Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

UTSA beats Rice, 6-5, and wins a Conference USA road series, two games to one

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA righthander Daniel Shafer retired one batter in the eighth inning and three straight in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday afternoon as the streaking UTSA Roadrunners won a Conference USA road series, downing the Rice Owls, 6-5.

With the victory, the Roadrunners (20-5, 5-1 in the C-USA) improved to 12-2 in their last 14 games and maintained a hold on first place early in the conference race.

Powered by three home runs, the Owls (12-12, 4-2) rallied into a 3-2 lead early in the game and came back again to tie 5-5 in the late innings.

But behind the relief pitching of Ruger Riojas, Fischer Kingsbery and Shafer, the Roadrunners captured the series against the Owls at Reckling Park in Houston. Leyton Barry doubled in the eighth inning for an RBI and a 6-5 lead for the Roadrunners.

UTSA won the series opener on Friday, claiming a 4-3 victory in 11 innings. Rice responded Saturday, exploding past the visitors from San Antonio, 13-8.

In response, the Roadrunners came back on Sunday, played error-free baseball and emerged with their second one-run victory on the weekend and their third of the season.

Kingsbury worked two scoreless innings without allowing a hit to earn his first victory. He is 1-0. Shafer struck out one and cruised to his second save in the series and his team-leading fifth for the season. Blake Brogdon was the losing pitcher, falling to 1-2, despite striking out six in 3 and 1/3 innings.

Records

UTSA 20-5, 5-1
Rice 12-12, 4-2

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

UTSA at Rice baseball
Game 3 summary

Capitalizing on Rice starter Tom Vincent’s control problems, the Roadrunners took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Vincent set the UTSA rally in motion when he hit Sammy Diaz with a pitch. Vincent walked three more in the inning.

Both Shane Sirdashney and Isaiah Walker worked the count to 3-2 before they drew bases-loaded walks to drive in the first two runs of the game. With the bases loaded, UTSA had a chance to do more damage, but Leyton Barry grounded out to end the threat.

Down by two runs early for the third straight day, the Owls retaliated with three runs in their next at bat against UTSA starter Zach Royse.

The surge came suddenly, as the three runs scored on two swings of the bat. First, Royse walked the leadoff man. Next, Aaron Smigelski clubbed a two-run homer. On the next pitch, Ben Royo hit a solo shot.

Given the one-run lead to protect, Vincent couldn’t get it done. After UTSA’s Antonio Valdez led off the third and reached on an error, Sammy Diaz belted a two-run homer, and the Roadrunners once again assumed the lead, 4-3.

The Owls, in response, replaced Vincent. His day was done. Right-handed reliever Tyler Hamilton took the mound and retired three of the next four batters.

In the bottom half of the third, the Roadrunners also made a pitching change, going to freshman righthander Ruger Riojas, who promptly started his day by retiring three straight.

Riojas continued to throw strikes and find success in the fourth. After yielding a two-out double to Aaron Smigelski, the first-year player from Wimberley High School came off the mound, fielded a ground ball and threw out Ben Royo to end the inning.

With Riojas finding his groove, Valdez stepped up on offense to create more momentum for the Roadrunners. He led off the top of the fifth by pulling a pitch and drilling it for a solo homer over the right field wall. Valdez’s eighth homer of the year boosted UTSA’s lead to 5-3.

After Josh Killeen followed with a one-out double to deep right, Rice elected to stay with Hamilton, who promptly walked Matt King. At that point, Rice coaches had seen enough, and Blake Brogdon entered as the Owls’ third pitcher. Brogdon closed the door on UTSA, getting Taylor Smith on a long fly ball to center to end it.

As the game reached the middle innings, Riojas emerged as a force for UTSA. A freshman from Wimberley, Riojas cruised through the third, fourth and fifth by retiring nine out of 10 Rice batters. He struck out two in the bottom of the fifth as UTSA maintained its two-run lead.

