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Baseball: First-place UTSA hits four homers, routs Tulane, 25-7

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The first-place UTSA Roadrunners bashed four home runs in an 11-run second inning Saturday en route to their 30th win of the season, a 25-7, run-rule victory in seven innings over the Tulane Green Wave.

For the Roadrunners, the bottom of the second was uniquely productive in that they hit for a home-run cycle of sorts, meaning that they crushed balls out of the park in all four variations — solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam.

Norris McClure hit two of the homers, a two-run shot to center and also a three-run blast to right, and Diego Diaz sliced a ball into the screen in left field for a grand slam. Mason Lytle added a solo shot in the inning. Both McClure and Diaz finished with eight RBI on the day.

After losing at home for only the second time this season on Friday, UTSA rebounded on a day that Tulane’s pitching collapsed, issuing 15 walks, not to mention hitting four batters and throwing three wild pitches.

UTSA took full advantage of the situation by stroking 16 hits, following its 11-run second inning with three runs in the third, four in the fourth and six in the fifth.

With the victory, the Roadrunners (30-10, 12-3) won two of three in the series against the Green Wave and increased their lead in the American Athletic Conference to two games over the South Florida Bulls.

Records

Tulane 24-17, 8-7
UTSA 30-10, 12-3

Coming up

UTSA at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (non conference), Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Friday, April 25, 6 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Saturday, April 26. 4 p.m.
Memphis at UTSA, Sunday, April 27, noon

Notable

The Roadrunners have won 30 games for the fourth straight season under Coach Pat Hallmark. They won 38 games in both 2022 and 2023 and 32 last season.

The streak matches a run from 2006 through 2009 under Sherman Corbett for consecutive seasons of 30 or more wins.

The Roadrunners have 15 games remaining in the regular season, which includes three-game AAC series against Memphis, South Florida, East Carolina and Rice.

AAC leaders

UTSA 12-3, 30-10
South Florida 10-5, 22-15
Florida Atlantic 9-6, 27-12
East Carolina 9-6, 27-14
Charlotte 9-6, 22-17
Tulane 8-7, 24-17

Florida wins the NCAA title with a 65-63 victory over Houston

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Florida wins the national championship at the 2024 Final Four at the Alamodome.

The confetti rained down on the Florida Gators Monday night after they defeated the Houston Cougars and won their third NCAA men’s basketball championship. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

If the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship game had been a canvas, then the Florida Gators’ last defensive stop against the Houston Cougars in a 65-63 victory represented a work of art. They stuffed both of the Cougars’ leading scorers on one play to secure their first title in 18 years.

With Florida leading by two and 19 seconds remaining Monday night at the Alamodome, Houston had an opportunity to tie or take the lead. Coming out of a timeout, they inbounded and put the ball in guard L.J. Cryer’s hands about 30 feet from the hoop.

Florida wins the national championship at the 2024 Final Four at the Alamodome.

Florida fans shouted their approval after the Gators won their first title since back to back crowns in 2006 and 2007. – Photo by Joe Alexander

But with a defender in his face, the Cougars’ No 1 offensive threat had nowhere to go and tossed it to teammate Emanuel Sharp, a deadly 41.5 percent shooter from three-point range. Seeing an opening in the middle of the floor, he jumped and started to launch what would have been a long three for the lead, only to see Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. close out on the play and fly past him.

To avoid having the shot blocked or getting called for traveling, Sharp dropped the ball before his feet hit the floor, hoping that one of his teammates could retrieve it. The gamble proved costly. With the ball bouncing three times and the clock ticking away the last few seconds, Florida forward Alex Condon raced out from his post inside, dove and secured it in his arms.

Then he tossed it to Clayton as the buzzer sounded.

Still face down on the floor, Condon knew that the sound of the blaring horn was a good thing. It meant that the Gators had scrawled their initials on a season-long masterpiece. Afterward, Florida coach Todd Golden hailed his team’s run to the title as “a heck of an accomplishment.”

“Obviously, we have an incredibly talented group, one of the most talented groups individually in America,” Golden said. “I do think what separates us and has separated us all season long is our team talent, how our guys have played together and for each other all year. Because of that, we can call each other national champions for the rest of our lives.”

For the third straight game in the tournament, the Gators rallied from a deficit of nine points or more to win. They did it against Texas Tech in the regional final. They did it against Auburn Saturday in the national semifinal. And once again, against Houston, they were down 42-30 early in the second half, only to find a way to win.

It wasn’t easy. The Cougars, who had won 18 straight, continued to play hard even though they were not at the top of their game.

Leading by three points with 4:17 remaining and looking for their first national title, Houston was outscored 8-3 down the stretch as their championship hopes slipped away. The Gators took the lead with 46.5 seconds remaining when Alijah Martin drove to draw a foul and made two free throws, making it 64-63.

Alex Condon, Florida

Florida forward Alex Condon had 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After a timeout, Sharp had the ball on the dribble, taking it down the right side of the lane. In response, Florida’s Will Richard reached in and deflected it, knocking it off Sharp’s leg.

The play, confirmed on an official review at the monitors, gave Florida possession with 26.5 seconds left. Drawing a foul, Gators guard Denzel Aberdeen went to the line and made one of two free throws, giving the Gators a 65-63 lead as the Cougars called time with 19.7 seconds left.

That is when the Gators’ masterpiece of a defensive stand unfolded. Clayton, held to 11 points after scoring 30 and 34 in his last two games of the tournament, read Houston’s play perfectly and promptly hustled outside to contest Sharp.

“Felt like we were going to get something from Cryer or (Houston forward J’Wan Roberts),” Clayton said. “Sharp kind of creeped down to the baseline. I seen a back screen. I’m yelling ‘screen,’ at Do (Condon). Sharp ended up slipping it … We work on it in practice, closing out, jumping to the side, so you don’t foul the shooter. He pump faked, threw the ball down. Ended up being a good play (for us). Do got on it. We won the game.”

Condon described the surreal moment of latching onto the ball and then realizing that the game was over, and that the Gators had won.

“I think it was a great defensive play by Walter,” Condon said. “I was questioning whether I should go out and leave my man. He did a good job of making him (hesitate and drop the ball). It was going to be a travel (violation) if he picked it up. Just diving on it and hearing the buzzer … was a crazy feeling. Didn’t feel real, for sure.”

