Weekly NCAA Basketball Roundup
Texas Tech, LSU and Houston all have deep tournament aspirations
Feb 19, 2019, 6:25 am
Weekly NCAA Basketball Roundup
TEXAS LONGHORNS (16-11) 7-6 Big XII
Last week (1-1): L- Kansas State 71-64, W- Oklahoma State 69-57
This week: Saturday @ Oklahoma
Texas dropped a game to Kansas State at home, 71-64. Texas struggled offensively in the second half, letting their four-point halftime lead go early in the half and never recovering. Texas had improved as a 3-point shooting team in recent weeks, but they reverted to their early season ways shooting 21% from deep for the game. Kerwin Roach III was 0-5 from behind the arc, but still managed to lead the Horns with 17 points in the loss. The Longhorns followed that up with a win over Oklahoma State, 69-57. Oklahoma State started strong, but eventually wore down and the Horns were able to run up an 11-point halftime lead that they never relinquished. Roach had 16 to lead Texas, and Dylan Osetkowski added 14 in the victory. Texas won't play until Saturday, when they make the road trip to Norman to take on the Sooners.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (10-14) 3-9 SEC
Last week (1-1): W- Georgia 73-56, L- @ South Carolina 84-77
This week: Tuesday vs. Alabama, Saturday @ Arkansas
Texas A&M got a back to back conference wins for the first time all season, following last week's win at Mizzou up with a 73-56 drubbing of Georgia. The game was an up and down affair for the first 10 minutes of the game, but the Aggies used a 22-10 run to end the half to springboard them to the win. A&M was only 6-of-21 from 3 in the game, but the Bulldogs shot a pathetic 3-of-23 from distance. TJ Starks led the Aggies with 19 points and added four steals in the victory. It looked like the Aggies were on their way to 3 in a row, but South Carolina came back from a 7-point deficit at halftime to drop the Ags 84-77. SC hit 52% from distance in the game, and had a +9 edge in rebounding. Sauvion Flagg scored 24 points for Texas A&M in the loss. The Aggies get Alabama and a road trip to Arkansas on the schedule this week.
HOUSTON COUGARS (25-1) 12-1 American
Last week (2-0): W- @ UConn 71-63, W- @ Tulane 85-50
This week: Saturday vs. South Florida
The Cougars held serve this week with two road wins against UConn and Tulane, two of the bottom-feeders in the conference. They got a 71-63 win at UConn to start the week. The game looked like it would be close through the first half, but the Coogs were able to pull away in the second half. Incredible 3-point shooting (which was a theme this week for UH) gave the Cougars a big edge, knocking down 52% from long-range. Dejon Jarreau led the way for Houston, scoring 18 points and adding 7 assists in the win. Things only got easier for the Cougars against Tulane, where they crushed the Green Wave 85-50. The Cougars hit 17 3-pointers in the game, including 8 from Corey Davis, Jr., who led the Coogs with 26 points. Armoni Brooks added 24 in the biggest conference blowout the Coogs have had this season. The 9th-ranked Cougars will try to keep things rolling at home this weekend, as the South Florida Bulls come in.
RICE OWLS (10-17) 5-9 CUSA
Last week (0-2): L- @ FIU 86-65, L- @ FAU 60-41
This week: Saturday @ UTEP
Rice had really started to look competitive after a horrible start to the season. The Owls had either won, or stayed within double digits in eight straight games before last week. They got blown out at Florida International, 86-65 to break that run. Rice had 33 turnovers in the game and only hit 3 3-pointers in the game. Freshman Quintin Millora-Brown was the lone bright spot for the Owls, posting a 14 point, 16 rebound night. Things didn't get much better at Florida Atlantic, where the Owls fell 60-41 over the weekend. They shaved 20 turnovers from the FIU game, but shot just 27% from the field. Chris Mullins led the Owls with 10 points. Miller-Brown shot just 1-8 from the field and had only 2 points. The Owls will look to rebound this weekend when they play their 3rd straight road game, this time at UTEP.
BAYLOR BEARS (16-9) 7-5 Big XII
Last week (1-1): L- @ Texas Tech 86-61
This week: Tuesday @ Iowa State, Saturday vs. West Virginia
Baylor has to get healthy, and it needs to happen fast if they are going to remain in the Big XII title picture. The Bears weren't competitive at Texas Tech, getting blown out 86-61. The Bears shot just 34% from the field, and were -10 in turnover margin. Not only did King McClure miss another game, but Makai Mason sat out as well. Mario Kegler and Jared Butler each had 16 points in the loss for Baylor. The Bears have another tough road trip coming up at Iowa State before a Saturday home date with West Virginia.
