Texas State forward Chandler Davis (left) defends against UTSA’s Keaton Wallace. The Bobcats beat the Roadrunners 69-68 on Dec. 1 in San Antonio. – Photo by Joe Alexander.
Texas State Bobcats coach Danny Kaspar likely has known for awhile now that his team could emerge in March as one of the most special in school history.
He hasn’t said so in as many words.
At least, not until Saturday, when he started comparing his squad favorably to some of the best in school history.
Moments after a stirring 77-64 victory over Arkansas State in front of 4,163 fans at Strahan Arena, Kaspar credited the fans for their support and talked about how helpful they could be down the stretch.
“I know the crowd helped us, but it also wowed (the players) when they walked out there,” he said, in a video posted on the program’s website. “I mean, other than the Air Force game, that’s the first good crowd we’ve had.
“And, of course, a lot of our students are in town and that makes a difference.”
Texas State drew 4,058 on Nov. 9 in an opening-night 67-57 victory over Air Force.
With that performance, the Bobcats started to build momentum, which has carried them to a 16-3 record, including 5-1 in the Sun Belt.
Now tied for first in the standings, Texas State will commence preparation for a meeting with Sun Belt co-leader Georgia State Thursday night in Atlanta.
A demanding coach who chooses his words carefully, Kaspar said his team is “worth a look” when it returns home to play at Strahan in coming weeks.
“I just think this team is playing some of the best basketball in the Division I era (of the university),” Kaspar said. “I know that they had some great teams during the NAIA years.
“But in the Division I era, this is about as good as anyone’s been playing, since the Jeff Foster days, the Donte Mathis days.”
Formerly a NAIA and NCAA Division II program, Texas State transitioned into Division I in the 1984-85 season.
Success has been spotty, with the Bobcats reaching the NCAA tournament in 1994 and 1997. They haven’t been back since.
Could this year be the year? Given that the Bobcats are 14-2 since mid-November, the coach issued an appeal to the fans.
“I’m hoping people will say, ‘Maybe it’s worth a look,’ and start coming out,” Kaspar said. “I think they have fun when they’re here.”
The Minnesota Golden Gophers couldn’t afford to let another easy game get away from them.
They were routed by Illinois last Wednesday and on Saturday, they were trailing Penn State at the half at home.
Jordan Murphy, a Minnesota senior from San Antonio’s Brennan High School, knew what he had to do after talking to Gophers coach Richard Pitino.
“Coach just told me to keep my mind on rebounding because I was too much in my head in the first half,” Murphy told the Associated Press. “He just told me to keep my mind on rebounding, just getting stops, then everything else would follow, so that’s what I did.”
Murphy finished with 19 points and tied a career high with 21 boards as the Gophers came from behind to down the Nittany Lions, 65-64.
The Gophers (14-4, 4-3) are projected as a No. 9 seed in the latest bracket projections at cbssports.com leading into a Tuesday night challenge at Michigan.
Murphy is among the nation’s top rebounders at 12.1 per game.
The UAB Blazers shot 53.6 percent from the field Saturday night and walloped the UTSA Roadrunners, 83-73, in a Conference USA game at Birmingham.
UAB knocked down 30 of 56 shots from the floor for the second-best shooting night against the Roadrunners this season.
Only South Dakota State, hitting 60 percent at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida on Nov. 20, shot it better than UAB against a usually sound UTSA defense.
Senior guard Jalen Perry led six UAB players in double figures with 18 points.
Center Makhtar Gueye hurt the Roadrunners on both ends of the floor, as the 6-10 post produced 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Keaton Wallace led the Roadruners with 33 points and eight rebounds.
Disappointing trip
It was the second loss in three nights on a disappointing Conference USA road trip for UTSA.
After starting the trip on a seven-game winning streak, the Roadrunners fell from first in the conference by stumbling against both Middle Tennessee and UAB.
UTSA trailed by 21 in the second half at last-place Middle Tennessee on Thursday and rallied at the end, coming up short, 89-86.
Scoring droughts
Against the Blazers, the Roadrunners started fast but went through three extended scoring droughts.
As a result, they were playing from behind for most of the night.