Guard Will Richard led the Gators in scoring with 19 points. Condon had 12 points and Walter Clayton Jr. 11. Defensively, the Gators played extremely well, holding the Cougars to 34.8 percent shooting from the field and limiting them to just six of 24 from the three-point line.

Walter Clayton Jr., Florida.

Walter Clayton Jr. contributed 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Clayton, a first-team All American, had scored 30 and 34 points in his two previous tournament games. – Photo by Joe Alexander

For Houston, playing its first national title game since 1984 in front of a mostly red-clad throng of its own fans, Cryer scored 19 points. Mylik Wilson had nine and Roberts, Sharp and Ja’Vier Francis contributed eight apiece.

“I told our guys after the game to be disappointed you lost,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “But do not be disappointed in your effort. You know, defending Florida is difficult. They got a really, really good team. Coach Golden runs great schemes over there. But we guarded ’em. We held that team to 65 points.”

The loss stung Sampson, a 69-year-old veteran of 36 years as a college head coach who has won 799 games but still has never won a national title. Asked during his postgame news conference what was on his mind in the big picture, he tried to explain.

“I’m just going through those last two possessions more than anything else,” he said. “Incomprehensible in that situation we couldn’t get a shot. Couldn’t get a shot. We were down two, and obviously we didn’t need a three … We were struggling to score the entire second half. We got good looks.

“Florida was doing a good job running us off the (three-point) line and forcing us to score it (elsewhere). We just didn’t do a good job of finishing some shots … Give Florida credit, too. I’m not going to sit up here and poor mouth, pity mouth us.

“We held that team to 65 points. Clayton and Martin combined go five for 20 (from the field). If you would have told me we would hold those two guys to five for 20 … We had a good plan. We just didn’t score it well enough to win. Scored it well enough to be in a position to win. At the end, you’ve got to get a shot.

“Got to do better than that.”

Records

Florida 36-4
Houston 35-5

First half

Wilson and forward Francis came off the bench and sparked the Cougars to a 31-28 lead at halftime.

Wilson, a 6-foot-3 graduate guard, played 11 minutes and hit three of six shots from the field for seven points. Francis, a 6-8 sky walker, had six points and four rebounds.

J'Wan Roberts, Houston

Sixth-year Houston forward J’Wan Roberts had eight points and eight rebounds, – Photo by

Six minutes into the game, Francis brought the crowd to its feet with a soaring dunk. Later, he added a couple of shots in the paint. His second field goal in the stretch gave Houston a 20-16 lead.

Wilson energized the Cougars with a steal from Denzel Aberdeen and then a breakaway layup. He later punctuated an 8-0 run for the Cougars with a dunk on the fast break, soaring to catch an alley-oop pass from Emanuel Sharp, and then dunking with force.

When Wilson hit a three off the glass out of the corner, the Cougars had a 29-21 lead with 5:02 remaining. At that point, the Cougars failed to capitalize on the momentum, hitting only one field goal for the rest of the half.

Will Richard scored on a jumper and a three-pointer in the last 3:21 to bring the Gators back. Richard finished the half with 14 points, including five of eight from the field and four of six from three.

The top scorers for both teams in Saturday’s semifinals were held in check. Florida’s Walter Clayton was scoreless on zero for four shooting. Guarded closely as soon as he crossed halfcourt, Clayton would try to drive, only to find another Houston defender in his face.

Clayton tried to adjust, passing for five assists. Clayton scored 34 points in Florida’s 79-73 victory over Auburn Saturday afternoon. Houston’s L.J. Cryer, who played 40 minutes and scored 26 in a 70-67 victory over Duke, was also guarded with intensity by Florida defenders.

Cryer had five points on two for six shooting.

Improved three-point shooting has helped propel Houston to the NCAA title game

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After an exit from last year’s NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16, coaches for the Houston Cougars went back to work in an effort to upgrade the team’s offensive capabilities.

Milos Uzan. Houston beat Duke 70-67 in the second semifinal of the Final Four on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Alamodome. - Photo by Joe Alexander

The addition of Milos Uzan (No. 7) has bolstered the depth of Houston’s three-point shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Cougars did just that, reconfiguring a backcourt that now has the ability to carry the team with its three-point shooting.

Houston has always been known for its rugged defense, which ranks first in the nation this season in points per game and field goal percentage allowed.

Nevertheless, the Cougars’ ability to shoot the three has, in essence, turned the squad into a more well-rounded force of nature, one that has surged all the way to the NCAA championship game.

Houston (35-4) will try to win its first national title when it meets Florida (also 35-4) on Monday at 7:50 p.m. at the Alamodome.

“We collectively have more guys that can make a three,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said earlier this week. “We’ve gone from being a three-point shooting team to a three-point making team. There’s a difference.”

The Duke Blue Devils found that out the hard way.

Guards L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp combined to hit nine of Houston’s 10 three-point buckets Saturday night in a riveting, 70-67 victory in the NCAA semifinals.

Cryer, in his second year at Houston after starting his career at Baylor, poured in 26 points. On the way to that outburst, Cryer knocked down six of nine from long distance.

Sharp made three of seven from beyond the arc and scored 16, including a momentum-changing three during the Cougars’ 9-0 run in the last minute of the game.

The performance was emblematic of Houston’s success all season. At least one player, and sometimes two or three, will heat up from the perimeter to make life miserable for opposing players and coaches.

Last season, the Cougars were excellent defensively, as usual, but were only a respectable team in hitting the long ball. They made 286 of 821 for 34.8 percent in a 32-5 campaign that ended in the Sweet 16 with a loss to Duke.

This season, the Coogs have connected on 320 of 803 for 39.9 percent. Houston’s three backcourt starters — Cryer, Sharp and first-year point guard Milos Uzan — have all hit better than 40 percent for the season.

Uzan, a transfer from Oklahoma, was brought in to be a distributor as veteran point guard Jamal Shead was leaving for the NBA.

He doesn’t shoot the ball a lot in the Cougars’ system but he can make the three, as evidenced by his 44 percent accuracy for the year.

Cryer leads the team with 119 makes from distance while hitting 42.7 percent. Sharp, meanwhile, shoots the long ball at 41.5 percent clip.

In five NCAA tournament games, the Cougars have been even better. They’re making 40.3 percent in five games, averaging a little more than nine per outing. Opponents, by contrast, are hitting 26 percent and 5.2 per game.