TCU HORNED FROGS (17-9) 5-8 Big XII
Last week (0-2): L- Oklahoma 71-62, L- @ Oklahoma State
This week: Saturday vs. Iowa State
Oh man. That couldn't have gone much worse. TCU lost two games, against two of the worst teams in the Big XII. First, they dropped a 71-62 decision to Oklahoma. The Horned Frogs shot just 35% from the field. JD Miller and Kendric Davis both had 14 points in the loss. Things only got worse against Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys were able to snap their 8-game conference losing streak at the expense of TCU. Desmond Bane and Alex Robinson both had 19 points for the Frogs. They made a late push, but some clutch late shots by OSU sealed TCU's fate. After this week they find themselves in a very vulnerable situation on the bubble. TCU just has one game this week, a home game against surging Iowa State.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (21-5) 9-4 Big XII
Last week (2-0): W- @ Oklahoma State 78-50, W- Baylor 86-81
This week: Saturday vs. Kansas
After a shaky run in the Big XII, Texas Tech has clearly righted the ship. They had another 2-0 week and haven't had a sweat in their last four games. They started with a 78-50 road win against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys led 5-3, and never saw the lead again. As is normally the case, turnover margin and field goal percentage killed another Tech opponent, but the Raiders were strong offensively as well. The Raiders shot 52 % from the field and 48% from 3-point range. Jarrett Culver led the Red Raiders with 19 points. Things weren't much tougher against Baylor, with Tech taking an 86-61 win over the Bears. Tech again knocked down 12 3's and got as strong an effort out of their offense as their defense. Culver led them again with 18 points. Tech has worked their way up to 14th in the polls, and only sit a half game out of 1st place in the Big XII.
SMU MUSTANGS (12-12) 4-8 American
Last week (0-2): L- @ Temple 82-74
This week: Thursday vs. UConn, Sunday @ UCF
SMU lost their fifth straight and have now lost 7 of their last 8. The once promising season has turned into a disaster. It continued this week with an 82-74 loss at Temple. The two teams shot close to even from a percentage standpoint, but Temple got to the line more and had 6 less turnovers than SMU. Jahmal McMurray was the leader for the Ponies, posting a 22 point, 4 rebound effort in the loss. Ethan Chargois added 17 and 8. SMU has a winnable home game against UConn before heading back on the road to take on UCF, who currently sits at 3rd in the conference.
LSU TIGERS (21-4) 11-1 SEC
Last week (2-0): W- @ Kentucky 73-71, W- @ Georgia 83-79
This week: Wednesday vs. Florida, Saturday vs. Tennessee
LSU had their season defining win this week, defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 73-71 at Rupp Arena. LSU got a controversial put-back at the buzzer to silence the Kentucky crowd. Tremont Waters scored 15 points for the Tigers, albeit he and Skylar Mays both shot just 3-of-13 from the field. LSU got 23 bench points compared to Kentucky's 10 in the closely contested battle. LSU trailed by 8 at the half. They followed that up with a win in a bad situational spot on the road against a weak Georgia team, 83-79. Waters had 20 this time on 8-of-14 shooting, and Javonte Smart added 19 off the bench. The Tigers shot 55% from the field in the win. LSU is now 13th in the polls and tied with Tennessee atop the SEC standings. LSU gets Florida and the aforementioned Volunteers at home this week.
Houston (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime
BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 2.
Against the spread: Texans 3-4-1; Jets 2-6.
Series record: Jets lead 7-3.
Last meeting: Jets beat Texans 30-6 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 10, 2023.
Last week: Texans beat Colts 23-20; Jets lost to Patriots 25-22.
Texans offense: overall (9t), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (14).
Texans defense: overall (2), rush (13), pass (3), scoring (15t).
Jets offense: overall (24), rush (30), pass (13), scoring (25).
Jets defense: overall (4), rush (17), pass (2), scoring (11t).
Turnover differential: Texans plus-4; Jets minus-3.
RB Joe Mixon. He has carried Houston's offense in the three games since he returned from an injury and could be even more important this week after wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore the ACL in his right knee last Sunday and is out for the season. Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 100.6 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing and a TD run in three straight games.