Early in the second half, they rallied to within two and then faltered, giving up a 12-0 run burying them in a 14-point deficit with 12:52 left.
The Roadrunners fell behind by 20 at one point and came no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Records
UTSA 10-9, 4-2
UAB 12-7, 4-2
Coming up
UTSA plays twice at home next week, hosting Charlotte on Thursday and Old Dominion on Saturday.
Notable
The back-to-back losses were the first for UTSA since November against UC Irvine and South Dakota State in Florida. Those losses capped an 0-5 start to the season.
Quotable
“Road trip wasn’t good for us. Our guys are practicing the right way. I got to help ’em figure out how we can get better offensively. This was probably one of our worst defensive games, but a lot of that was them — they just attacked us.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson
UIW guard Jordan Caruso brings the crowd to its feet with a slashing layup that tied the game with 44 seconds left.
Guard Kevon Harris produced 25 points and seven rebounds Saturday afternoon, and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks held off the Incarnate Word Cardinals, 74-71, in the Southland Conference.
In a game played before an announced 1,139 fans at UIW, the Cardinals erased an eight-point deficit and tied the defending SLC tournament champions in the last minute.
A driving layup by UIW freshman Jordan Caruso made it 71-71 with 44 seconds to play. But the Cardinals came up short at the end.
Despite one off its most inspired efforts of the season, UIW dropped its third straight and fell to 3-9 in its last 12 games.
“We fought hard and played with all our hearts for 40 minutes,” Cardinals forward Christian Peevy said. “We just hve to stay together and move forward.”
After UIW tied the game late, SFA responded with a possession in which Harris was fouled and hit both free throws for a two-point advantage.
UIW, on its next play, came down and watched as Augustine Ene misfired on an open look three-point shot from the right wing.
The rebound caromed out of bounds off SFA, giving UIW the ball out of bounds under its own basket.
After a timeout, Ene inbounded a pass intended for Charles Brown on the same right wing.
But SFA’s Davonte Fitzgerald lashed into the picture and got a hand on it, knocking it off Brown and out of bounds, giving the possession to the Lumberjacks.
Lumberjacks guard Shannon Bogues hit one of two free throws for the final point of the game with two seconds left.
UIW rushed it upcourt and got a shot off, a desperating three by Brown, but it was long and off to the side as time expired.
“We did some nice things and I was happy for the guys as far as their ability execute things and play together,” UIW coach Carson Cunningham said. “It’s just very difficult to win college basketball games.
“We’re just going to have to keep plugging and trying to break through.”
Records
Stephen F. Austin 9-8, 2-3
Incarnate Word 6-12 1-4
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders snapped a 13-game losing streak at the expense of the UTSA Roadrunners, scoring an 89-86 victory at home Thursday night in Conference USA.
The Roadrunners fell behind by as many as 21 points in the second half and closed with a furious rally to make it a two-possession game for much of the final minute.
But they couldn’t sustain the momentum, ending their winning streak at seven games.
Coming into the game, UTSA held the lead in the C-USA standings and had a streak that was tied for the sixth longest in the nation.
They also had two of the top scorers in the conference in Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace.
As it turned out, the Blue Raiders didn’t let it bother them, limiting Jackson and Wallace to 19 of 49 shooting combined.
In addition, Middle Tennessee hit 27 of 55 from the field for 49.1 percent, the fourth-best shooting night of the season against the Roadrunners.
The UTSA defense hadn’t allowed a team to shoot better than 44 percent in 12 games, since South Dakota State hit 60 percent on Nov. 20 at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida.
Records
Middle Tennessee 4-14, 1-4
UTSA 10-8, 4-1
Notable
Marshall won at home, downing Florida Atlantic, to move into first place in the conference standings at 4-0. UTSA and the North Texas Mean Green, who were idle, are tied for second place at 4-1.
Quotable
“We were keyed in on a couple of their guys, and we did a decent job on them. A couple of guys that had not been making threes got real hot (and) that really had a big impact. They started feeling good, playing with confidence, and it snowballed on us.” — UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast.
Individuals
Middle Tennessee — Sophomore guard Donovan Sims 24 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds. Sims hit 5 threes. Junior guard Antonio Green, the team’s leading scorer, 21 points, 6 rebounds. Senior forward James Hawthorne, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks. Hawthorne also had 5 threes. He had made only 5 of 19 on the season coming in.
