Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

UTSA knocks off Rice, 79-66, in C-USA opener

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Freshman Jhivvan Jackson scored 20 points Thursday night, lifting UTSA to a 79-66 victory over the Rice Owls at the Convocation Center.

In the Conference USA-opener for both teams, UTSA (8-6) broke open a close game with a 17-3 outburst over a five-minute span early in the second half.

Rice (3-11) fell behind by 21 at the end of the Roadrunners’ scoring spree and never really recovered.

A season-high crowd of 1,163 watched as UTSA hit 12 3-point baskets, the fifth game in a row that the team has made 10 or more.

Rice at UTSA: Owls hope to snap three-game skid

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The slumping Rice Owls open the Conference USA-phase of their men’s basketball schedule tonight at UTSA.

Scott Pera is in his first year as head coach of the Owls after spending the past three seasons as the program’s associate head coach.

UTSA (7-6) has constructed a winning record entering C-USA competition under second-year coach Steve Henson.

Playing against Rice (3-10), high-scoring UTSA will be presented with a great opportunity to start fast, as the Owls have lost three in a row and six of their last seven.

Fans should expect the Owls to try and limit the Roadrunners’ possessions.

Rice is tied for 312th out of 351 Division I programs with a scoring average of 66.9 points. UTSA averages 87.2 points, which ranks 17th in the nation.

Here’s a look at a few key players for the Owls:

Connor Cashaw

6-5 junior guard, averages 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals.

Ako Adams

6-2 sophomore guard, 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists

Robert Martin

6-6 sophomore forward, 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds

Note: Rice’s Scott Pera has a connection to basketball royalty in Houston.

Pera coached Rockets’ star James Harden in high school in the Los Angeles area.

Here’s a story about Pera’s link to one of basketball’s greatest players.

Tim Carter says UTSA will be better than advertised

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Former UTSA coach Tim Carter is in his first season as a radio analyst on Roadrunners basketball.

The UTSA Roadrunners are set to open Conference USA play at home Thursday night against the Rice Owls. Former UTSA coach Tim Carter, in his first year as a radio analyst, answered a few questions for us Wednesday afternoon on the state of the team.

Last year UTSA finished 8-10 in the conference for ninth place in the C-USA. This year, in the preseason, they were picked ninth, same as last year. Based on what you’ve seen, can they be better than that? What do you think?

I would be shocked, and again, I have not seen the Conference USA teams. But I would be shocked if they didn’t do better. Mainly because last year they shot the ball so poorly from the perimeter, from what (radio voice) Andy (Everett) tells me. Now it’s just the opposite. They’ve got tremendous shooters on the perimeter.

I tell you, when you’ve got guys who can put that ball in the hole, it covers up a whole lot of ills, and they can really shoot the ball. So, I’ll be very surprised if they end up where they’re being predicted to finish.

If you’re looking at tape of UTSA right now, what are you telling your players. What do you think we’re going to see from Conference USA defenses?

You cannot allow (Jhivvan) Jackson or (Keaton) Wallace to get going. Period. If I were defending them, to be honest, at times, I thought a triangle and two would be something a team would try to run against ‘em. Especially with those two guys on the floor at the same time.

But the other side of it is, with those two guys on the floor at the same time, you got to face guard ‘em … they can’t touch the basketball. Because they can flat shoot (it).

If you can cut down on their touches … it’s going to really help. That’s what I would (think we’ll) see. People will try to decrease the touches for Wallace and Jackson. (But) it’s hard to do, because they run great half-court offense.

For fans in San Antonio who haven’t seen the team play this year, how would you describe the offense that coach Steve Henson runs?

It’s very entertaining. He gives guys a lot of freedom in the offense. I like watching them play. I’ve never been a guy, you know … I hated slow-down basketball. I think it’s boring. Fans don’t come out and watch it. If I’m to describe coach Henson’s style of play, I’d say it’s entertaining. He does a really good job coaching.

That’s something I’ve really been impressed with. They don’t get out of what they’re doing very often. Most teams get out of rhythm two or three times a game. They don’t do it very often. That’s a sign of not only having good character on the team, but it’s guys who listen to what their coaches want to get done.