Duke made seven of 17 from outside the arc, but that wasn’t quite enough.

In the end, the Houston’s remarkable 25-8 run on Duke in the last eight minutes of the game also showcased clutch free-throw shooting, which is always important in championship settings.

During that stretch, the Cougars made nine of 10 at the line, including two for two by forward J’Wan Roberts in the last minute of a harrowing finish. Roberts entered the Duke game as a career 58.9 percent free-throw shooter.

Roberts was three for eight from the free-throw line in last year’s Sweet 16 loss to the Blue Devils.

“Even though we only lost four games all year, a couple of those, the free-throw line impacted two of those,” Sampson said. “So we had our kids make 150 free throws seven days a week. I don’t think J’Wan missed a day from June 2nd till we left (Houston for San Antonio) on Wednesday.

“We left on Wednesday, right? So Tuesday night I looked at what he shot from the free-throw line with his 150 makes. He shot 87 (percent). That was his highest percentage … When he started this, he was at 66.”

Records

Florida 35-4
Houston 35-4

Coming up

NCAA championship game, Houston vs. Florida, Monday at 7:50 p.m. at the Alamodome

Notable

The Cougars have made two appearances in NCAA championship games, in both 1983 and 1984, in the Phi Slama Jama years. The 1983 team featured Clyde Drexler and Akeem (now Hakeem) Olajuwon. Olajuwon also played for Houston in the ’84 title game.

In ’83, the Cougars lost to Jim Valvano and the NC State Wolfpack at Albuquerque, N.M., and in ’84, they lost to John Thompson and Georgetown at Seattle, Wash. Both Houston teams were coached by Guy V. Lewis. This is Houston’s seventh Final Four appearance. The Cougars reached the Final Four in 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2021 and 2025.

Lewis coached the Cougars to the first five Final Fours and Kelvin Sampson the last two.

Sampson, 69, is bidding to become the oldest coach to win an NCAA title. Jim Calhoun won in 2011 with the Connecticut Huskies at age 68. In his 36th year as a coach, Sampson would also reach two other milestone if he can beat the Gators. A win would be the 800th of his career and his 300th in 11 seasons at Houston.

If Houston wins Monday night, the Cougars would be the third team from the state of Texas to win the NCAA men’s title and the first to do it in a game played within the state.

Don Haskins-coached Texas Western (now UT-El Paso) won the 1966 championship with a victory over Kentucky in College Park, Md. In 2021, Scott Drew-coached Baylor beat Sampson and Houston in the semifinals and then downed Gonzaga in the title game at Indianapolis.

Florida has reached the NCAA finals three times and has won two titles. The Gators made the championship game in 2000, 2006 and 2006, all coached by recently-installed Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Billy Donovan.

A Florida team that included forward Matt Bonner lost in 2000 in Indianapolis to Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State. Bonner went on to become a popular player with the Spurs. In 2006, they won the title in Indianapolis over UCLA, and in 2007, they won again in Atlanta over Ohio State.

Final Four stunner: Houston rallies from 14 points down to defeat Duke, 70-67

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L.J. Cryer. Houston beat Duke 70-67 in the second semifinal of the Final Four on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Alamodome. - Photo by Joe Alexander

L.J. Cryer (No. 4, on the dribble) scored 26 points Saturday night at the Alamodome as the Houston Cougars came from behind in the final minutes to beat the Duke Blue Devils at the NCAA Final Four. Houston advances to meet Florida in a national title game set for Monday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Fifteen minutes or so after the final buzzer sounded at the NCAA Final Four on Saturday night, the cavernous Alamodome was nearly empty. The Houston Cougars and the Duke Blue Devils had long since retreated to their respective dressing rooms.

As for the announced crowd of 68,252 fans, most had filed out through glass doors and into the night in downtown San Antonio.

But with members of media seated in the north end of the dome typing furiously to put into words one of the most thrilling NCAA tournament game finishes of the year, some Cougars’ fans could still be heard on the outer concourses.

Cooper Flagg. Houston beat Duke 70-67 in the second semifinal of the Final Four on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Alamodome. - Photo by Joe Alexander

NCAA Player of the Year Cooper Flagg, seen here soaring for a dunk, finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The 18-year-old Duke freshman is mentioned as a possible No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Screaming in delight in intermittent bursts of emotion, they apparently didn’t want to leave the scene, and who could blame them? The Cougars had just erased a 14-point deficit in the last eight minutes and shocked the Blue Devils, 70-67, in the NCAA semifinals.

“Yeah, awesome win for my kids,” 69-year-old Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Obviously we have great respect for Duke and their team, their tradition, what Coach K and Duke has meant to this game for so long.”

Coach Jon Scheyer, who took the Duke job three years ago after the legendary Mike Krzyzewski retired, was clearly emotional in his opening remarks to the assembled press corps. Flanked by NCAA Player of the Year Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel on the dais, Scheyer talked about pride.

“So, for me, the very first thing I want to say is how proud I am to coach these two guys next to me and our entire team,” Scheyer said. “I mean, it’s been a special ride that ended in a heartbreaking way.”

Riding a 15-game winning streak into the Final Four, the Blue Devils (35-4) likely will long remember how this one got away from them. The Cougars (also 35-4) will in turn try capitalize on the momentum and carry it into a championship setting.

Houston will play Florida (35-4) for the NCAA title at the dome on Monday night. The Gators advanced by winning the earlier game of Saturday’s doubleheader, downing the Auburn Tigers, 79-73 behind Walter Clayton Jr.’s 34 points.

How it happened

Guard L.J. Cryer scored eight of his 26 points in the last 7:58 of the game in leading Houston to its 18th straight victory.

In a 9-0 run over the final minute and 14 seconds, Cougars reserve guard Mylik Wilson contributed with a steal on a Duke inbounds pass that led to dunk by Joseph Tugler.

J'Wan Roberts. Houston beat Duke 70-67 in the second semifinal of the Final Four on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Alamodome. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Houston forward Houston’s J’Wan Roberts shoots over Duke’s Cooper Flagg. Roberts finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. He hit the go-ahead free throws with 19 seconds remaining. – Photo by Joe Alexander

After the steal, Wilson dribbled out to the three-point line and shot the ball. The rebound went to Tugler, who dunked it, bringing the Cougars to within one point with 25 seconds left.