With Brogdon throwing well for Rice and shutting out UTSA in the top of the sixth, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark didn’t hesitate — he sent Riojas out for his fourth inning on the day.

Nonetheless, the Owls exploded again. First, Guy Garibay Jr. singled up the middle, and then Connor Walsh belted a two-run home run. As Walsh crossed the plate, Rice had tied the game, 5-5. It was Rice’s third homer of the day and its fifth in the series.

UTSA’s Fischer Kingsbery, a junior from Leander, replaced Riojas and finished the inning, walking one but retiring Ben Royo on a pop up to the infield.

In the top of the eighth, UTSA’s Taylor Smith led off with a single and moved to second on a ground ball.

As Brogdon exited the playing field with two outs, Jack Ben-Shoshan came in to pitch for the Owls. The first batter, Leyton Barry, greeted him with an RBI double to give UTSA a 6-5 lead. Next up, Valdez smoked a ball to right field but it was caught, ending the inning.

In the bottom half, Hallmark had some choices to make. First and foremost, how long should he stay with Kingsbery? Well, Kingsbery did his job, retiring two straight. From there, Hallmark lifted him for Daniel Shafer, who ended the inning with one pitch. Walsh, who had homered in his last at bat, flied out to right.

Notable

On Friday, the Roadrunners won the opener, 4-3, in 11 innings. Freshman Tye Odom delivered the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th with an RBI single. Simon Miller pitched 4 and 2/3 innings of relief for the victory, and Daniel Shafer got the last two outs for the save.

On Saturday, Manny Garza and Paul Smith drove in three runs apiece as the Owls bounced back from the series-opening loss for a 13-8 victory. In a game that featured three lead changes, Rice pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of eight UTSA walks to even the best-of-three at one win apiece.

Garza, Smith lead the Rice Owls past UTSA, 13-8

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Manny Garza and Paul Smith drove in three runs apiece Saturday as the Rice Owls bounced back from a series-opening loss for a 13-8 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners.

In a Conference USA game that featured three lead changes, Rice pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of eight UTSA walks to even the best-of-three at one win apiece.

A big blow for the Owls came in the fifth inning when Smith, a freshman from Houston Episcopal High School, blasted a three-run home homer to cap a five-run outburst and boost his team into a 9-5 lead.

After UTSA rallied twice over the next few innings, Rice’s Ben Royo unloaded with a long, two-run homer off Drake Smith in the bottom of the eighth to make it 13-8.

For UTSA, Taylor Smith (no relation to Paul Smith) and Tye Odom both went two for four at the plate with two RBIs. Smith cranked a two-run homer. Josh Killeen had three hits and scored twice.

The series finale between teams tied for the early lead in the C-USA race is set for Sunday afternoon at Rice’s Reckling Park.

Records

UTSA 19-5, 4-1
Rice 12-11, 4-1

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Sunday, 1 p.m.
UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Notable

On Friday, the Roadrunners won the opener, 4-3, in 11 innings. Freshman Tye Odom delivered the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th with an RBI single. Simon Miller pitched 4 and 2/3 innings of relief for the victory, and Daniel Shafer got the last two outs for the save.

Odom strokes the winning hit as UTSA beats Rice 4-3 in 11 innings

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Freshman Tye Odom delivered an RBI single for the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th, and the UTSA Roadrunners held in the bottom half to beat the Rice Owls 4-3 on the road in the opener of a Conference USA baseball series.

The series will continue with single games Saturday and Sunday at Reckling Park in Houston.

UTSA managed just enough offense to win for the 11th time in 12 games behind the pitching of starter Luke Malone, relief ace Simon Miller and closer Daniel Shafer.

After Malone pitched 5 and 2/3 innings, coming out in the sixth after he was hit by a batted ball, Miller entered and worked masterfully through the next 4 and 2/3, earning the victory and improving his record to 6-0 on the season.

Though Miller yielded the tying run in the bottom of the ninth, UTSA stayed with him, and he pitched into the 11th.