Notes: Carter, a San Antonio resident, coached the Roadrunners for 11 seasons from 1995-2006. He was 160-152 in his UTSA career. Carter led the program to the NCAA tournament in 1999 and 2004.

Listen to the UTSA basketball broadcast Thursday night on The Ticket, AM 760. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Sampson’s Houston Cougars have passed early tests

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The spotlight in NCAA Division I basketball always shines a little brighter this time of year when conference play commences. In the state of Texas, the TV cameras tend to follow the power programs at Texas A&M and Texas. But the competition also promises to be fierce among the schools outside the Big 12 and the SEC, as well. Here’s a breakdown on how 18 mid-majors in the state are faring leading into conference play:

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

University of Houston

Record: 10-2

RPI: 62

Top player: Guard Rob Gray (20.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday, at South Florida

The skinny: Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team has played well so far, knocking off power programs Wake Forest from the ACC and Arkansas from the SEC.

SMU

Record: 10-3

RPI: 67

Top player: Guard Shake Milton (17.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.8 apg)

Conference opener: Wednesday, at home, vs. Central Florida

The skinny: SMU probably isn’t as strong as last year’s 30-win team. But the Ponies have registered impressive victories over the Arizona Wildcats and the USC Trojans. The win over USC avenged a loss to the Trojans last spring in the NCAA tournament’s round of 64.

CONFERENCE USA

UTSA

Record: 7-6

RPI: 242

Top player: Guard Jhivvan Jackson (17 ppg, 41 pct., 3-pt shooting)

Conference opener: Thursday at home vs. Rice

The skinny: Offense averages 87.2 ppg, but can the Roadrunners rebound and play defense? Jackson, Keaton Wallace, Deon Lyle and Nick Allen all have been shooting the ball well lately. UTSA lost by four at Tulsa, by 12 at Oklahoma and by 10 at Nebraska. If UTSA wins 10 conference games, fans would be happy. NCAA chances? Probably a long shot.

Rice

Record: 3-10

RPI: 304

Top player: Guard Connor Cashaw (16.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday at UTSA.

The skinny: It’s a new season for the Rice Owls, who open conference play this week. But Rice is in a tailspin, on a three-game losing streak, and needs to turn things around quickly. Could be a long season for first-year head coach Scott Pera.

North Texas

Record: 7-6

RPI: 192

Top player: Guard Roosevelt Smart (17.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday at UTEP

The skinny: First-year coach Grant McCasland led his team to three straight wins, including two in overtime, before losing at Georgetown 75-63 last week. Lost by 10 recently at Oklahoma and by 19 at Nebraska. Middle of the pack finish in C-USA would be considered a success after last year’s 2-16 record.

UTEP

Record: 5-7

RPI: 273

Top player: Guard Keith Frazier (14.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday at home vs. North Texas

The skinny: Season took a bizarre turn on Nov. 28 when veteran coach Tim Floyd announced his retirement following a home loss to Lamar. Assistant Phil Johnson has moved up to interim head coach. Miners are 4-2 under Johnson. UTEP could make some noise in conference if healthy, but 7-foot center Matt Willms is battling a wrist injury.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE

Incarnate Word

Record: 5-5

RPI: 293

Top player: Forward Simi Socks (15 ppg, 51.5 pct FG, 5.5 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday, at McNeese State

The skinny: UIW has posted only a 1-5 record against Division I opponents. Turnovers have been a major problem lately in losses at UTEP and Florida. But the Cardinals have shot the ball much better than they did earlier at Houston and Gonzaga. Eligible to play in the Division I postseason for the first time, goal should be to finish top eight to qualify for SLC tournament.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Record: 3-7

RPI: 345

Top player: Guard Joseph Kilgore (16.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday, at Central Arkansas

The skinny: A&M-CC had a 24-12 record an reached the CIT tournament final a year ago. But this season has been a struggle, as the Islanders remained winless against Division I competition (0-7) with an 85-63 loss at Ole Miss last week. A&M-CC averages 66 ppg.

