COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT
NCAA hoops: Texas, Tech bounce back with undefeated weeks; A&M fading
Jan 29, 2018, 5:21 am
Shaka Smart and the Longhorns had a good week. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
TEXAS LONGHORNS (14-7, 4-4 BIG XII)
Last week (2-0): W-Iowa State 73-57, W-Ole Miss 85-72
This week: Wednesday @ Texas Tech, Saturday vs. Oklahoma
After being dealt the most lopsided loss in Shaka Smart’s tenure at Texas, the Longhorns bounced back to roll through Iowa State 73-57. Mohamed Bamba had one of his best games of the season, scoring 24 points on 9-11 shooting, while adding 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Kerwin Roach added 22 in the win. Defense was key again for the Horns, as they held Iowa State scoreless over the last four minutes of the game, and to under 40% shooting on the day. As great as Bamba was against Iowa State, he was even more dominant against Ole Miss. The freshman put up 25 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks to lead Texas to an 85-72 victory. Dylan Osetkowski was also strong in the win, putting up 17 points and 7 boards. The Horns will look to carry their momentum into this week, with tough matches at Texas Tech and against Oklahoma.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (13-8, 2-6 SEC)
Last week (0-2): L-@ LSU 77-65, L-@ Kansas 79-68
This week: Tuesday vs. Arkansas, Saturday vs. South Carolina
Texas A&M, who many in the preseason thought would be a force in the SEC race, may have fallen out of NCAA tournament contention this week. The Aggies fell to LSU 77-65 to start the week. Robert Williams and Tyler Davis were the bright spots for the Ags, scoring 21 and 12 respectively. Unfortunately the rest of their starters, DJ Hogg, Admon Gilder and Duane Wilson combined to go 3-22 from the field and 1-14 from 3 point range. The Aggies turned the ball over 20 times, and only forced 7 turnovers themselves. The Aggies had a chance to get their biggest win of the season against Kansas, but never had much of a chance, falling 79-68. Kansas built an 18 point halftime lead, and coasted to the win. The distance shooting continued to haunt Texas A&M, as their starters went just 2-12 from deep. Tyler Davis led the Aggies with 18 in the loss. The Aggies draw home games against Arkansas and South Carolina this week.
HOUSTON COUGARS (16-4, 6-2 AAC)
Last week (1-0): W-South Florida 63-40
This week: Wednesday @ Cincinnati, Saturday @ UCF
Houston rolled to a 63-40 win over South Florida. It was a dominant defensive performance for the Cougars, who held the Bulls under 32% shooting on the day. Rob Gray, leading scorer for the Cougars on the season, scored only 2 points, but Fabian White and Corey Davis picked up the slack, scoring 16 and 17 points. The Cougars have two road games this week, taking on a strong Cincinnati team and a scuffling Central Florida squad. Houston is now tied for second in the American Conference with Wichita State, two games back of Cincinnati.
RICE OWLS (5-17, 2-7 CUSA)
Last week (1-1): W-Florida International 73-64, L-Florida Atlantic 63-62
This week: Thursday vs. Florida International, Saturday vs. Florida Atlantic
Rice picked up a rare win last week, taking a 73-64 decision over Florida International. The Owls were strong on the glass with a +10 rebounding margin in the game. Malik Osborne led the team in scoring with 16, but Connor Cashaw put up an outstanding line 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists. It looked like Rice was going to get back to back wins for the first time this season, but Florida Atlantic hit a 3 at the buzzer to drop Rice 63-62. The game was back and forth all day, and statistically the teams were quite even. Cashaw led Rice with 16 in the loss, while Osborned added 10 points and 8 boards. Rice travels to North Texas and Middle Tennessee for games this week.