All told, he threw 78 pitches. Miller, the nation’s earned run average leader at 0.38 entering the series, yielded one run on four hits and one walk. He struck out seven.

Trying to close the game, Miller hit Drew Holderbach with a pitch to open the bottom of the 11th.

After Holderbach was erased on a Connor Walsh fielder’s choice, UTSA coach Pat Hallmark took Miller out and replaced him with Shafer, who induced Max Johnson to pop up.

In the final sequence, Shafer earned the save when he fanned Aaron Smigelski to end it.

The game started fast with UTSA’s Antonio Valdez clubbing a two-run homer off Rice starter Parker Smith in the top of the first. Rice responded in the bottom half when Guy Garibay Jr. smashed a two-run homer off Malone.

UTSA took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when Leyton Barry bunted for a single and took second base on a throwing error by Smith. Barry advanced to third on a fly ball and then raced home on a wild pitch.

Undeterred, Rice scratched out a run in the bottom of the ninth against Miller to tie it.

Manny Garza started the uprising with a two-out single. At that point, Johnson entered to pinch run. Smigelski followed with an infield single to the right side, putting runners at first and second. Pinch hitter Paul Smith, a freshman, stroked an RBI single to right to tie the game.

Records

UTSA 19-4, 4-0
Rice 11-11, 3-1

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Texas carries 11-game win streak into series against Texas Tech

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Texas Tech at Texas

Friday: 7 p.m.
Saturday: 2:30 p.m.
Sunday: 2:30 p.m.

Did you know? The 14th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders (18-4, 2-1) will travel to face the Texas Longhorns (15-7, 0-0), with the Longhorns riding an 11-game winning streak. Texas hasn’t lost since March 5 at Cal State Fullerton. Tech pitcher Brandon Beckel is serving a four-game suspension for his ejection from Sunday’s series finale against Oklahoma State in Lubbock, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Kansas at TCU

Friday: 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m.

Did you know? TCU outfielder Luke Boyers from Boerne Champion went two for five and homered against Abilene Christian on Tuesday night and then went two for four and homered against Northwestern on Wednesday. Boyers is batting .228 for the season. TCU (12-9, 1-2) lost two of three at Oklahoma last weekend. Collin Baumgartner starts for Kansas (8-11, 0-0) tonight against TCU’s Ryan Vanderhei.

Baylor at Oklahoma State

Friday: 6 p.m.
Saturday: 1 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m.

Did you know? Riding a three-game winning streak, Baylor (9-12, 2-1) will travel to play 20th-ranked Oklahoma State (17-5, 1-2). Baylor won the last two of a home series last week against Kansas State before taking a mid-week victory against Sam Houston State. Hunter Simmons is 10 for 12 at the plate in Baylor’s last three games.

Texas A&M at Tennessee

Friday: 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m.
Sunday: noon

Did you know? The Aggies (15-6, 1-2) rallied with four runs in the eighth inning Sunday to down LSU 8-6 and salvage a 1-2 series at home against the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The Aggies will take a 2-3 record against ranked teams into Knoxville, against the No. 12 Tennessee Vols (16-6, 0-3). The Vols lost all three of an SEC-opening series at Missouri last week. Coach Tony Vitello was ejected in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Tigers.

UTSA at Rice

Friday: 3 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m.

Did you know? The Roadrunners (18-4, 3-0 in Conference) lead the conference in batting average (.336) and earned run average (2.72). They had a 10-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night at UT Rio Grande Valley. The Owls (11-10, 3-0) will welcome back members of the 2003 College World Series champions. Rice, coached by Jose Cruz Jr., hit four home runs in an 8-7 loss at Texas A&M Tuesday.

Texas State at Coastal Carolina

Friday: 5 p.m.
Saturday: 1 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.

Did you know? Levi Wells, the projected starter tonight for the Texas State Bobcats, was ranked in the offseason by mlb.com as the 49th best prospect in the 2023 draft. Wells is 4-0 with a 1.14 earned run average. He’s 12-3 with a 2.67 ERA over the past two seasons.