Stephen F. Austin

Record: 11-2

RPI: 61

Top player: Guard/forward Kevon Harris (19 ppg, 50 pct 3-pt shooting, 5.7 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday, at Southeastern Louisiana

The skinny: The Lumberjacks appear to be primed for an SLC title run. They have won close games at Louisiana Tech and at LSU, a power conference team in the SEC. They also lost by one point in SEC country at Missouri.

Lamar

Record: 8-5

RPI: 191

Top player: Forward Colton Weisbrod (15 ppg, 9 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday at home vs. Houston Baptist

The skinny: Coming off a 19-win season last year, the Cardinals raced to an 8-1 start before losing their last four. In their latest games, the Cards lost close ones in Las Vegas to UC Davis and North Carolina A&T. Lamar played well early in the season with wins against Tulsa, Coastal Carolina and UTEP. Veteran coach Tic Price is in his fourth full season at Lamar.

Abilene Christian

Record: 8-5

RPI: 208

Top player: Guard Jaren Lewis (13.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.5 spg)

Conference opener: Thursday at the University of New Orleans.

The skinny: Like the UIW Cardinals, the Wildcats can play in the SLC tournament this year for the first time after completing a four-year transition to NCAA Division I. ACU looked good recently, winning four in a row, including victories over Bowling Green, Air Force and Texas State. But they have since lost two of their past three. Losses have been on the road at Lipscomb and at nationally-ranked Texas Tech.

Sam Houston State

Record: 6-7

RPI: 266

Top player: Forward Christopher Galbreath, Jr. (15.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg)

Conference opener: Saturday night at Abilene Christian.

The skinny: Coach Jason Hooten has registered winning records in five of his seven seasons at Sam Houston. The Bearkats have won 89 games over the past four. So, nobody should count them out just yet. But they are struggling, having lost four of its last five coming into SLC play.

Houston Baptist

Record: 4-9

RPI: 284

Top player: Forward Josh Ibarra (16 ppg, 10 rpg)

Conference opener: Thursday at Lamar.

The skinny: Houston Baptist’s fortunes took an unfortunate turn in San Antonio when forward Josh Ibarra went down with an injury. He has been out three games since. For the Huskies to contend in the SLC, they will need Ibarra’s double-double presence on the floor.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE

UT Arlington

Record: 9-4

RPI: 82

Top player: Forward Kevin Hervey (23.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg)

Conference opener: Friday at Coastal Carolina

The skinny: Hervey, who ranks sixth in the nation in scoring, has lived up to billing as the preseason choice for Sun Belt player of the year. The Mavs should contend for the title and an NCAA berth. Posted non-conference wins vs. BYU, Rice and North Texas. Dropped close games at Alabama, Northern Iowa.

Texas State

Record: 7-6

RPI: 334

Top player: Guard Nijal Pearson (14.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.2 spg).

Conference opener: Friday at Appalachian State

The skinny: An up and down non-conference performance by the Bobcats raises questions about their viability as an NCAA contender. But don’t count out Coach Danny Kaspar, who knows how to get the best out of his team when it counts.

SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Texas Southern

Record: 0-13

RPI: 164

Top player: Demontrae Jefferson (23.4 ppg, 3.4 apg)

Conference opener: Monday, at home, vs. Southern (La.)

The skinny: Despite being winless at this juncture in the season, coach Mike Davis’ Tigers should contend for the SWAC title and the conference’s NCAA automatic berth after playing a tough schedule, including road games at Gonzaga, Ohio State and Kansas.

Prairie View A&M

Record: 2-11

RPI: 167

Top player: Zachary Hamilton (18.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg)

Next game, conference opener: Friday at home vs. Jarvis Christian; conference opener Monday at home vs. Alcorn State

The skinny: Prairie View is expected to challenge Texas Southern in the SWAC after playing close on the road at New Mexico State, Hawaii, Tulsa and New Mexico.

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

UT Rio Grande Valley

Record: 6-8

RPI: 276

Top player: Guard Nick Dixon (20.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

Next games: Non-conference home games Saturday vs. Hampton and next Tuesday vs. Our Lady of the Lake, followed by WAC opener Jan. 6 at Missouri-Kansas City.

The skinny: With New Mexico State, Utah Valley and Cal State Bakersfield looking strong, coach Lew Hill’s team is a long-shot to win the WAC title.