Duke, still with the upper hand, promptly advanced the other way in an effort to clinch the victory.

The Blue Devils couldn’t get it done, though, as Houston fouled and Duke guard Tyrese Proctor missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation with 20 seconds remaining. It was a miss that opened the door for the Cougars to win it.

Houston forward J’Wan Roberts snared the rebound and was fouled, walking the length of the court with a chance to give his team the lead at the free-throw line. Roberts, in his sixth year with the Cougars, came through.

He hit two with 19.6 seconds left, pushing the Cougars into a 68-67 lead, a development that prompted Cougars’ fans to unleash a high-decibel roar.

After a Duke timeout failed to quiet the crowd, the Blue Devils inbounded and passed once to Flagg, who misfired on a turnaround jumper with eight seconds left.

Cryer hit two free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining to account for the game’s final points.

Individuals

Houston — When the Houston offense seemed hopelessly stalled in the first half, L.J. Cryer kept the Cougars in it. He scored 12 points on four of seven shooting before intermission. The former Houston area high school standout, who started his career at Baylor University, finished his day by hitting eight of 14 from the field and six of nine from behind the three-point arc. Guard Emanuel Sharp scored 16 points, including nine in the final two minutes. Forward J’Wan Roberts produced 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

Emanuel Sharp. Houston beat Duke 70-67 in the second semifinal of the Final Four on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Alamodome. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Houston guard Emanuel Sharp scored nine of his 16 points in the last two minutes, including a three with 32.4 seconds that trimmed Duke’s lead to three. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Duke — Duke freshman Cooper Flagg was sensational. Not only did he have 27 points and seven rebounds, he also passed for four assists, made two steals and blocked three shots. Freshman guard Kon Knueppel produced 16 points and seven rebounds. Both Flagg and Knueppel hit three three-point baskets. While Flagg and Knueppel shot a combined 13 for 28 from the field, the rest of the team made only 8 for 25.

First half

Knueppel, one of Duke’s outstanding freshmen, scored 12 points in the half as the Duke Blue Devils grinded their way to a 34-28 lead on the Houston Cougars at intermission.

Another Duke freshman, national player of the year Cooper Flagg, showed off multiple skills with eight points, four rebounds and two assists.

In the beginning, the Cougars played hard but couldn’t hit a shot and fell behind 18-9 on the scoreboard.

They missed their first three shots, eight of their first nine and 14 of their first 17 in a frustrating opening 11 minutes.

Quotable

Asked how they executed what was the third-largest comeback in NCAA semifinals history, the Cougars offered varying explanations.

“I mean, it ain’t over because they still got time on the clock,” Cryer said. “As long as there’s time on the clock, we’re going out there and give it our all. We’ve been in positions like that before.

“At Kansas, I don’t remember how much we (were) down, but it was late in the game. That game looked like it was pretty much over, too. Somehow, we ended up winning it.”

Sampson put it more succinctly, saying that as far as the Cougars are concerned, “quitting isn’t part of the deal.”

Records

Houston 35-4
Duke 35-4

Coming up

Houston vs. Florida for the NCAA title, Monday at 7:50 p.m. in the Alamodome.

NCAA Final Four: Clayton-led Florida roars from behind to beat Auburn

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Walter Clayton Jr. Florida beat Auburn 79-73 in Saturday's first semifinal in the Final Four at the Alamodome on Saturday, April 5, 2026. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Walter Clayton Jr. (1) continued his NCAA tournament heroics Saturday with 34 points in a 79-73 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the Final Four. It was Clayton’s second straight tournament game of 30 or more. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 20 of his 34 points in the second half, leading the Florida Gators to a 79-73 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the opening game of the NCAA Final Four on Saturday at the Alamodome.

Flashing moves that could translate to a lucrative career in the NBA, Clayton hit 11 of 18 shots from the field and five of eight from beyond the 3-point arc. In the second half, he knocked down six field goals, including three from distance.

Johni Broome, Auburn

Auburn All-American forward Johni Broome scored 15 points, but was held to only three in the second half. — Photo by Joe Alexander

As a result, the Gators (35-4) won their 11th straight game and moved into the NCAA tournament finals on Monday. Seeking the third championship in school history, they’ll play either the Houston Cougars or the Duke Blue Devils.

The Cougars, champions from the Big 12, will meet the Atlantic Coast Conference titlist Blue Devils later Saturday night.

Rallying to overcome a nine-point, second-half deficit, the Gators sent home the Tigers (32-6) in a battle of Southeastern Conference powers. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 18 points to lead the Tigers.

All-American Johni Broome finished with 15 points, but was held to only three in the second half.

A key sequence for Florida came early in the second half when the Gators constructed an 11-0 run to take a 51-49 lead. Highlights included three-point buckets by Clayton and guard Alijah Martin, followed by a Clayton baseline drive.

Martin, a transfer from Florida Atlantic University, scored 17 points in the victory.

First half

Trailing by one point midway through the first half, the Auburn Tigers turned it on. They outscored the Florida Gators 24-15 in the last 10 minutes to take a 46-38 lead into intermission.

Tigers guards Denver Jones and Miles Kelly ignited the run. First, Jones drove into the paint and scored. Kelly followed with his own drive through traffic and a layup, and then a three.

Freshman Tahaad Pettiford, one of Auburn’s standouts in the tournament, took it inside for a bucket and then knocked down three free throws after he was fouled outside the arc.

When Broome wheeled inside to score at 2:52, the Tigers had opened a 38-29 advantage. The Gators never got closer than six the rest of the say.

Broome, who tweaked a knee and an elbow last Sunday against Michigan State, didn’t practice for a few days earlier this week. But he didn’t seem bothered at all bothered, as the 6-10 forward had 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the half.

Also for the Tigers, Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara scored eight points apiece, and both knocked down a couple of threes. The Auburn backcourt of Denver Jones, Kelly and Baker-Mazara was also solid in subtle ways. They orchestrated an offense that turned it over only one time.

Meanwhile, the Tigers went to work inside, outscoring the Gators 26-14 in the paint.

All-American Walter Clayton Jr. had the hot hand for Florida, scoring inside and outside and finishing the half with 14 points. He hit five of nine afield and two of four from beyond the arc. Guard Alijah Martin also scored 10.

