Category Archives: College basketball

UT basketball teams set for move into new arena

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The University of Texas men’s and women’s basketball teams are expected to move into a new 10,000-seat arena on the Austin campus in 2021.

The arena will be expandable to 15,000 seats for concerts and touring shows, according to a news release.

UT officials laid out the plans in a news conference Thursday. They said it would be built on parking lots south of Myers Stadium.

The arena is expected to carry a pricetag of $338 million and will be developed in partnership with the Oak View Group.

According to the news release, the arena will be home to men’s and women’s basketball games, graduations, concerts and other events.

A 35-year agreement between UT and ArenaCo — which includes OVG, Live Nation, C3 Presents and Matthew McConaughey — will be groundbreaking in college athletics and provide a public benefit for UT and the City of Austin for decades to come, according to the release.

The release said the venue will be constructed on land fully owned by UT without using any university or public money.

It will replace the 41-year-old Frank C. Erwin Center, which sits on land designated for future expansion of the Dell Medical School.

UT may be responsible for certain infrastructure improvements near the site to make it ready for construction, according to the release.

UTSA rolls past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 64-50

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Sophomore guard Jhivvan Jackson notched his seventh straight game of 20 points or more on Thursday night, scoring 22, as UTSA registered a 64-50 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA overpowered Bethany 101-77 on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson

In the game played at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, the Roadrunners held the Islanders to 29 percent shooting from the field.

Jackson hit four 3-point buckets and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Roadrunners, who have won two in a row and five of their last seven.

Kareem South led the Islanders with 23 points.

Records

UTSA 5-7
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-6

Notable

In his seven-game streak, Jackson has scored 21 against both Florida Gulf Coast and Houston Baptist, 22 against Texas State, 28 (Mid-America Christian), 20 (Arkansas), 23 (Bethany) and 22 (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). He started the season on the bench, sitting out the first three games to complete rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Quotable

“I’m feeling great. I’m getting, basically, my conditioning back. My knee is good. It’s not bothering me or anything, and I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season.” — UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson said on the team’s radio broadcast.

Duke rallies past Texas Tech, 69-58, in New York

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Forward RJ Barrett scored 10 of his 16 points in the last 14 minutes Thursday, leading the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils to a 69-58 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders

Duke was down 42-34 with 14:22 remaining when Tech freshman guard Kyler Evans hit a layup off a feed from Jarrett Culver.

From there, the Blue Devils picked up the defensive intensity, started to flow in offensive transition and handed the Red Raiders from the Big 12 conference their first loss of the season.

As the Blue Devils gained momentum, a 3-pointer out of the corner from Cam Reddish served to deflate the Red Raiders further.

It lifted Duke into a 63-57 lead with 3:26 remaining.

Records

Texas Tech 10-1
Duke 10-1

Individuals

Texas Tech — Jarrett Culver, 25 points 6 rebounds, 4 assists. Culver also had 6 of his team’s 24 turnovers.

Duke — Zion Williamson, 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out. RJ Barrett, 16 points. Tre Jones, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals.

Trailing 8-0 early, the 12th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders rallied into a 29-28 halftime lead on No. 2 Duke at Madison Square Garden.

Tech looked out of sorts in the early going with turnovers leading to Duke transition points.

But the Red Raiders settled down under sophomore guard Jarrett Culver, taking a 21-14 lead on the heels of a 21-6 run.

Stanley Umude scores 28 points at Allen Fieldhouse

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Former San Antonio prep standout Stanley Umude enjoyed a breakout game Tuesday night for the South Dakota Coyotes.

Umude scored a season-high 28 points against top-ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, a legendary venue in college basketball.

The Jayhawks scored an 89-53 victory, but Umude made a statement, hitting 10 of 17 shots from the field.

Umude, a South Dakota sophomore from Warren High School, also had six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

For the season, Umude is averaging 10.6 points on 53.6 percent shooting from the field.

