Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars had a nice week. UHCougars.com
TEXAS LONGHORNS (5-2)
Last week (1-0): W-Florida A&M 82-58
This week: Tuesday @ VCU
Texas overcame a horrible 3 point shooting effort in the first half and took their game inside against Florida A&M in the second half en route to a convincing win over the Rattlers. Dylan Osetkowski scored 19 and pulled in 8 rebounds in the effort. Texas plays only once this week, a homecoming for Shaka Smart in a road trip to VCU.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-0)
Last week (1-0): W- UT-Rio Grande Valley 78-60
This week: Tuesday vs. Arizona, Saturday vs. Prairie View A&M
The Aggies looked sluggish in their lone game last week, a 78-60 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley. The game was close until the last few minutes before the Aggies pulled away. DJ Hogg and Admon Gilder scored 17 points each. The Aggies get a good test this week in Arizona, who is still dangerous despite their slow start. They play Prairie View A&M on Saturday.
HOUSTON COUGARS (6-1)
Last week (2-0): W-New Orleans 75-66, Arkansas 91-65
This week: Wednesday vs. Fairfield, Saturday @ Saint Louis
A strong week for the Cougars, opening with a 75-66 win over New Orleans. Rob Gray paced the Coogs with 23 points. More impressive was the crushing of a solid Arkansas team. Devin Davis, who was injured in the Arkansas game last year, had a career-high 28 points in the 91-65 victory. Corey Davis, Jr. had 17 in the win. This week should be a light one for Houston, who starts with Fairfield and finishes the week at Saint Louis, who currently rides a 4 game losing streak.
RICE OWLS (2-6)
Last week (0-2): L-UT-Arlington 69-49, L-UT-Rio Grande Valley 69-67
This week: Saturday @ Stephen F. Austin
It was another rough week for the Owls. They started out getting drubbed by UT-Arlington, in a game where Rice shot 24.5% from the field. Saturday’s game was closer, but again ended with a loss against UT-Rio Grande Valley. Rice had two attempts from deep for the win, but missed both. Malik Osborne led the Owls with 14. Things won’t get easier for the Owls this week, as they hit the road to take on a stout Stephen F. Austin team on Saturday.
BAYLOR BEARS (5-2)
Last week (0-2): L- @ Xavier 76-63, W-Wichita State 69-62
This week: Monday vs. Sam Houston State, Saturday vs. Randall
Baylor lost their first game this season at Xavier on Tuesday, and followed it up with their second loss later in the week. Xavier continued it’s home non-conference winning streak with a 76-63 win. Baylor fell behind early and could never recover. Terry Maston led the Bears with 15 in the loss. Baylor fell again on Saturday, this time at home against a very strong Wichita State team. The Shockers beat the Baylor zone-defense with a 10 of 16 shooting performance from 3. The Bears should rebound this week, with home games against Sam Houston and Randall.
TCU HORNED FROGS (8-0)
Last week (2-0): W-Belmont 87-76, W-Yale 92-66
This week: Tuesday vs. SMU, Friday vs. Nevada
TCU stayed unbeaten with wins over Belmont and Yale last week. The Frogs currently have the longest win streak in the country at 13. Vladimir Brodziansky let TCU with 22 in their 87-76 win over Belmont. The Frogs dominated the boards with a 37-23 rebounding edge and took 19 free throws to the Bruins’ 6. TCU followed that up with a 92-66 drubbing of Yale. Desmond Bane led the Frogs with 18 points and Kenrich Williams had his fourth straight double-double. This week will present a tougher test for the Horned Frogs, as they get SMU and a ranked Nevada team.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (6-1)
Last week (0-1): L-Seton Hall 89-79
This week: Tuesday vs. Nevada
The Red Raiders suffered their first loss of the season against Seton Hall in New York. The Red Raiders, who have built their season on defense, played little of it against the Pirates. Seton Hall shot 11-20 from 3 and scored 50 points in the 2nd half. Keenan Evans scored 21 and Jarrett Culver put up 17 in the loss. The Raiders get a solid Nevada team on Tuesday evening.
SMU MUSTANGS (7-2)
Last week (2-0): W- UT-Rio Grande Valley 95-64, W- USC 72-55
This week: Tuesday @ TCU
SMU’s backcourt torched Rio Grande Valley with Shake Milton, Jimmy Whitt and Jarrey Foster combining for 59 points en route to a blowout win. Milton led the way again against USC later in the week. The Mustangs got revenge for last year’s 1st round tournament exit with a 72-55 win over the Trojans. The Ponies travel across the Metroplex to take on TCU on Tuesday.
LSU TIGERS (4-2)
Last week (1-0): W-UT-Martin 84-60
This week: Sunday vs. UNC Wilmington
LSU got a good showing from their bench in their lone game this week, a 84-60 win over UT-Martin. Duop Reath and Daryl Edwards combined for 30 points off the bench. Skylar Mays led the Tigers with 18. LSU has another low-volume week with just 1 game in the upcoming week against UNC-Wilmington.
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4 important elements that could tip the scales in Texans-Colts matchup
Oct 25, 2024, 2:30 pm
This week, the Houston Texans take on the Colts in a matchup with division supremacy on the line. If the Texans are able to come away with a victory, they will own the tiebreaker over Indy and enjoy a comfortable lead in the division.
However, a loss to the Colts means the Texans will be in a virtual tie with Indy in the AFC South. So what do the Texans need to do to secure a win?
On offense, they'll have to do a much better job of protecting CJ Stroud. In their last game against the Packers, Stroud faced immense pressure on third downs, with 12 of his 14 dropbacks resulting in pressure.
During one series, Stroud was flushed from the pocket and forced to scramble on three straight plays. They have to clean up the protection, or it will be another long day for the offense.
Fortunately for the Texans, this game is at home. So hopefully the communication issues the Texans o-line dealt with on the road last week won't be an issue at NRG.
Rushing attack
Houston can't afford to rely solely on Joe Mixon and the run game to carry the offense. While Mixon has been terrific, contributing significantly in recent weeks, the Texans will need a balanced attack. Which means Stroud must have time to operate in the pocket.
Bulls on parade
The defense last week was another story for the Texans. They played well against Green Bay, limiting them to 24 points. This week, they face a very different type of quarterback. Anthony Richardson is dead last in passer rating and completion percentage, so that's definitely working in their favor.
We know what Richardson can do with his legs, and Indy is expecting running back Jonathan Taylor to return from an ankle injury, so the rushing defense will be tested.
Richardson's accuracy is certainly a weakness, but he does throw a good deep ball that gave the defense problems in Week 1 this season.
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are favored by 5 points and the total is set at 45.5 points.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we share our in-depth breakdown of the game, as well as our predictions for Sunday's contest.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.