Florida big men weren’t much of a factor. Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Thomas Haugh and Micah Handlogten combined for eight points.

Records

Florida 35-4
Auburn 32-6

Coming up

Houston vs. Duke, NCAA semifinal, later tonight

Notable

Clayton scored 17 of his 30 points late in the second half last Saturday as the Gators rallied past the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Elite Eight at San Francisco.

Quotable

“I thought Auburn played great in the first half,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We did some nice things, but we did not have an answer for their physicality in the paint. I think they were 13 of 18 from two. Our game plan, we weren’t executing it very well and it wasn’t working very well.

“The main message at halftime was, ‘We have to get back to doing what we do,’ in a positive way … I thought we did a great job in the second half defending and rebounding. We ended up plus nine on the glass. We were down one at halftime …

“We started getting out in transition a little bit, seeing the ball go through the basket. We obviously played a really, really good second half. I think it starts with our perimeter. Walt, Will (Richard) and Alijah, three senior leaders, guys who have been through the fire.”

Starters

Starters for Florida: Walter Clayton, Jr., Will Richard, Rueben Chinyelu, Alijah Martin, Alex Condon. For Auburn: Denver Jones, Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly, Dylan Cardwell.

Alijah Martin, Florida

High-flying Florida guard Alijah Martin takes it to the basket against Auburn in the Final Four. Martin, a transfer from Florida Atlantic, scored 17 points and hit two three-pointers. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Final Four teams at a glance: Florida, Auburn, Houston, Duke

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L.J. Cryer. Houston Cougars at the 2005 NCAA Final Four for a public practice and media session on Friday, April 4, 2025, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. - Photo by Joe Alexander

L.J. Cryer leads the Houston Cougars into the Final Four looking for the program’s first national championship. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The NCAA Final Four starts Saturday at the Alamodome with Florida playing Auburn at 5:09 p.m. and Houston meeting Duke at approximately 7:49 p.m. Here are the teams at a glance:

Florida

Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the West defeated Norfolk State, 95-69; UConn, 77-75; Maryland, 87-71; Texas Tech, 84-79

Record: 34-4

Winning streak: 10

Extended streak: 16-1 in last 17

Coach: Todd Golden, sixth year, 131-69 overall and 74-33 in three years at Florida.

Starters: Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, Alijah Martin

Seasoned veteran: Clayton, a first-team Associated Press All American and an All SEC pick, has played 137 games in his college career, including 64 at Iona and 73 at Florida

Most productive player: Clayton averages 18.1 points and shoots 38.5 percent from three.

Top newcomer out of the portal: Alijah Martin has averaged 14.5 points.

Top freshman: Freshmen have had a minimal impact on the Gators. Guard Isaiah Brown from Orlando has played in 19 games.

The journey and the goal: The Gators, in their third season under Golden, started to peak in Nashville a few weeks ago when they won the SEC tournament. Now they’re looking to win their first NCAA title since they went back to back in 2006 and 2007.

Auburn Tigers

Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the South defeated Alabama State, 83-63; Creighton, 82-70; Michigan, 78-65; Michigan State, 70-64.

Record: 32-5

Winning streak: Four

Extended streak: 5-3 in last eight

Coach: Bruce Pearl, 694-269 in 30 seasons, including 232-124 in 11 seasons at Auburn.

Starters: Dylan Cardwell, Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelley, Denver Jones.

Most productive player: Forward/center Johni Broome, a first-team AP All American, averages 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. NCAA South Regional MVP after averaging 23.5 points and 15 rebounds in victories over Michigan and Michigan State.

Seasoned veteran: Forward Dylan Cardwell has played in 165 games in five seasons for Auburn.

Top newcomer out of the portal: Guard Denver Jones made the SEC all defense team. He’s scored 51 points in four NCAA games.

Top freshman: Tahaad Pettiford, a 6-1 freshman guard from Jesey City, N.J., averages 11.7 points off the bench. Has scored 69 points in four NCAA games, including 23 against Creighton and 20 against Michigan.

The journey and the goal: Ranked 11th nationally in the preseason, the Tigers won the SEC regular-season crown and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. They’re in their second Final Four after making it in 2019, also under Bruce Pearl. Both the coach and the program have never won the national title, so Pearl will be looking to make history this weekend.

Houston Cougars

Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the Midwest defeated SIU-Edwardsville, 78-40; Gonzaga, 81-76; Purdue, 62-60 and Tennessee 69-50.

Record: 34-4

Streak: Won 17 in a row

Extended streak: 30-1 in last 31

Coach: Kelvin Sampson, 36th year, 798-353; 11th year at Houston, 298-83.

Starters: G Milos Uzan, G L.J. Cryer, G Emanuel Sharp, F J’Wan Roberts, F Joseph Tugler.

Most productive player: L.J. Cryer, a 6-1 guard, made AP third-team All America after leading the Cougars in scoring at 15.4 points per game. He shoots 41.9 percent from three. Cryer played limited minutes as a freshman when the Baylor Bears won the 2020-21 national title.

Seasoned veteran: Forward J’Wan Roberts has played in a school-record 171 games in the last five seasons for the Cougars.

Top newcomer out of the portal: Milos Uzan, a transfer from Oklahoma, has averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 assists. He scored 22 against Purdue in the Sweet 16.

Top freshman: Not much impact from freshmen. Mercy Miller has played only 22 games and has averaged 2.7 points.

The journey and the goal: The Cougars won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament title en route their second Final Four in the last five years (both under Sampson) and their seventh overall. Both Sampson and the Cougars are looking for their first national title.

Duke Blue Devils

Road to San Antonio: The top seed in the East defeated Mount St. Mary’s, 93-49; Baylor, 89-66; Arizona 100-93 and Alabama, 85-65.

Record: 35-3

Streak: Won 15 in a row

Extended streak: 31-1 in last 32

Coach: Jon Scheyer, third year, 89-21, all at Duke.

Starters: G Sion James, G Tyrese Proctor, G/F Kon Knueppel, G/F Cooper Flagg, C Khaman Maluach.

Most productive player: Freshman forward Cooper Flagg averages 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the season. The 18-year-old Associated Press player of the year is averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the NCAA tournament.

Top newcomer out of the portal: Guard Sion James, an offseason transfer from Tulane, shoots 52.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three. He averages 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Top freshman: Other than Flagg, the Blue Devils’ top freshman is guard/forward Kon Knueppel, who averages 14.4 points. He’s a 47.7 percent shooter, including 40.1 percent from three.

