IT'S OVER!

Here's the Texans & A-Rod connection you never thought you'd hear

Texans Deshaun Watson
It's time to move on. Composite image by Jack Brame.

Headline this week: "NFL Teams Believe Houston Texans Are Moving On From Deshaun Watson."

Texans moving on? Why would other teams think that? You mean just because Watson has demanded to be traded, he's being sued by 22 women for sexual misconduct, two of them alleging sexual assault, he's being criminally investigated by the Houston Police Department, sponsors are abandoning him, and the NFL may suspend Watson for violating its personal conduct policy?

That's all? Sounds like a keeper to me. Last year, Watson was one of the NFL's brightest young stars and the Texans signed him to a $156 million contract. Now he's like a shiny car that just came back with a bad Carfax report. He's a tough public relations sell. The Texans need to unload him on an unsuspecting buyer right now, get whatever they can in return and wipe their hands clean of Watson.

Jack Easterby, the Texans front office Svengali, can't enjoy reading the X-rated court filings that portray the quarterback as a creepy massage addict and possible sexual predator. Watson claims the only reason he scoured Instagram for masseuses, including some from California, Arizona and Georgia, was because the Texans couldn't hook him up with licensed massage therapists because of the pandemic. And yes, he did occasionally have sex with some of the masseuses, but the sex was consensual. Watson denies all the allegations against him and says he's always treated women with the "utmost respect."

All that nonsense from Texans general manager Nick Caserio about the team having no interest in trading Watson despite Watson practically begging to be traded … is like the guy who stalks a woman, she goes to court to get a restraining order, and the guy thinks she's trying to continue the relationship. Watching the Texans, at least publicly, hoping to patch things up with Watson is like watching A-Rod pining on Twitter for J-Lo to come back. It's over. She's with Ben Affleck. Don't you watch TMZ? The Texans and A-Rod need to move on with their lives.

Which is really what the Texans already have done. They've signed Tyrod Taylor as their gap quarterback and drafted Stanford QB Davis Mills with their top pick (in the third round, thanks Bill O'Brien).

This week Texans owner Mr. Tudball had a rare conversation with the media and was giddy about the state of his team. He said, "I see a lot of positive energy, a lot of good things happening."

The owner is like that kid in The Sixth Sense. He sees dead things. The Texans are coming off a disastrous 4-12 season, their quarterback is mired in legal woes, they have a new general manager, new head coach, new team president and stars DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt have gone to Arizona. It's time to cue the nice men in white lab coats waving butterfly nets. Go with them, Cal. They're here to help you.

Teams that might have been interested in offering a boatload of first-round picks for Watson have drafted or traded for their quarterbacks of the future. Against the advice of every stockbroker, the Texans didn't sell high. Now, according to NBC Sports columnist Peter King, the Texans' likely trade partners for Watson are down to the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers.

Here's how it's going to play out. Watson's lawyer Rusty Hardin and the accusers' lawyer Tony Buzbee will reach financial settlements for some or all of the women. Once money changes hands, with Watson admitting no guilt, he just wants to get all this past him, HPD will drop the case. The NFL will lower the boom on Watson, however, putting him on the commissioner's exempt list for six, or eight, or more games, possibly the entire 2021 season.

When the dust settles, the Texans will trade Watson, not for pennies on the dollar, but maybe a half-price liquidation sale. Then all that's left will be Watson apologizing for non-specific actions, and Hardin and Buzbee deciding whether to go on the talk show circuit together or by themselves.

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The Coogs are back in action Friday night. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Sixteen may be sweet, but it isn’t the only relevant number as the NCAA Tournament heads into the regional semifinals.

Here are some other numbers worth knowing for each team. These statistics will help you learn more about each of the remaining teams and could explain how some of them got this far.

EAST REGION

UCONN: In UConn’s second-round victory over Northwestern, Donovan Clingan became just the third player in tournament history to get 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks in a game. The others to do it were Hakeem Olajuwon for Houston in 1983 and David Robinson for Navy in 1986. The blocks also were the most ever by a UConn player in a tournament game.

SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs’ Sweet 16 matchup with defending national champion UConn will mark the fourth time that two teams have faced each other in the tournament a year after meeting in the final. The losing team from the championship won the rematch in one of the three previous instances, when Duke beat UNLV in a 1991 semifinal. Cincinnati won two straight championship games over Ohio State in 1961-62. Florida beat UCLA in the 2006 championship game and in a 2007 semifinal.