Edge rusher Haason Reddick. After ending his lengthy contract holdout early last week, Reddick made his Jets debut and played 26 snaps on defense with two quarterback pressures while working mostly on third downs. His snaps might increase a bit Thursday and he could help the Jets get after C.J. Stroud, who has been sacked 22 times this season — tied for third most in the NFL.
Jets offensive line vs. Texans' pass rush. New York has had issues this season with injuries, consistency and protecting Aaron Rodgers. The Jets will face a tough test Thursday night against the Texans, whose 27 sacks are third in the NFL. DE Will Anderson Jr. is tied for third in the league with a career-high 7 1/2 sacks, including at least one in his past three games. DE Danielle Hunter has 5 1/2 sacks and DT Tim Settle has four, powering a formidable defensive front for Houston. Hunter leads the league with 51 quarterback pressures and Anderson is fourth with 39, the only teammates in the top 15, according to Next Gen Stats.
Diggs' injury leaves Houston without its top two receivers. Nico Collins, who leads the Texans with 567 yards receiving, is out for at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. ... S Calen Bullock was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday after injuring his shoulder Sunday. … LBs Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) both missed the Colts game, but could return this week. … S Jimmie Ward could miss a fifth straight game with a groin injury. … LG Jarrett Patterson is in the concussion protocol and is likely out. … RB Dameon Pierce missed practice this week with a groin injury. ... Jets LB C.J. Mosley suffered a stinger in his neck during pregame warmups at New England and was meeting with neck and spine specialists this week. ... RG Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), WR Allen Lazard (chest), DL Leki Fotu (knee) and safeties Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) all missed the game vs. the Patriots and their availability for this week was uncertain. ... K Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR. Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader were signed to the practice squad, and one will be promoted for the game.
The Jets have won the past two meetings. ... New York won the first five meetings, including the first game between the franchises in 2003, when LaMont Jordan's late 8-yard touchdown run helped lift the Jets to a 19-14 victory. ... Zach Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the most recent meeting, a 30-6 rout by New York during which Stroud left with a concussion.
The AFC South-leading Texans have won four of their past five. ... Stroud is 2-0 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in two career starts in prime time. He had 285 yards passing last week for his ninth career game with at least that many yards passing, which is tied for second most in the NFL since 2023. ... WR Tank Dell had a touchdown reception last week and has a TD catch in two of his past three games. ... TE Dalton Schultz had a season-high 52 yards receiving against the Colts. He has two TD receptions in each of his past two Thursday night games. ... Hunter has 10½ sacks in eight career Thursday night games. … LB Neville Hewitt, who spent the 2018-21 seasons with the Jets, forced a fumble last week. … Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high three passes defended last week. … S Jalen Pitre had his first interception of the season last week. ... S Eric Murray had seven tackles and a season-high three passes defended last week. ... New York is trying to snap a five-game skid. ... Jeff Ulbrich is 0-3 as the Jets’ interim head coach since replacing the fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. Ulbrich, also the team's defensive coordinator, said earlier this week he'll continue to call plays on defense. … Rodgers snapped a streak of three consecutive games with an interception. He has seven in eight games, six shy of his single-season career high set in 2008 in his first year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. ... Rodgers hasn't passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 30 regular-season games and 31 overall, including one playoff game. ... WR Garrett Wilson leads the NFL with 84 targets, 11 more than the Giants’ Malik Nabers. Wilson’s 51 receptions are second in the league behind Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, who has 52. ... WR Davante Adams had four catches for 54 yards, giving him seven receptions for 84 yards in two games since being acquired from the Raiders. ... Second-year WR Xavier Gipson caught his first career TD pass last Sunday. ... TE Tyler Conklin has a TD catch in consecutive games after not having one since catching two TD passes in Week 8 of the 2022 season against New England. ... RB Breece Hall has 316 yards receiving, the most among NFL running backs. ... Edge rusher Will McDonald has eight sacks, second in the NFL to the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (nine). … The Jets have only six takeaways, ranking among the fewest in the league. Backup CB Brandin Echols has New York's only two interceptions.
Houston wide receiver John Metchie is coming off a career-best three-catch game and could see more targets — and perhaps his first NFL touchdown — with both Diggs and Collins out. Might be worth a stash as a potential WR3.
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