Houston Christian at Incarnate Word

Friday: 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m.

Did you know? Former major league baseball player Lance Berkman‘s is in his second season as head coach at Houston Christian. Berkman played in high school at New Braunfels Canyon. HCU is struggling at 2-18 going into Southland Conference play.

UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros put an end to UTSA’s 10-game winning streak

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA’s 10-game winning streak came to an end on a windy Tuesday night in Edinburg.

Pitcher J.C. Ariza beat the Roadrunners for the second time in two seasons, throwing five innings to help the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros stop their own five-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory.

Last May, Ariza worked six innings in San Antonio and emerged as the winning pitcher as UTRGV downed UTSA 12-1 at Roadrunner Field.

This time, he came up big again, holding the Roadrunners to five hits and two runs. The 6-foot-5 righthander walked none and struck out four.

With timely hitting, UTRGV scored three times in the second inning off Drake Smith and twice in the fourth against Robbie Maldonado for a 5-0 lead.

UTSA pulled to within 5-2 in the fifth on solo homers by Caleb Hill and Taylor Smith. After that, the UTRGV bullpen stopped the momentum and saved the game for the home team.

In the ninth inning, UTSA put a scare into the home team when Antonio Valdez led off with a solo home run against Sebastian Mejia. Mejia, eventually, would get out of the jam. With a base runner at first, he struck out Garrett Poston for the last out.

UTSA’s winning streak was two shy of the school record. In 1994, the Roadrunners in only their third year as a program won 12 straight under coach Jimmy Shankle.

Records

UTSA 18-4
UTRGV 10-10

Coming up

UTSA at Rice, Friday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Sunday, 1 p.m.

UTSA capitalizes on a Florida Atlantic bat infraction to win its 10th straight game

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UTSA junior Ulises Quiroga remained undefeated by working 6 and 1/3 innings to earn the victory in the first game Sunday, setting up a doubleheader sweep of the FAU Owls.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Pitching, hitting and playing defense aren’t the only things that that aid in the winning cause in baseball.

Sometimes, just being alert can be crucial to team success.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark cited catcher Sammy Diaz for picking up on a subtle rules infraction by the opposing team, helping the Roadrunners complete a Conference USA doubleheader sweep against the Florida Atlantic University Owls, 7-2 and 5-3, on Sunday afternoon at Roadrunner Field.

UTSA reliever Simon Miller pitched two scoreless innings. UTSA baseball beat Houston 12-2 in 7 innings on a run rule on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA reliever Simon Miller ran his record to 5-0 with 2 and 2/3 innings of work in the second game – File photo by Joe Alexander

As a result, the Roadrunners won all three games against the Owls in their C-USA opening series, extending their winning streak to 10 games, the second-longest in school history.

How did Diaz’ awareness aid the UTSA cause? Well, it’s a bit complicated. But, during Game 1 Sunday morning, he noticed that a few FAU hitters came to the plate with a bat that didn’t meet regulations.

“There’s bat testing in NCAA baseball now,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark explained. “Every bat has to pass a test on Thursday and have a new sticker, a present-year sticker, and Sammy noticed in Game 1 that they had a bat that didn’t have an orange sticker on it.”

As soon as the Roadrunners became aware of it, they employed a strategy, to call attention to the infraction only when the Owls used a bat without an orange sticker to score a run.

It happened in the top of the first inning in Game 2. With a runner on base via a walk, UTSA pitcher Ryan Beaird threw a fastball that FAU offensive star Nolan Schanuel smashed over the left field wall for an apparent two-run homer.

“At no point in the first game did that bat do any damage (to us),” Hallmark said. “They used the bat again in the second game, and that was the bat he hit the home run with.”

That’s precisely when the issue blew up on the Owls. As Schanuel was rounding the bases, UTSA’s second-game catcher Josh Killeen picked up the bat to bring it to everyone’s attention, and a discussion among umpires ensued.