BAYLOR BEARS (12-9, 2-6 BIG XII)
Last week (0-2): L-Kansas State 90-83, L-@ Florida 81-60
This week: Tuesday @ Oklahoma, Saturday vs. Iowa State
It appears the wheels have fallen off for the Baylor Bears, as they dropped two more this week. The Bears fell to Kansas State 90-83 on Monday. Baylor had no answers for Dean Wade and Barry Brown, who combined for 58 points for the Wildcats. Baylor won the rebounding and turnover battles, but allowed Kansas State to shoot 57% from the field. Getting out of conference play for a trip to Florida didn’t improve things for Baylor, as the Gators rolled to an 81-60 victory. The difference in the game was at the 3-point line. The Gators shot an incredible 14-25 from distance, while Baylor shot only 3 of 15. The Bears are still winless on the road this season, and will start next week at Oklahoma before coming back to Waco to face Iowa State.
TCU HORNED FROGS (15-6, 3-5 BIG XII)
Last week (1-1): W-West Virginia 82-73, L-@ Vanderbilt 81-78
This week: Tuesday @ Oklahoma State, Saturday vs. Texas Tech
The Horned Frogs had a very uneven week, gaining their best win of the season and suffering their most embarrassing loss. The week started out with an 82-73 win over the 7th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. The Frogs picked up their first win at home against a top 10 team in five years. Alex Robinson led the Frogs with 17 points and 9 assists. TCU had a strong defensive performance, tallying 7 blocks and holding West Virginia to 33% from the field. The celebration was short lived, as TCU traveled to Vanderbilt to take on the SEC cellar-dwellers and lost 81-78. The Frogs lost despite shooting 56% from the field and a +15 margin. Vanderbilt made 11 of 25 3-pointers and only had 7 turnovers in the game. TCU travels to Oklahoma State before an important weekend matchup with Texas Tech.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (17-4, 5-3 BIG XII)
Last week (2-0): W-Oklahoma State 75-70, W-@ South Carolina 70-63
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas, Saturday @ TCU
Texas Tech got back on track after dropping three out of four with back to back wins last week. First, they took a 75-70 win against Oklahoma State. Keenan Evans had 26 points, 22 in the 2nd half, to lead the Red Raiders to a comeback victory. The Red Raiders trailed by 15 points at one point and battled back to outscore the Cowboys by 17 in the second half. Tech, who has been great at limiting opponent shooting percentages, allowed a strong 46% from OSU, but forced 20 turnovers in the victory. Evans and the Raiders weren’t done with comeback wins. They trailed South Carolina by five with six minutes left, and came back to win 70-63. Evans scored 31 points in the win, including going 13 of 13 from the free throw line. Tech came up big defensively in the last few minutes, as South Carolina only made 1 of its last 7 field goal attempts.
SMU MUSTANGS (15-7, 5-4 AAC)
Last week (1-1): L-Connecticut 63-52, W-East Carolina 86-61
This week: Thursday @ Tulsa
SMU lost Jarrey Foster for the season to a knee injury last week. He was the team’s leading rebounder and 2nd leading scorer. Freshman Everett Ray is also done for the season with a broken foot. The shorthanded Mustangs felt their absence against Connecticut, falling to the Huskies 63-52. Shake Milton led the Mustangs with 18 points. The Mustangs shot just 28% from the field. That was not the case against ECU. The Ponies shot 62% from the field en route to an 86-61 thrashing of the Pirates. Jimmy Whitt and Jahmal McMurray put up 20 points a piece in the victory. SMU has just one game next week, a road tilt against Tulsa.
LSU TIGERS (12-8, 3-5 SEC)
Last week (1-1): W-Texas A&M 77-65, L-@ Auburn 95-70
This week: Wednesday @ Tennessee, Saturday vs. Arkansas
LSU was able to take advantage of the struggling Texas A&M Aggies, taking a 77-65 victory in their matchup. Duop Reath scored 21 and Tremont Waters scored 15 with 9 assists and 8 steals in the win, which snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Tigers. LSU defended the three point line well, allowing Texas A&M to shoot only 21% from deep. The Tigers forced 20 turnovers in the win. Waters could only muster 4 points against Auburn, and LSU lost the battle of the Tigers 95-70. Reath was dominant for LSU, scoring 18 points, but didn’t get enough help to make the game close. LSU was -14 in rebounding against Auburn. The Tigers go to Tennessee and get a home matchup with Arkansas this week.
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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.