengeance on Thursday night, logging a lopsided 104-71 win over Tulsa. They did it in historic fashion, hitting 18 three pointers, the most in AAC history in a conference game, and set a school record for most points scored in a conference game. Rob Gray led the way with 34 points and 8 assists in the win. The Coogs shot 55% from the field to Tulsa’s 39%. The Cougars kept rolling against East Carolina, taking a 65-49 win over the Pirates. Corey Davis, Jr. led the Coogs with 20, and Rob Gray added 12 points and 9 assists. Houston held East Carolina to under 30% from the field in the win. The Cougars travel to Tulane on Wednesday and get a rematch with Wichita State this weekend.
RICE OWLS (4-14, 1-4 CUSA)
Last week (0-1): L-North Texas 85-78
This week: Thursday @ Southern Miss, Saturday @ Louisiana Tech
Rice had no answers for North Texas’ 3-point shooting, as the Mean Green hit 17 3-pointers en route to an 85-78 win over the Owls. Connor Cashaw was the bright spot for Rice, scoring 30 points and 6 rebounds in the loss. Ako Adams also pitched in 16 points in the effort. The Owls’ disastrous season continues with road trips to Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech on the schedule this week.
BAYLOR BEARS (11-6, 1-4 BIG XII)
Last week (0-2): L-@ West Virginia 57-54, L-@ Iowa State 75-65
This week: Monday vs. Oklahoma State, Saturday @ Kansas
Baylor did a great job defensively against West Virginia, but at the end of the day the Mountaineers walked away with a 57-54 win. The Bears were hoping for a measure of revenge. Last season, Baylor went into West Virginia with the school’s first ever #1 ranking, and were promptly blown out by WVU. This year it was 2nd ranked West Virginia, their highest ranking since Jerry West played there, defending their poll placement. The Bears held WVU to 31% shooting, but shot only 35% themselves in the loss. Baylor’s 21 turnovers were a killer, as they only forced 11. Manu Lecomte led the Bears with 13 points in defeat. The Bears lost again on Saturday, dropping a 75-65 battle with Iowa State. Freshman Tristan Clarke had his best game of the year, putting up 16 points and 15 rebounds for Baylor in the loss. The Bears shot just 4-18 from 3-point distance, including a brutal 0-7 from Lecomte. Baylor gets Oklahoma State before traveling to Kansas this week.
TCU HORNED FROGS (13-4, 1-4 BIG XII)
Last week (0-2): L-@ Texas 99-98 2OT, L-@ Oklahoma 102-97 OT
This week: Wednesday vs. Iowa State, Saturday @ Kansas State
TCU suffered a heartbreaking loss to Texas on Wednesday night, dropping a 99-98 double overtime thriller. Jaylen Fisher missed a game winning layup at the buzzer. The Frogs rallied from a 13 point 2nd half deficit to take the game to overtime, led by Kenrich Williams 26 points. The woes continued for TCU against Oklahoma, with TCU dropping another OT thriller 102-97. Fisher led the Frogs with 22 points, but his OU counterpart Trae Young put up 43 points for the Sooners. The loss was TCU’s 4th Big XII loss after going 12-0 in non-conference play. All 4 losses have been by 4 points or less, and the Texas loss was their 2nd by a single point. TCU gets Iowa State and Kansas State in the coming week.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (15-2, 4-1 BIG XII)
Last week (1-1): L- @ Oklahoma 75-65, W-West Virginia 72-71
This week: Wednesday @ Texas, Saturday @ Iowa State
Texas Tech struggled to defend one of the best players in the country, particularly in the 2nd half, as Trae Young and Oklahoma got a 75-65 victory on Tuesday. Young, who leads the nation in scoring and assists, put up 27 and 9 in the win. Tech’s defense held up in the first half, allowing Oklahoma only 29 points, but the Sooners boomed in the 2nd half, running away with the game by shooting 56% in the 2nd half. Keenan Evans put up 19 in the loss. He was the only Red Raider in double digits. Things got brighter for the Raiders, as they got their biggest win of the season on Saturday, a 72-71 win over West Virginia. Tech shot 50% from the field, and were led by Keenan Evans 20 points. Tech senior forward Zach Smith has a broken foot, and may not play for the rest of the season. The Red Raiders travel to Texas and Iowa State this week.
SMU MUSTANGS (12-6, 2-3 AAC)
Last week (0-1): L-Temple 66-64
This week: Wednesday @ Wichita State, Saturday vs. Tulane
SMU lost a shocker to Temple on Thursday, 66-64 in Dallas. The loss broke a 33-game home winning streak for SMU, which was the second longest streak in the country. Shake Milton led the Mustangs with 25 points. He hit 5 of his 6 free throws. The rest of the Ponies combined to shoot 4 of 11 from the stripe. SMU has now lost 3 straight games after a strong non-conference run and a 2-0 start to conference play. Things won’t get easier this week as SMU travels to play top-5 ranked Wichita State and return home for a revenge matchup against Tulane.
LSU TIGERS (11-5, 2-2 SEC)
Last week (1-1): W-@ Arkansas 75-54, L-Alabama 74-66
This week: Tuesday vs. Georgia, Saturday @ Vanderbilt.
On a night when LSU star Tremont Waters wasn’t at his best, senior forward Aaron Epps stepped up with 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 75-54 win over Arkansas. Waters, who had been on fire of late, had just 8 points on 3 of 10 shooting. LSU shot 53% from the field, holding the Hogs to just 33%. The LSU roller coaster hit another low against Alabama over the weekend, as the Tide took a 74-66 victory over the Tigers. Waters led the Tigers with 19 points, on just 5-13 shooting. The Tide bench outscored LSU’s 28-11. LSU gets Georgia at home before taking a road trip to Vanderbilt this week.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.