TCU ranked 10th in latest AP basketball poll

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Coach Jamie Dixon (second from left) has led the TCU men’s basketball team to a 12-0 record. (Photo/Sharon Ellman )

Coach Jamie Dixon’s undefeated TCU Horned Frogs have moved up to No. 10 in the Associated Press college basketball poll.

It’s the highest ranking in school history for the Frogs, who improved to 12-0 with a victory at home last Friday over William & Mary.

The win was TCU’s 17th in a row dating to last season, when it closed out Dixon’s first year as coach of the Frogs with a run to the National Invitation Tournament title.

Before today, the highest TCU had ever been ranked was No. 13 on Feb. 23, 1998.

Villanova, Michigan State, Arizona State and Duke remained 1-4, respectively, as the new poll was released Monday.

Texas A&M, now 11-1, is fifth in the nation. The Aggies have won four straight since their only loss of the season on Dec. 5 at Arizona.

Xavier of Ohio is sixth and West Virginia seventh. West Virginia is the the highest ranked of six Big 12 teams in the Top 25.

The others are TCU and Kansas (11th), Oklahoma (12th), Baylor (18th) and Texas Tech (22nd).

Bamba blocks five shots as Texas beats Alabama, 66-50

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Texas center Mohamed Bamba finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots Friday night, leading the Longhorns’ 66-50 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In the game played at Birmingham, Texas point guard Matt Coleman also played well.

Coleman scored 13 and helped limit Alabama freshman Collin Sexton to eight points, 13 below his Southeastern Conference-leading average.

The Crimson Tide (8-4) are coached by former Spurs point guard Avery Johnson, who watched from the side as the Longhorns (9-3) put on a defensive clinic.

With the 6-foot-11 Bamba protecting the basket, Texas held Alabama to a season-low in points on 34 percent shooting from the field.

Coleman and Kerwin Roach II guarded the perimeter and aided in limiting the Tide to 3 of 15 shooting from 3-point distance.

Sexton was hobbling at the end of the game, favoring his left leg.

Bamba struggled on the offensive end in Texas’ last game, a 47-46 victory at home on Monday against Tennessee State.

Against Tennessee State, he finished 1-for-8 from the field and scored four points.

Asked by ESPN’s Seth Greenberg the difference between his performance Monday and what he did against Alabama, he said, “Just an aggressive mindset.

“My teammates didn’t really get too down on me,” he said. “They just told me they wanted more out of me. That’s what I decided to give ’em.”

Bamba blocked a shot at the outset of the second half, ran the floor and dunked on the other end.

Later, he defended a shot on the 3-point line, and took off again. Bamba received a behind-the-back pass and dunked two-handed.

“I thought our guys did a great job on the defensive end,” Texas coach Shaka Smart told ESPN. “They’ve got some terrific offensive players. Our guys really honored the scouting report, did their best.

“They made some tough shots, but we never dropped our head and kept battling.”

Florida turns up the pressure, runs away from UIW, 75-60

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The Florida Gators forced 23 turnovers Friday night in a 75-60 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word.

UIW played hard and kept the game close for most of the night.

Buoyed by the shooting of Charles Brown III and Simi Socks, the Cardinals tied it on the first possession of the second half and pulled within 51-46 on a Cody Graham drive with 12:50 remaining.

But the Gators (8-4) surged behind point guard Chris Chiozza and forward Egor Koulechov on a 20-4 run over the next six minutes to take control.

The Cardinals (5-5) will return to San Antonio for a two-day break before returning to practice on Monday.

UIW opens Southland Conference play with two games in Louisiana next week, starting Thursday night at McNeese State.

The Florida game marked the debut of UIW’s 7-foot center, Konstantin Kulikov. The native of Russia, a transfer from San Jacinto College, scored four points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Brown led UIW by hitting 5 of 10 from the field for 13 points. Socks scored 11 on 4 of 6 afield.

Chiozza contributed 16 points, 4 assists and 4 steals for Florida. The Gators completely disrupted the Cardinals with 14 steals as a team.

Jalen Hudson scored 13 points and Koulechov, a transfer from Rice, added 12.