The journey and the goal: The Blue Devils won the ACC regular-season and postseason titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the East. After Flagg sat out two games in the ACC tournament with an ankle injury, he returned and led the Blue Devils to their 18th Final Four appearance. Duke is trying to win its first NCAA championship since 2014-15 and its sixth overall.

In a potentially epic Final Four Saturday, don’t count out the ‘old guys’ coaching at Houston, Auburn

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Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. No. 5 seed Houston upset No. 1 seed Arizona 72-60 in the NCAA tournament South Region Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 24, 2022, at the AT&T Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Kelvin Sampson has won 798 games in 36 seasons as a head coach. He’s looking for his first national championship this weekend at the Alamodome. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Since last weekend, everyone in the basketball universe has known of the potential for an epic NCAA Final Four.

The qualifiers include the Florida Gators from the West region and the Duke Blue Devils from the East, and then the Houston Cougars from the Midwest and the Auburn Tigers from the South.

Since last Sunday, when the field was set, the statistics have been crunched, the talent evaluated and the odds posted. Who shoots the three ball the best? Who plays the best defense? How do they play it?

The Final Four, featuring a mixture of four No. 1 seeds for the second time ever and the first time since 2008, has been analyzed seemingly every which way.

So on Thursday, it was funny to hear a reporter at an afternoon news conference break it down in another way.

Basically, he said, when it comes down to the head coaches involved, the Final Four may be viewed as “two old guys” against “two young guys.”

In the first game Saturday at the Alamodome, it’ll be Pearl, 65, sending his Tigers out to play Todd Golden’s Gators in a battle of Southeastern Conference powers.

In the nightcap, we’ll see 69-year-old Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars, representing the Big 12, against Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As the reporter rolled out his question, he asked Pearl, who was seated at the dais, “You and Kelvin have been through adversity, all these things in your career. How much difference does that make?”

Also, the reporter asked Pearl to comment on a trend by schools to hire 30-something coaches like Golden and Scheyer into jobs at high-profile schools.

As the question was being asked, Pearl started to grin. You could tell he liked it. When it was delivered in full, the coach was still smiling as he delivered the type of answer that has made him so popular over the years.

“You know,” Pearl began, “the only way I look at it is, Kelvin and I have fewer chances to get to where we are right now (in the future), whereas Jon Scheyer and Todd Golden will be back here many, many more times.

“Kelvin and I better take advantage of it this time ‘cause we’re clearly on the back nine. I’m not on the 18th hole yet, but we’re getting closer.

“Todd and Jon don’t give up anything in experience … They just don’t have as much gray hair. They may not have been beaten down as much as Kelvin and I have been over the years.”

For the record, Pearl, in his 30th season as a head coach, has won 694 games. He’s led his teams into 14 NCAA tournaments — including six NCAAs and two Final Fours — in eight years as head coach of the Tigers.

Sampson, in turn, has won 798 games in 36 seasons. In Houston, he has re-energized a fan base, taking the Cougars on seven trips to the NCAA dance.

In his storied career, which started at tiny Montana Tech, he has been to two Final Fours, one with Oklahoma in 2002 and another with Houston in 2021.

Like Pearl, Sampson seemed amused by the topic of the day.

“There’s kind of a divide in this Final Four,” the reporter said. “You got you and Bruce Pearl, then you got two guys that are young enough to be your sons.”

Replied Sampson, smiling, “Thank you. Appreciate that. I hadn’t quite looked at it like that. But I will now.”

At that point, Sampson was told that he and Pearl had negotiated “difficult waters” in their respective careers.

For reference, Pearl and Sampson have both been found to have run afoul of the NCAA rule book, and both have been fired. Pearl, by the University of Tennessee. Sampson, by Indiana University.

But both, undeniably, are on the bounce back.

Both are ascending in stature even as the college game turns to coaches like Golden (131-69 in six years, including three at San Francisco) and Scheyer (89-21 in three, all at Duke).

Both Golden and Scheyer hold their Final Four coaching counterparts in high regard. Golden once worked on Pearl’s Auburn staff for a couple of years.

Scheyer said he elected before his first season as head coach to play a scrimmage with Sampson and Houston, just after he had taken the reins from Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski. He did it because he’s always admired UH’s defensive tenacity and toughness.

Also, Scheyer said he and Sampson texted back and forth that year. It’s clear he holds Sampson in high regard, and from Thursday’s news conference, it was easy to see why.

Sampson has a disarming charm about him. Just listen to him talk.

“Well.” Sampson continued on Thursday, “I coached against my son, (UH assistant coach) Kellen (Sampson), in scrimmages all the time. He’s always kicking my butt. So I’m used to being beat by younger guys.”

He said the move by some schools to hire young talent in coaching is “great for the game, ‘cause the game should always be about the future.”

In making his point, Sampson expressed some dismay at how fans talk about Houston’s teams in the 1960s and the 1980s.

In the ‘80s, former coach Guy V. Lewis led the Cougars to three straight Final Fours with Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and “Phi Slama Jama.”

“I’m thinking none of the kids that I’m recruiting, nor their parents, have ever heard of that,” he said. “That’s the past. Honor it. Let’s honor those guys. But for God’s sake, don’t live in the past.

“When I look at Todd (and) Jon, it makes me feel good about the future of the game. I still think Bruce has got a lot of good years left. He’s a youngster. He’s only 65. Maybe not for this old one.”

Sampson said basketball is in “good hands” with the younger coaches, who are better equipped “to navigate these choppy waters.” He also mentioned how he relies on his assistants.

From his son, to Quannas White, to Hollis Price and K.C. Beard. He said he encourages them to call their peers in the profession and ask about how they’re handling the changing business model of college sports.

“I didn’t know anything about NIL,” he said. “I used to think it was sacrilege if you transferred inside your own league. That would never have happened (years ago.) Now it’s just a different time.”

For college basketball fans, it’s also an exciting time, thanks to two “old guys” who can still coach and hope to prove it again on Saturday night.

Playing in a second Final Four with a different team? Florida’s Martin has enjoyed the ride

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

When Alijah Martin played for the Florida Atlantic University Owls, he always seemed to be at his best when he suited up against the UTSA Roadrunners.