Duke routs Princeton, 101-50, in warmup for Texas Tech

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Duke sensation Zion Williamson caught an elbow in the mouth in the first half, but that didn’t slow down the Blue Devils, who — figuratively speaking — smacked Princeton around for most of the rest of the night in a 101-50 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Next up for the second-ranked Blue Devils? A trip to New York for a meeting with the undefeated and 12th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. The game is set for Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Records

Duke 10-1
Princeton 5-5

Individuals

Duke — RJ Barrett, 27 points, 6 rebounds. Zion Williamson, 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks. Princeton — Myles Stephens, 19 points, 3 steals.

Notable

The Blue Devils had 14 blocked shots and 12 steals. It was the fifth time Duke has had 10 or more blocks in a game this season. Duke had double digit steals for the fifth straight game, which is tied for the third-longest streak in school history and the longest since a five-game streak in the 2000-01 season.

Quotable

— Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, in comments posted on the school’s website:

“The guys played great defense tonight, especially against an extended dribble. I thought RJ (Barrett) did a great job on (Devin) Cannady, who is an outstanding player. He didn’t leave him. His length and not letting him get the ball, and even when he got it, the length was a key factor in stopping him.

“Tre (Jones’) pressure on (Jaelin) Llewellyn was key, and for the most part we kept them out of the paint. And when they did get in the paint, our big guys came over and blocked a lot of shots. Which is what they are supposed to do and they did it.”

UTSA rolls past Bethany, 101-77

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UTSA's Nick Allen played with a sore foot but recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Roadrunners' 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Nick Allen played with a sore foot but recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Roadrunners’ 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. – photo by Joe Alexander

The UTSA Roadrunners enjoyed the feeling of a 101-77 victory Monday night over the Bethany College Swedes.

A dozen Roadrunners played and 11 of them scored, as they kicked the lead up to as many as 33 points in the last few minutes at the Convocation Center.

In the aftermath, however, UTSA senior Nick Allen said he recalled a different mood in the dressing room at halftime.

It was a foul mood, in some respects.

Players were mad that they led the NAIA program from Lindsborg, Kansas, by only eight points.

Coach Steve Henson was upset about it, as well, and he let the players know it.

“He was just frustrated because I think he sees what the older guys are seeing,” senior forward Nick Allen said. “Man, we can be so good. Why are we not fulfilling our potential for 40 minutes?’ ”

In response, the Roadrunners clamped down on defense early in the second half to take charge on one end of the floor.

On the other end, they ran their offense well, at one time outscoring the Swedes 16-0 to build a 65-42 lead.

Bethany never got closer than 21 the rest of the way.

Notable

Guards Keaton Wallace and Jhivvan Jackson scored 23 points apiece to lead the Roadrunners. The two were aided by Allen, who produced 12 points and eight rebounds and Adokiye Iyaye, who added 11 points off the bench. Byron Frohnen scored 10.

Quotable

“We felt good about the way we came out and started the second half. We had to get after ’em at haltime a little bit, which we didn’t want to do. We just didn’t quite have enough fight there in the first half.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson

Records

UTSA 4-7
Bethany 7-6

Ties that bind

Bethany is led by head coach Dan O’Dowd, a former UTSA assistant coach. Former UTSA center Edrico McGregor is a Bethany assistant. O’Dowd, who worked under the late Brooks Thompson at UTSA, served as the initial recruiting contact for Allen.

In addition, UTSA coach Steve Henson lived in Lindsborg when he was a toddler.

With his father an athlete and a student-teacher at Bethany, Henson recalled that he once wore a “Swede outfit,” complete with a “fake beard, a helmet and a fake sword.”


Jhivvan Jackson passes to Keaton Wallace, who soars for a first-half alley-oop slam.

San Antonio connections

Bethany point guard Isiah Saenz, from St. Anthony, produced 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Forward Lavaris Duncan, from Judson, had 12 points and 6 rebounds.

Photo gallery: Bethany’s San Antonio connections

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Bethany coach Dan O'Dowd (standing) and assistant coach Edrico McGregor (sitting right) both have ties to UTSA. - photo by Joe Alexander

Bethany coach Dan O’Dowd (standing) and assistant coach Edrico McGregor (sitting right) both have ties to UTSA.