Then, with Schanuel already seated in the dugout and the scoreboard showing FAU with a 2-0 lead, one of the umpires in the conference at home plate looked up and motioned with his fist, giving the “out” signal.

Two runs, ultimately, were erased from the scorebook.

“I saw J.K. pick up the bat, and I didn’t know what was going on,” recalled UTSA relief pitcher Daniel Shafer, who was in the bullpen in left field at the time. “I kind of assumed it was an illegal bat or something was up with it. Then I saw him called out and I just said, ‘OK. I’ll take it.’

“That’s a great hitter over there, Schanuel. He puts good swings on the ball.”

Does he ever. Schanuel leads Conference USA with a .441 batting average. He’s also got eight home runs.

FAU coaches and players objected to the ruling on what would have been his ninth jack of the season, but the discussion didn’t last too long after the home plate umpire issued a warning to the bench.

“I think they were showing them some stickers that looked like last year’s stickers,” Hallmark said. “They’re not orange anymore. So, that’s what happened.”

The first C-USA series of the season for UTSA started on Friday with the Roadrunners beating the Owls 8-2 on a cold and blustery night. By Saturday, the weather worsened, with rain washing out what had been scheduled as an afternoon game.

Because of the rainout, the teams played two seven-inning games Sunday, with the first starting at 9:30 a.m. By the time the doubleheader was complete, the Roadrunners were answering questions about a C-USA series sweep and a 10-game win streak.

“Ten wins in a row is great, but it’s still a long season,” said Shafer, who closed out both ends in the doubleheader. “It’s still really early. I mean, we’ve got a lot to work on. In all phases of the game. It’s great, but a lot of season is left.”

Nevertheless, it helps the Roadrunners immensely to forge such a solid start in conference play, going 3-0 against a team that came in with its own five-game win streak.

Offensively, UTSA pounded out 14 hits in Friday’s opener, including four of them for extra bases. On Sunday, there were fewer balls hit into the gaps, and there were only 16 UTSA hits in the two games combined.

But there was quite a bit more pop in the balls they did hit, with four going for home runs, including three of them in the second game — one each by Leyton Barry, Matt King and Isaiah Walker.

On the pitching side, UTSA was impressive all weekend, as usual. The Owls, hitting .292 as a team entering the series, scored only seven runs on 19 hits in the three games. In the two played on Sunday, Roadrunners’ pitching scattered 12 hits.

With such a deep reservoir of talent on the mound, Roadrunners coaches had the luxury in the second game Sunday to bring in ace reliever Simon Miller in an early high-leverage situation. In the top of the third, with UTSA leading 2-0, FAU had runners at first and second with one out.

In came Miller, who got Schanuel on a ground ball force play for the first out, before he retired the side against cleanup hitter Jackson Ross. The move allowed UTSA to get through the meat of the Owls’ batting order for the second straight time without harm.

“We’re deep,” Hallmark said. “People don’t realize, guys like Ruger (Riojas) and Fischer (Kingsbery) who are throwing a bullpen (session) right now, allow us go to Simon so early in the game. (Pitching) Simon that early in the game is a little odd, to most people.”

In the move to Miller, Hallmark elected to take out Daniel Garza, one of his best bullpen arms.

“But with two guys on, and one out, and the best hitter in the country coming up to bat, to me, the game is on the line, even though it’s only the third inning …

“It could be the moment of truth, and Simon is our best pitcher … and the only way you do that is to have a deep pitching staff.”

Miller, the winning pitcher in Game 2 after working 2 and 2/3 innings, has responded in key situations all season.

The junior righthander from Canton has made nine appearances and has fashioned a 5-0 record with an 0.38 earned run average. His five victories lead the C-USA.

Hallmark is also high on Shafer, who has made nine appearances and notched three saves, with a 2.70 ERA.

“He wants the ball,” the coach said. “Shafer’s mad when I put Simon in, because he wants to go out there. So, today, it worked out. He got to go out there when he wanted.