ILLINOIS: Illinois has won six in a row, and Terrence Shannon Jr. has scored at least 25 points in each of those games. The 6-foot-6 guard has averaged 30.5 points and has shot 52.8% (56 of 106) from the floor during that stretch. He also shown an uncanny knack for drawing fouls during the streak. Over his last five games, Shannon has gone 51 of 58 on free-throw attempts.

IOWA STATE: Iowa State is allowing just 61.2 points per game to rank fourth among all Division I teams in scoring defense. Since falling 73-65 to Houston on Feb. 19, the Cyclones haven’t allowed any of their last 10 opponents to exceed 65 points. The Cyclones next face Illinois, which ranks ninth in points per game (84.6) and has averaged 91.3 points over its last four contests.

WEST REGION

ALABAMA: Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada were the first set of Division I teammates since 1996-97 to both have at least 410 points, 125 assists, 120 rebounds, 50 3-point baskets and 40 steals during the regular season. Sears is averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. Estrada has 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

NORTH CAROLINA: Armando Bacot had seven straight tournament double-doubles and six consecutive tourney games with at least 15 rebounds before he ended up with 18 points and seven boards in a second-round victory over Michigan State. His seven straight NCAA double-doubles matched Tim Duncan and Olajuwon for the NCAA record.

ARIZONA: Arizona’s first-round triumph over Long Beach State marked the 19th time this season the Wildcats had five different players score in double figures. No other Division I team had that many games this season in which five different players had at least 10 points.

CLEMSON: Each of Clemson’s first two tournament opponents has shot below 40% against the Tigers. Clemson won its first-round game by limiting New Mexico to 29.7% shooting, the lowest percentage the Tigers had ever allowed in an NCAA tourney game. Clemson now faces Arizona, which shot 52.8% in its second-round victory over Dayton.

MIDWEST REGION

CREIGHTON: Baylor Scheierman is the first Division I men’s player in history to have at least 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 3-point baskets. Scheierman, who is in his second season at Creighton after playing three seasons at South Dakota State, has 2,208 points, 1,250 rebounds, 578 assists and 352 3-pointers.

TENNESSEE: Tennessee is making its 10th Sweet 16 appearance – including its seventh in the last 18 years – but the Volunteers have never reached the Final Four and earned their lone regional final berth in 2010.

GONZAGA: Gonzaga is in the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight time, the longest active streak of any Division I team. Going back to 1975 – the first year that all teams had to win at least one game to reach the Sweet 16 – the record for consecutive Sweet 16 appearances is owned by North Carolina with 13 straight from 1981-93.

PURDUE: Zach Edey is the first player since Kareen Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) in 1968 to have at least 50 points and 35 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field in his first two games of an NCAA Tournament. Edey has shot 67.9% (19 of 28) and has totaled 53 points and 35 rebounds in victories over Grambling State and Utah State.

SOUTH REGION

DUKE: Jared McCain has gone 10 of 17 from 3-point range through the first two rounds. In the Blue Devils’ second-round blowout of James Madison, McCain became the first freshman to score at least 30 points without committing a turnover in an NCAA Tournament game since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

HOUSTON: The Cougars showcased their depth by surviving a second-round matchup with Texas A&M in overtime even after four of their five starters fouled out. They became the first team to win an NCAA game while having at least four players foul out since 1987, when UTEP overcame foul trouble to beat Arizona.

MARQUETTE: Marquette owns a 75-29 record under coach Shaka Smart despite posting a negative rebound margin in each of his three seasons. The Golden Eagles have been outrebounded in each of their last eight games but have gone 5-3. They’re getting outrebounded by 3 boards per game this season. The only other Sweet 16 team with a negative rebound margin is North Carolina State (minus-0.8), which faces Marquette on Friday.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mohamed Diarra has 6.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, but he’s averaged 11.7 points and 13.5 rebounds over his last six. Michael O’Connell scored in double digits three times and totaled 14 3-point baskets in 31 regular-season games. He’s reached double figures in six of seven postseason games and has gone 12 of 22 from 3-point range during that stretch.

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