UTSA — Jhivvan Jackson, 25 points on 10 of 28 shooting. Keaton Wallace, 24 points on 10 of 21. Wallace also had 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Byron Frohnen, 9 points, 8 rebounds. Nick Allen, 8 points on 2 of 5 shooting, including 2 of 3 from three.
Incarnate Word freshman Jordan Caruso hits a 10 footer off the baseline to complete a chaotic play in the first half against Central Arkansas.
Forward Eddy Kayouloud scored 18 points and 7-footer Hayden Koval had 13 points and 7 rebounds, lifting the Central Arkansas Bears to an easy 77-60 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Wednesday night.
In a Southland Conference game played at UIW, Central Arkansas point guard Deandre Jones also produced in a big way with 9 points, 8 assists and 4 steals.
While Kayouloud and Koval dominated on offense, hitting a combined 12 of 17 from the field, Jones spearheaded a defense that forced the Cardinals into 17 turnovers.
Central Arkansas scored 15 points off of UIW mistakes in winning their second SLC road game of the season.
“You got to give Central Arkansas a lot of credit,” UIW coach Carson Cunningham said. “They played really well. I thought they shared the ball quite nicely, moved it really well, and so we can learn a lot from them.
“We’re just going to have to keep working and not get too down. We’re just going to have to figure out a way … to become a more strategically sound basketball team.”
The Bears shot 55 percnt from the field and outscored the Cardinals 44-31 in the second half, turning a close game into a run-away. Late in the game, a short-handed UIW squad fell behind by 24 points.
“I just thought we finally wore ’em down,” Central Arkansas coach Russ Pennell said. “We got the ball inside a couple of times. We did get a couple of fast break baskets. And then our defense was solid.”
Records
Central Arkansas 8-10, 3-2
Incarnate Word 6-11, 1-3
Individuals for UIW
Augustine Ene, 18 points and 6 rebounds. Jordan Caruso, 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Also, 5 rebounds.
Central Arkansas center Hayden Koval, a 7-foot sophomore, gets a hand in a shooter’s face, forces a miss and then grabs a rebound Wednesday night against UIW.
Notable
In a UIW season marred with several injuries, freshman point guard Morgan Taylor is the latest casualty.
Taylor suffered a shoulder injury last Saturday at Sam Houston State. He sat out his first game of the season against Cental Arkansas as the Cardinals lost their eighth game out of their last 11.
Sophomore forward Christian Peevy, meanwhile, still hasn’t regained the form that produced games of 26, 32, 23 and 16 points before he broke his left hand at LSU. Since his return, he has scored 4, 0, 0 and 4.
Quotable
“I think Coach Cunningham’s going to do a great job,” UCA coach Russ Pennell said. “I think he’s got a plan. I think he knows right now he’s a little undermanned. I think he knows what he needs to do, and now it’s just a matter of going out and making it happen.”
Added Pennell, “We talked a little bit about that. I was in a similar situation five years ago, and we’re still building. You got to show the recruits and the fans what you’re going to do and what you’re going to be like.”
UIW freshman Antoine Smith, Jr., muscles for position on the offensive glass, gets a rebound and puts it back in the first half against Central Arkansas.
Coach Steve Henson has led UTSA into first place in Conference USA. – Photo by Joe Alexander.
In the first few years of the Steve Henson era at UTSA, one characteristic of his core group of players stands out above all the rest. It’s resilience. Physically, the Roadrunners won’t overwhelm anyone. But, like a wily boxer backed up on the ropes, they will deliver a devastating counter-punch when least expected.
Take, for instance, last year’s trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders thrashed the Roadrunners by 24 points and dropped them to 10-11 overall and 3-5 in Conference USA. But on the second stop on the trip, they somehow came up off the mat and delivered a few haymakers, winning 82-70 at UAB.
The rest is history, as the Roadrunners finished 20-15, including 11-7 in conference — the first 20-win season at UTSA in seven years. This season, it’s happened again. Starting the year without their best player, they plunged into their first few games and came up looking like Jerry Quarry against Muhammad Ali. They were 0-5 and reeling.