“We’re lucky to have as many as what we call ‘Junk Yard Dogs’ on that pitching staff. They want the ball, and they want it in the leverage innings.”

Records

Florida Atlantic 12-9, 0-3
UTSA 18-3, 3-0

Coming up

UTSA at UT-Rio Grande Valley, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Friday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Rice, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

UTSA’s winning streak started on March 4, with an 11-5 victory over Utah.

UTSA beat Utah twice to close out a home series against the Utes and then won a mid-week game at Texas State. UTSA returned home to win three straight against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. From there, they traveled to Nacogdoches to beat Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. After taking three straight from Florida Atlantic, the Roadrunners’ streak is 10.

Unofficially, based on a quick review of the UTSA baseball record book, the longest streak in program history appears to be 12 games.

It was a streak put together in the 1994 season under coach Jimmy Shankle. That year, UTSA was in only its third year of baseball. Regardless, Shankle’s Roadrunners went on to win a school record 39 games and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional at Austin.

UTSA has had three other eight-game streaks since then — in 2006, 2008 and 2010 — all under coach Sherman Corbett.

The Roadrunners won six straight twice last season under Hallmark.

Quiroga’s big day

Junior Ulises Quiroga pitched 6 and a third innings to earn the victory in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, striking out nine batters while allowing two runs on five hits.

He gave up a hit and a walk in the seventh and was lifted with one out and runners at first and second. Shafer entered and walked the first man he faced, before Schanuel hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the second run of the game for the Owls. Shafer fanned Ross for the third out to end the game.

After the game, Quiroga said UTSA players aren’t dwelling on the winning streak, calling Sunday “just another day at the ballpark. Worried about the next one.”

Quiroga (4-0, 3.62 on the season) said he felt good about the way he was throwing the ball. “Command was there, and then the offense just opened up,” he said. “That helped me out big time, for sure.”

What was working best for him? “I was able to throw the breaker in there when I needed it.”

Quiroga always has been a fastball-oriented pitcher. It’s his best pitch. But in some respects, the junior from Baytown has altered his style this season, ditching the slider he used last year and replacing it with a curve.

“It’s a spike curve ball,” he said. “Fingers on top and throw it like a fastball.”

Western Kentucky names S.A. native Steve Lutz as head coach

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

San Antonio native Steve Lutz on Saturday was named head basketball coach at Western Kentucky University.

A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz at the UTSA Convocation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. - photo by Joe Alexander

Steve Lutz led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a 47-23 record and two NCAA tournament appearances in the past two years. — File photo by Joe Alexander.

WKU director of athletics Todd Stewart made the announcement in a release posted on the school’s athletics website. Lutz is a 1991 East Central High School graduate.

He played basketball at East Central for Stan Bonewitz, Sr., and at Texas Lutheran University before embarking on a college coaching career, which has included stops as an assistant at the University of the Incarnate Word, Stephen F. Austin, SMU, Creighton and Purdue.

Lutz has been the head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the past two seasons.

“We are excited to name Steve Lutz as our next head coach,” Stewart said. “He is a proven winner and a respected coach with a track record of consistent success in recruiting, player development, academics, and community involvement.”

In his only two years as a head coach, Lutz led the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders to NCAA tournament appearances following the 2021-22 and ’22-23 seasons.

Both years, the Islanders won the postseason tournament title in the Southland Conference.

This year, he won both the SLC regular-season and the postseason crowns en route to the NCAA tournament.

On Tuesday night, the Islanders beat the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, 75-71, in Dayton, Ohio, in the NCAA First Four. His team was eliminated Thursday in Birmingham, falling 96-75 to the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide.

“I am very excited and appreciative of the opportunity to be the next head coach at Western Kentucky,” Lutz said. “This is a storied program with a rich history of success. Our teams will wear the WKU uniform with pride and represent the Hilltopper Nation in everything we do.”

Arkansas eliminates defending NCAA champion Kansas, 72-71

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The season has come to an end for the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks. For the Arkansas Razorbacks, they have advanced, and they’re heading to Las Vegas with their loyal fans for the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.