In addition, FAU won all four meetings between the two teams in a three-year period through the 2023-24 season, including three games contested in San Antonio.

“You played here (in San Antonio)?” one of Martin’s teammates on the Florida Gators asked Thursday morning.

Did he ever.

Martin, as an FAU freshman, produced 16 points and 9 rebounds as the Owls won 73-64 at the UTSA Convocation Center in 2022. A year later, he had 11 points and 7 boards as nationally-ranked FAU rolled, 83-64.

In January 2024, a wild, high-scoring affair tipped into overtime, and he scored 26 points in a 112-103 victory for the Owls. He also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

In a video shot by The JB Replay (see above), he’s throwing down a pretty salty dunk at the Convocation Center during the 2022-23 season.

“Is that one where I was coming down the middle?” Martin asked when I showed it to him on my phone. “Oh, yeah, I remember that one.”

Of course, that was the year that FAU shocked the world and made it all the way to the NCAA Final Four.

Meaning that, the starting guard for the Florida Gators is a Final Four veteran leading into Saturday afternoon’s national semifinal against Auburn at the Alamodome.

“It’s definitely unbelievable to be here, in this moment,” he said. “Blessed.”

Oddly, the kid from Summit, Miss., who attended a previously non-descript school in Boca Raton, Fla., is the one in the Gators’ locker room with a Final Four history.

It’s in the record books that he scored 26 points for the Owls in a 72-71 semifinal loss to San Diego State two years ago at Houston’s NRG Stadium.

Martin is now the guy in the Gators’ locker room imparting wisdom to his teammates, about what it’s like to be in a Final Four.

“I’ve been telling the guys what’s ahead,” he said, “what they can look for.”

In another twist, Martin is not the only player on a roster this weekend with previous Final Four experience on a different team. Two others are Houston guard LJ Cryer and Duke forward Mason Gillis.

Cryer, as a collegiate freshman, had a limited role in the last two games of Baylor’s 2021 national title season in Indianapolis.

With the tournament contested in a “controlled environment” during the pandemic, Cryer played two minutes in a semifinal victory over Houston. He played one minute in the championship game victory against Houston.

Gillis, for his part, played in the semifinals and finals last season for the Purdue Boilermakers.

This time last year, the Boilermakers reached the NCAA finals in Glendale, Ariz., where they lost to the Connecticut Huskies.

Gillis, who snared four rebounds in 24 minutes in the title match, acknowledged that it’s a special feeling making the trip with his new team as they prepare to face the Houston Cougars in Saturday’s late game.

“It’s a blessing, for sure,” he said. “So we just got to finish the job this year.”

Martin, Cryer and Gillis will join Steve Krafcisin (North Carolina, 1977, and Iowa, 1980) and Bob Bender (Indiana, 1976, and Duke, 1978) as the only oplayers to reach the pinnacle of the Big Dance with different teams.

Florida and Auburn will tip off at 5:09 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Houston and Duke in the nightcap. The championship game is set for Monday night, with tipoff at 7:50 p.m.

This year’s Final Four is unique in a few different ways. It’s the second in history and the first since 2008, when Kansas beat Memphis for the title at the Alamodome, that four No. 1 seeds have congregated to play for the national title.

It’s also the first in some 45 seasons that two players — Martin and Gillis — are in the national semifinals after experiencing the thrill of the moment previously with another team. Martin’s story is even more remarkable.

For his first two seasons, he started out at FAU playing in a small home arena in Boca Raton, Fla., and in modest venues all around Conference USA. Also, in 2023-24, in the American Athletic Conference.

One of those arenas was in San Antonio, where 1,500 or so would turn out to watch.

Now he’s preparing to play in the same city a year later, in a downtown venue that will be filled with about 68,000 people, in his second Final Four in three years. And for his second college team, the Gators, of the mighty Southeastern Conference.

“It’s crazy,” Martin said.

And, so, what is the lesson learned in his hoops journey?

“You got to stick with it,” Martin said. “Basketball can take you places, man, where you never thought you could be.”

2025 NCAA Final Four
At the Alamodome

Friday’s open practices

Florida: 11 – 11:50 a.m.
Auburn: 12 – 12:50 p.m.
Houston: 1 – 1:50 p.m.
Duke: 2 – 2:50 p.m.

Saturday’s semifinals

Florida vs. Auburn, 5:09 p.m.
Duke vs. Houston, 40 minutes after the end of the first game

Monday’s finals

Saturday’s winners tip off at 7:50 p.m. for the NCAA championship

Alijah Martin of Florida Atlantic men's basketball playing against UTSA on Jan. 29, 2022, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Alijah Martin of Florida Atlantic men’s basketball playing against UTSA on Jan. 29, 2022, at the Convocation Center. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Baseball: TCU scores in the ninth to beat UTSA, 5-4

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Cole Cramer’s one-out sacrifice fly to right field scored Jack Arthur from third base in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday night, lifting the TCU Horned Frogs to a 5-4 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners in Fort Worth.

TCU righthander Cohen Feser (1-0) from San Antonio earned the victory with three innings of scoreless relief. In the top of the ninth, Feser retired three straight batters to give the Horned Frogs a chance to win it in their last at bat.

On the third out of the inning, UTSA’s Mason Lytle hit it hard to left field, but the ball was knocked down by the wind and caught just inside the warning track.

The Horned Frogs opened the bottom half against a new pitcher, Zach Royse, UTSA’s regular Friday night starter. Karson Bowen led off with a drive to right that got over the head of outfielder James Taussig for a double.

After Arthur entered the game as a pinch runner, Royse struck out Isaac Cadena for the first out.

Then, with Cramer at the plate, Royse appeared to surprise UTSA catcher Andrew Stucky with his location on a pitch that caromed off Stucky’s mitt for a passed ball, allowing Arthur to take third.

Cramer followed by sending a fly ball to deep right that allowed Arthur to score, ending the Roadrunners’ six-game winning streak.

For UTSA, it was a missed opportunity in its effort to win road games this season at Texas A&M, Texas and TCU. The Horned Frogs entered the night rated 33rd on the RPI, with UTSA at No. 41, a season-high.

The Roadrunners’ offense wasn’t great. Horned Frogs pitching held them to eight hits, all singles. But UTSA pitching for the most part threw the ball well, save for five walks that gave the Horned Frogs too many chances.