Center Udoka Azubuike starts to assert himself for No. 14 Kansas

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When I saw the Kansas Jayhawks play earlier this season on television, I wondered why Udoka Azubuike wasn’t a bigger part of the offense.

Azubuike is 7 feet and 280 pounds. It seems like whatever he may be lacking in skills, he can easily make up for in size and brute force.

Stanford came face-to-face with this reality Thursday night.

In a game played in Sacramento, California, Azubuike dunked seven times en route to 24 points, leading the Jayhawks to an easy 75-54 victory.

Two months ago, Kansas beat Kentucky 65-61 in Chicago.

In that game, it was easy to see several NBA-caliber prospects running the wings on both teams.

But I noticed Azubuike, very agile, moving easily around the bucket.

Kansas gave him five shot opportunities, and he made all of them, including a monster alley-oop slam.

Against Stanford, the Jayhawks seemed to take notice of him more often, getting him 15 shots.

He made 12 of them.

I guess that’s just the way it is with the Jayhawks, a team that features a dynamic wing presence with Devonte’ Graham, Lagerald Vick and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.

If you’re an opposing coach, you hate it.

Some nights, the wing guys kill you with perimeter shooting.

Other nights, you have a freight train-type center dunking on your heads.

With the Jayhawks opening Big 12 play next Friday at Texas, I’d say that probably makes them more than capable of winning another title.

Duane Wilson scores 23, No. 8 Texas A&M beats Buffalo

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Texas A&M forward Robert Williams blocks a shot that leads to basket on the other end for the Aggies.

Guard Duane Wilson scored 23 points Thursday night as eighth-ranked Texas A&M won its fourth game in a row, turning back the Buffalo Bulls, 89-73.

A&M (11-1) also got a strong effort from freshman forward Savion Flagg, who scored 21 as the Aggies closed out their non-conference schedule.

Buffalo (7-5) led by one point five minutes into the game and stayed with the Aggies most of the way.

The Bulls drew within two when C.J. Massinburg hit a 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining.

But A&M finished strong with Flagg scoring seven points in a 29-15 burst down the stretch to put the game away.

Three A&M players sat out on suspension and another, guard Admon Gilder, didn’t play because of an injured knee.

The team announced earlier in the afternoon that junior forward D.J. Hogg and freshmen guards T.J. Starks and J.J. Caldwell all would sit out.

Hogg, A&M’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, will be out for three games for a violation of university policy.

The Buffalo game is the last on the Aggies’ non-conference schedule before they open SEC play next Saturday at Alabama.

Is it really time to fear the Wofford Terriers?

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If you’re looking for a bracket-busting NCAA tournament team in March, keep an eye on the Wofford Terriers.

Wofford, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, made headlines on Wednesday night by beating the 5th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, 79-75.

A stunning victory? Well, in more than one way, it definitely was.

The Terriers came into Chapel Hill on an 0-22 skid against ranked opponents.

They have played in four NCAA tournaments since 2010 but have emerged from those spotlight experiences 0-4.

Still, it’s not like the Terriers have never had success.

In 2015, coach Mike Young’s team won 28 games and pulled down a No. 12 seed in its NCAA region.

Wofford nearly knocked off fifth-seeded Arkansas in the first round that year before falling by three (56-53) at Jacksonville, Florida.

This year, they have a phenomenon on their team. He goes by the name of Fletcher Magee.

Magee is a brazen scorer who came into the home of the defending NCAA champions averaging 24.1 points per game, second in the nation only to Oklahoma freshman Trae Young.

Against the Tar Heels, Magee scored 27, including 16 in the second half.

“Magee was not typical Fletcher (tonight),” Wofford coach Mike Young said. “His numbers have been staggering, and people are starting to
take notice. He missed a couple, one that was like a layup to him.

“(But) 27 points in this environment; Kenny Williams and Theo Pinson, those guys can guard you,” the coach said. “That kid (Magee)
makes you look pretty good (as a coach) sometimes.

“He just rises up and hits a shot. He certainly did that a
couple of times tonight.”

So, make a mental note. In a few months, if you’re looking for an underdog to pick among double-digit seeds in the tournament, look up the Terriers.

They might be ready to roar.