Jhivvan Jackson sat out the first three games this season to complete rehabilitation from a knee injury. He’s averaged 20.5 points since his return.
Undaunted, players on a trip to Florida for the Gulf Coast Showcase talked among themselves and got some things straightened out. Since then, UTSA has ripped off a 10-2 record, including a seven-game winning streak and a school-record tying 4-0 start in conference.
Given all that, I talked to Coach Henson yesterday as he prepared his team for a return trip to Murfreesboro. I asked about his core group — Nick Allen, Giovanni De Nicolao, Byron Frohnen, Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace — and why he thinks those players are so resilient, so capable of handling adversity.
Here’s his response, in a Q&A format:
“A lot of factors there. It’s a very mature group. It’s a secure group. Got good leadership. And we’ve got so many guys whose only priority is finding a way to win. Doing whatever it takes to win. It’s a competitive, tough group. I’ve said it before. It’s not the type of group you’d literally want to get in an alley fight with. Basketball toughness, this group has it. They care about each other. There’s never been panic.
“This year, when we got off to a slow start, panic never set in. They knew we could right the ship. We just kept telling ’em, we have everything we need on this team to have a great year. And they believed that.
“Last year, you’re right on it. We lost a couple of games at home against teams that were not projected to be in the top half. We had an unbelievable stretch upcoming. Went to Middle Tennessee, and we were down 30 in that game. The next day, we had a great practice, a great film session.
“Pulled a few guys aside, the guys taking most of the shots. Jhivvan, Keaton and Deon (Lyle). Showed ’em their shots. Talked about getting better shots. Continuing to have that freedom, shooting it freely. Shooting it quickly. But let’s turn down a good shot for a great shot.”
Junior Byron Frohnen doesn’t need many shots to be effective. He leads the Roadrunners in rebounding. – Photo by Joe Alexander
So, part of it is just being coachable?
“Probably more succinct than what I just said, but, yeah. Willingness and coachability. For sure. Our season did turn at UAB last year. It was one of our best games of the year offensively and defensively. It was huge, because we were coming back home to play Marshall and Western Kentucky. With UTEP looming. So, our backs were against the wall. And our guys responded very, very well.”
When you’re recruiting, how do you find players who have those qualities?
“It’s hard. You watch body language. You talk to coaches. We try to recruit from successful programs. Guys who are used to winning. There’s great value in that. A lot of coaches value that. Sometimes, there’s going to be some unknowns. You just try to do as much work as you can … You want guys that just love to play, guys that are hungry. Guys that care about their teammates.”
It sounds as if some of the players got together after the loss to South Dakota State earlier this season and talked it over.
“When your players take ownership of your program, you’ve got a much better chance of being successful. I mean, we want it. We know they want it. They know coaches want it. When it comes from them, it’s got much more weight. And it doesn’t have to be upperclassmen.
“You know, leadership can come from anyone. When it comes from the players, it means a lot. Not surprised that they were frustrated (on the trip to Florida). But they also know that we could turn it around. (That) there was no doubt. I keep talking abouut panic. But there was no doubt. They believed.”
Last Saturday, UTSA played its trademark tough defense in defeating North Texas, 76-74. With the performance, the Roadrunners snapped the Mean Green’s eight-game winnning streak and took over first place in the conference.
KANSAS WINS! Lagerald Vick and Marcus Garrett combined for more than half of the Jayhawks' scoring and #KUbball survives the Longhorns on Big Monday in the Fieldhouse.
Seventh-ranked Kansas held on for an 80-78 victory over the Texas Longhorns Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Longhorns had a chance to win on the last play, but Jase Febres missed a contested 3-point shot at the buzzer.
Late in the game, Kansas was up by 10 and was threatening to blow out Texas.
But the Longhorns retaliated, first with a Jaxson Hayes dunk on a lob and then a Kerwin Roach three.
After that, Febres started to hit from seemingly everywhere, raining three consecutive 3-pointers, with the last one tying the game, 73-73, with 2:15 left.
Trailing by two points at intermission, the Jayhawks came out firing in the second half, with Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes nailing threes back-to-back to fuel a 13-4 spree in the first four minutes.