It all unfolded Saturday, when the eighth-seeded Razorbacks rallied to knock off the No. 1 Jayhawks 72-71 in a West region round of 32 game at Des Moines, Iowa.

With Davonte Davis scoring 21 of his 25 points in the second half and Ricky Council IV hitting clutch free throws in the final minutes, the Razorbacks knocked out the Jayhawks, who became the second top-seed in the tournament to lose in 24 hours.

On Friday night, Farleigh Dickinson shook the basketball landscape by becoming only the second No. 16 seed in 38 years to beat a No. 1, as the Knights eliminated the Purdue Boilermakers in the East region, and now Kansas has gone down, as well.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman, celebrating with the Razorbacks’ fans, ripped off his shirt at courtside in the moments after the victory and had to put it back on for his televised post-game interview.

“I mean, that’s such an unbelievable win,” Musselman said on the CBS telecast. “I keep telling people that we’re getting better. Not many teams can get better this time of year. I’m so, I’ve never been prouder of a team like tonight.”

Asked how his team could come back from an eight-point halftime deficit against the regular-season champions in the Big 12, Musselman acknowledged that it had a lot to do with Davis, a 6-4 junior guard from Jacksonville, Ark.

“I love this kid so much,” the coach said.

Davis was in tears as he tried to explain how he met his coach’s challenge to become a leader on the team.

“I don’t know,” Davis said, bending over and pausing to compose himself. “It’s crazy. I feel real glad we came out with the win.”

Asked about the tears, Davis replied, “Putting in the work. This team has struggled, and we figured it out, and I’m glad we did at the right time. And I hope we continue to do it.”

The Razorbacks will advance to play next week against the winner between the UConn Huskies and Saint Mary’s (Calif.) Gaels, who will play Sunday in Albany, N.Y.

Despite the absence of veteran head coach Bill Self, Kansas pushed out to an early lead and held it for most of the game. Led by Davis, Arkansas gradually cut into the lead throughout the second half and eventually took over the game in the final minutes.

Self had a heart procedure and was hospitalized last week during the Big 12 tournament. He didn’t coach in the conference title game against Texas last Saturday, and then was released from the hospital on Sunday.

The coach was with the team in Des Moines but wasn’t on the bench for either Thursday’s victory over Howard or in the loss to Arkansas. Assistant coach Norm Roberts worked all three games for the Jayhawks.

Forward Jalen Wilson scored 20 points for Kansas and center K.J. Adams added 14. Guards Kevin McCullar, Jr. and Dajuan Harris., added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

McCullar left the Texas Tech Red Raiders after last season and transferred to play as a senior at Kansas. He formerly was one of the best players in San Antonio for the Wagner High School Thunderbirds.

Midwest Region
Round of 32

No. 2 seed Texas 71, No. 8 Arkansas 66, at Des Moines
No. 1 seed Houston 81, No. 9 Auburn 64, at Birmingham

TCU’s dramatic victory over Arizona State boosts Big 12 to 5-2 in the NCAA tournament

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

I’m still undecided on whether to buy into the concept that the Big 12 Conference is the best league in men’s college basketball this year.

I know the Big 12 has had more teams jammed into the Top 25 rankings than anyone.

But, I just haven’t seen enough of their games to know for sure.

So far, teams from the conference are doing a pretty fair job of living up to the hype in the NCAA tournament.

The Big 12 has won five and lost two in the tournament’s round of 64, capped late Friday night by the TCU Horned Frogs’ dramatic 72-70 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

With the game tied and the clock ticking under 10 seconds to play, Arizona State double-teamed TCU star Mike Miles Jr., who passed across the top of the three-point circle to JaKobe Coles.

Coles dribbled past a defender and lofted a 5-foot runner over the outstretched arm of forward Desmond Cambridge Jr. It swished for the game-winner with three seconds remaining.