Bethany coach Dan O’Dowd, assistant coach Edrico McGregor, sophomore guard Isiah Saenz and sophomore forward Lavaris Duncan all were on familiar ground Monday when the Swedes played UTSA at the Convocation Center.

O’Dowd is a former assistant coach at UTSA. McGregor played at UTSA. Saenz played high school basketball in San Antonio at St. Anthony’s. Duncan is from Converse Judson.

Photo gallery: UTSA vs. Bethany men’s basketball

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Adokiye Iyaye came off the bench to score 11 points for the Roadrunners in a 101-77 victory over Bethany on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Adokiye Iyaye came off the bench to score 11 points for the Roadrunners.

UTSA overpowered Bethany 101-77 on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Houston beats Saint Louis, 68-64, to remain undefeated

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Guard Corey Davis hit a go-ahead three pointer with 20 seconds remaining, lifting the 24th-ranked Houston Cougars to a 68-64 victory over Saint Louis Sunday afternoon.

Houston, one of nine undefeated teams in NCAA Division I, played before an announced home crowd of 6,131 at the Fertitta Center and improved to 10-0 on the season.

The Cougars trailed 63-60 with 1:37 remaining but rallied down the stretch for their 23rd straight victory at home.

Davis, a senior from Lafayette, Louisiana, finished with a team-high 17 points for Houston. Armoni Brooks and Galen Robinson, Jr., had 13 each.

The Cougars won the game on the defensive end as they limited the visitors to 36.7 percent shooting from the field.

Javon Bess led the Billikens with 17 points. Bess snared an offensive rebound in the final seconds but missed on a jumper that would have tied the game.

Davis hit two free throws at the end to seal it for Houston, dropping Saint Louis to 7-3 on the season.

Records

Houston 10-0
Saint Louis 7-3

Notable

Saint Louis was the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10. The Billikens had posted victories over Butler and Oregon State. Houston was picked third in the American Athletic Conference poll, behind UCF and Cincinnati.

Still undefeated

Kansas (9-0), Virginia (9-0), Michigan (11-0), Nevada (11-0), Texas Tech (10-0), Houston (10-0), Buffalo (10-0), Furman (12-0), St. John’s (10-0).

Duke-fueled hype on the horizon for 10-0 Texas Tech

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The 11th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders are taking a clear-eyed view of their 10-0 record leading into a Thursday night game in New York against the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils.

Asked late Saturday night how he will “coach emotion” in preparation for Mike Krzyzewski’s perennial ACC powerhouse, Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said it won’t be a problem.

“It’s kind of a non-issue with us because we got these seniors,” Beard said. “These four seniors, they know that 10-0 doesn’t mean much.

“We’d much rather win our last 10 games. That means you’re going to win the Big 12 tournament and the national championship.”

The Big 12 regular-season schedule starts in January, and Tech is expected to be a contender in the conference race.

But until then, the Duke game promises to be a topic of discussion locally, as well as in the biggest media market in the nation.

Conversations on the game could very well spin off into issues, such as:

1) Whether the Red Raiders are as good as advertised. After all, they lost a lot of talent from last year’s Elite Eight team, and their best victories this year, thus far, have come against Southern Cal, Nebraska and Memphis.

2) Whether they can guard Blue Devils freshmen RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson, already considered as NBA lottery prospects.

3) Whether they can deal with the hype of a game played in the biggest media market in the nation.

As a coach, Beard seems much more concerned about how he will deal with the Blue Devils’ talent, and not so much the intangibles.

Tech seniors such as Brandone Francis, Matt Mooney, Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens seem to instill confidence in the coach.

So does sophomore Jarrett Culver, who scored 30 points Saturday night in an 82-48 victory over Abilene Christian.

No doubt, Beard has some swagger about him.

“With some younger teams, I’d worry about things like (a big-game atmosphere),” Beard said. “But with these four seniors leading this team, and (with) Jarrett Culver being a best-player type guy …

“You know I got a lot to worry about, with the next game on the schedule (against) a Hall of Fame coach, and NBA (caiber) players. I don’t worry much about our guys not being focused,” he said.