Six hurlers, including Gunnar Brown, Jake Cothran, Connor Kelley, Christian Okerholm, Robert Orloski and Royse, held the Frogs to 10 hits. Royse (2-4) took the loss.

TCU used six pitchers, as well, including Trever Baumler, San Antonio’s Mason Bixby, Kaden Smith, Zack James, Gianluca Shinn and Feser, a 6-foot-2 redshirt junior from Reagan High School.

Bixby, a 6-7 sophomore from Johnson, pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits. TCU shortstop Anthony Silva, a junior from Clark, went one for three at the plate and scored a run. He had four infield assists, a key putout and a throwing error.

Bowen and Cadena both went two for five for the Horned Frogs. Cadena slammed a solo homer and a double.

For UTSA, Norris McClure had three of UTSA’s eight hits. The transfer from Division II Spring Hill College in Alabama went three for four and scored a run.

After TCU opened the scoring with three runs in the second, the Roadrunners got one back in the third and then scored three in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.

During the uprising, UTSA had runners at first and second with nobody out when Bowen, TCU’s catcher, fired to second to pick off McClure. It appeared that McClure beat the initial tag attempt by Silva, only to be tagged again when his momentum carried him off the bag.

Without the perfect throw from Bowen and the heads-up tag by Silva, the Roadrunners might have scored more than three runs and could have had a multiple-run lead.

Instead, the Roadrunners had to settle for the one-run margin going into the bottom of the fifth, and that is when Cadena greeted Kelley with a leadoff shot to right that carried well over the wall, tying the score, 4-4.

Records

UTSA 23-8
TCU 22-8

Coming up

UTSA at UAB, Friday, 5 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Baseball: Fast-rising UTSA ready for another challenge at TCU

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Jordan Ballin.

Jordan Ballin has emerged as one of three freshmen, along with Caden Miller and Nathan Hodge, to make a significant impact on a UTSA team that has started 23-7 with victories over Texas A&M and Texas. – File photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With a 23-7 record, the UTSA Roadrunners have established arguably the best 30-game start in Coach Pat Hallmark’s six years with the program.

After winning on the road at Texas A&M and Texas and starting 5-1 in the American Athletic Conference, they’ll try to add to their body of work tonight when they play a midweek game in Fort Worth against the 21-8 TCU Horned Frogs of the Big 12.

“We’re resilient and persistent, two things we try to be,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “So we’re prepared, but that doesn’t guarantee you anything. TCU is really good. Kirk Saarloos is a terrific coach. He’s been doing this a long time. He knows what he’s doing.”

The Horned Frogs have started to click with seven wins in their last nine games, including a non-conference road victory at 15th-ranked Dallas Baptist, and a pair of 2-1 Big 12 road series victories over Texas Tech and Houston.

In the most recent ratings percentage index, TCU will enter the game tonight at No. 33 nationally. UTSA is not far behind, slotted in at No. 41, which represents a 30-spot jump from last week.

The Roadrunners made the jump after two straight strong weekends of play in the American. From March 21-23, they won two of three at Charlotte.

Last weekend, they played at home and beat the FAU Owls three straight, coming from behind in each of the victories.

“We can get better on defense, certainly, but (we’re) pleased with the way we played,” Hallmark said.

In the Horned Frogs, the Roadrunners will be facing a midweek challenge that is likely every bit as tough as the Aggies or the Longhorns. TCU is 7-0 in midweek games this season and is 14-0 in midweek home games dating back to 2023.

“Their arms will be really good,” Hallmark said. “They’ll have as good of pitching as anyone we’ve faced. But we’ll be ready. I think we’ll be prepared.”

The Roadrunners are starting to play so well that some have drawn comparisons to Hallmark’s standout teams in 2022 and 2023. Both years, UTSA won 38 games, one win shy of the school record.

In 2022, the Roadrunners rolled out a 30-game start of 19-11, which included a home win over second-ranked Stanford and a road victory at TCU. In 2023, they started 23-7, with the best wins in non-conference coming at home over Houston and on the road at Baylor.

The ’22 team was an offensive juggernaut powered by Leyton Barry, Chase Keng and Ryan Flores. The Roadrunners had nine players batting .300 or better. Luke Malone, who went 9-3 and finished with a 2.67 earned run average, paced a deep pitching staff.

At the end of the season, they got hot and nearly won the Conference USA tournament, beating nationally-ranked Southern Miss twice on its home field before losing in the title game to Louisiana Tech.

In 2023, the Roadrunners had seven players hitting .300 or better, led by Antonio Valdez at .387. Moreover, they also hit 78 home runs.

Paced by Malone and ace reliever Simon Miller, the ’23 team hit its stride late in the C-USA regular season, moving into the Top 25 of multiple national polls in March and early April.

After finishing second in the C-USA at 21-8, the Roadrunners were ousted from the double-elimination tournament after two games. Neither team, in either 2022 or 2023, received an NCAA at-large bid.

This season, the Roadrunners have five regulars batting .300 or better, led by Mason Lytle’s .391. Lytle ranks eighth in NCAA Division I with 50 hits. Newcomer Drew Detlefsen ranks among national leaders in home runs (eight) and RBI (48).

Pitching, perhaps deeper than it has been in previous years, is anchored by starters Zach Royse, Braylon Owens and Conor Myles. Robert Orloski is 7-0 with one save out of the bullpen.

Hallmark said he hasn’t thought much about how his two 38-win teams might compare to this one except to say that a few years ago the Roadrunners were led by older, mature leaders such as Jonathan Tapia, Ian Bailey and Chase Keng (in 2022) and Luke Malone (in 2022 and 2023).

The current team’s level of maturity is similar, the coach said, even though it relies heavily on freshmen such as Jordan Ballin, Caden Miller and Nathan Hodge.

“Athletically,” he said, “I think we might be a tick more athletic this year. We have a good combination of physical kids that can really move pretty good, which you don’t always see at a mid major.

“Then I think our pitching may be similar, with older, more experienced pitchers,” he said. “Guys like Luke Malone were the leaders of those (previous) teams.

“Braylon Owens is one of our leaders (this year). He’s older. He’s been around. So, some similarities in the pitching, (with) strike throwers.”

Records

UTSA 23-7
TCU 21-8

Coming up

UTSA at TCU, tonight, 6 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Friday, 5 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Sunday, 1 p.m.