Winners out of the Big 12 in the first round of the tournament included West region No. 1 seed Kansas, Midwest No. 2 Texas, South No. 3 Baylor, East No. 3 Kansas State and TCU, the No. 6 seed in the West.

Losers were Midwest No. 6 Iowa State and South No. 9 seed West Virginia. Here’s a glance at how Big 12 teams have fared thus far:

Thursday’s results
Round of 64
South: 8) Maryland beat 9) West Virginia, 67-65
West: 1) Kansas beat 16) Howard, 96-68
Midwest: 2) Texas beat 15) Colgate, 81-61

Friday’s results
Round of 64
South: 3) Baylor beat 14) UC Santa Barbara, 74-56
Midwest: 11) Pittsburgh beat 6) Iowa State, 59-41
West: 6) TCU beat 11) Arizona State, 72-70
East: 3) Kansas State beat 14) Montana State, 77-65.

Saturday’s games
Round of 32
West: 1) Kansas vs. 8) Arkansas, 4:15 p.m., CBS
Midwest: 2) Texas vs. 10) Penn State, 6:45 p.m., CBS

Sunday’s games
Round of 32
East: 3) Kansas State vs. 6) Kentucky, 1:40 p.m., CBS
South: 3) Baylor vs. 6) Creighton, 6:10 p.m., TBS
West: 6) TCU vs. 3) Gonzaga, 8:40 p.m., TBS

Notable

Next season, in 2023-24, the Big 12 is shaping up to be a men’s basketball juggernaut.

In July, the Houston Cougars will transition into the league along with Cincinnati and Central Florida from the American Athletic Conference. In addition, BYU will also join. Meanwhile, Texas and Oklahoma will compete in the league for the last time before they bolt to the Southeastern Conference.

So, how many top four seeds will that give the conference in the 2024 NCAA men’s tournament? I’m guessing four or five, at least.

McCullar returns to the lineup as top-seeded Kansas routs Howard

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Kansas coach Bill Self wasn’t in the arena for an NCAA tournament opener at Des Moines, Iowa, but guard Kevin McCullar, Jr. was.

With San Antonio’s McCullar returning to the lineup after sitting out a Big 12 title-game loss to Texas, the top-seeded Jayhawks stormed to a 96-68 victory over the Howard University Bison Thursday in a round-of-64 West region game.

The victory allowed the top-seeded Jayhawks to advance to play the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks in the round of 32 on Saturday. Arkansas downed ninth-seeded Illinois, 73-63.

Self’s status for the next round remains in question following a heart procedure and hospitalization last week.

The setback caused him to miss last Saturday’s Big 12 championship game, a 76-56 loss to Texas in Kansas City.

Though he was released from a Kansas City-area hospital on Sunday, the two-time NCAA championship coach wasn’t on the bench for the Jayhawks as they took the floor in Des Moines for the tournament opener.

Led by assistant coach Norm Roberts, the Jayhawks steadied themselves after a shaky start, shot 52 percent from the field in a fast-paced game and blew out the Bison. Jalen Wilson scored 20 points and freshman Gradey Dick added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas.

McCullar, a former standout at San Antonio’s Wagner High School, enjoyed a solid game across the board with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. It was McCullar’s first NCAA tournament game with the Jayhawks after an offseason transfer from Texas Tech.

In his first season at Kansas, he was named to the Big 12’s all-defensive team and helped the Jayhawks to the conference’s regular-season title. Kansas finished 13-5 in conference, a game ahead of Texas and two games in front of Kansas State and Baylor.

Islanders ousted

A spirited run by the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders ended Thursday in Birmingham, Ala. The top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide, backed by a home-state crowd, blew out the Islanders 96-75 in the South region round of 64.

Islanders coach Steve Lutz, an East Central High School graduate, led his team to a 24-11 record and the first NCAA victory in school history.

Point guard Jalen Jackson, from Wagner, scored 22 on Tuesday night in a round-of-68 victory over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at Dayton, Ohio. Jackson couldn’t get it going against the Crimson Tide, finishing with four points and three assists.