Two more threes by Lagerald Vick boosted Kansas into a 51-44 lead with 15:54 left.
Texas never got closer than four in the next 10 minutes, with the Jayhawks moving in front by 10 twice, including 69-59 on a Dedric Lawson dunk at the 5:10 mark.
Records
Texas 10-7, 2-3
Kansas 15-2, 4-1
Individuals
Texas — Matt Coleman III, 16 points, 8 assists. Kerwin Roach II, 13 points. Dylan Osetkowski, 11 points, 9 rebouds. Off the bench, Jase Febres, 12 points. Courtney Ramey, 10.
The Longhorns have lost three straight in the Big 12 by a total of 11 points.
They lost by three at Oklahoma State, by six at home against eighth-ranked Texas Tech and now by two on the road at Kansas, one of the toughest places to play in the nation.
Texas freshman center Jaxson Hayes fouled out in 17 minutes. He finished with 8 points and 4 rebounds.
Quotable
“I thought our overall effort was very good most of the time. I thought, obviously, the way Kansas started the second half was big for them. And I told the guys at one point in a timeout, ‘We’ve got to make them miss, they aren’t going to miss on their own.’ And to our guys’ credit, we got down 10 (points) a couple of times and they fought to cut that lead down and bring us back. We were just a play away from being able to win tonight’s game.” — Texas coach Shaka Smart, in comments posted on the Kansas website
Guard Tyus Battle scored 32 points and forward Paschal Chukwu had four in the final 1:22 of overtime Monday as the Syracuse Orange stunned the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils, 95-91, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“Feels great,” Battle told ESPN after the natonally-televised game from Durham, North Carolina. “Feels really good. Hopefully we can get it going.”
Playing without two starters for most of the game, the Blue Devils held the lead for most of the night but couldn’t hold on.
Battle played a major role in the upset, hitting 12 of 28 from the field, including a three pointer falling backwards down the stretch in regulation.
Two freshmen led the Blue Devils in scoring. Zion Williamson produced 35 points and 10 rebounds. RJ Barrett had 23 and 16 rebounds.
Duke and Syracuse went into overtime tied 85-85. Battle had a clean look on a three-pointer that hit the back iron at the buzzer.
For the Blue Devils, Williamson produced 34 points in regulation. Battle had 30 for the Orange.
Duke basketball officials announced before tipoff that freshman forward Cam Reddish would not play because of an illness.
Even as the Blue Devils jumped out to a 12-0 lead, more bad luck stalked the No. 1 team in the nation, as starting point guard Tre Jones suffered a injury to his right arm.
There hasn’t been much change at the top of the Associated Press Top 25 poll recently, but the rankings among the elite could be in for a shakeup as marquee games loom in the coming days.
The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils, for instance, will host unranked Syracuse tonight and then will brace for a visit from undefeated and No. 4 Virginia on Saturday.
Virginia hosts ninth-ranked Virginia Tech on Tuesday before making the trek to Durham to face Duke this weekend.
For the fourth straight week, the top four in the rankings remained the same — Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia — as the new poll came out Monday.
For the second week in a row, the top 10 stayed in the same order.
AP Top 25
1. Duke 14-1 ACC
2. Michigan 17-0 Big Ten
3. Tennessee 14-1 SEC
4. Virginia 15-0 ACC
5. Gonzaga 16-2 West Coast
6. Michigan State 15-2 Big Ten
7. Kansas 14-2 Big 12
8. Texas Tech 15-1 Big 12
9. Virginia Tech 14-1 ACC
10. Nevada 16-1 Mountain West
11. Florida State 13-3 ACC
12. Kentucky 12-3 SEC
13. North Carolina 12-4 ACC
14. Auburn 12-3 SEC
15. Marquette 14-3 Big East
16. Buffalo 15-1 Mid-American
17. North Carolina State 14-2 ACC
18. Ole Miss 13-2 SEC
19. Maryland 14-3 Big Ten
20. Oklahoma 13-3 Big 12
21. Houston 16-1 American
22. Villanova 13-4 Big East
23. Iowa 14-3 Big Ten
24. Mississippi State 12-3 SEC
25. Indiana 12-4 Big Ten
