Texas
Texas basketball vs. Oklahoma State: Prediction, scouting report for conference clash
For perhaps the last time, Texas and Oklahoma State will engage in an orange-clad battle Saturday in Stillwater (2 p.m., ESPN+, 103.1). Like No. 11 Texas (17-2, 4-2), Oklahoma State (11-6) has won four of its six conference contests.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
Is Texas still a championship contender?
Following a 91-56 loss to UT on Tuesday, Kansas coach Brandon Schneider told reporters that “I thought Texas was Final Four, national championship good with Rori (Harmon). I think they can probably still be that good given the amount of time that they have to make adjustments (after Harmon’s season-ending injury).” When told later about his contemporary’s comments, UT coach Vic Schaefer wasn’t ready to replicate that optimistic outlook.
“I’m not quite there yet,” Schaefer said. “I think we’ve got some work to do. As good as we played tonight, I’m wanting that consistency. That’s what any coach wants. What do we want? We want that every night, right? And it’s not going to happen, we know that. But I do think this team is special. As I told them tonight when we huddled up on the floor, when they are locked in like they were tonight on both ends, they’re a tough out. I told them, they’ve got a chance to be really, really good.”
Will DeYona Gaston play against Oklahoma State?
Schaefer said senior forward DeYona Gaston isn’t expected to play against the Cowgirls. She missed the Kansas game after suffering her second ankle injury of the season near the end of last weekend’s trip to Kansas State.
An all-conference honoree last season, Gaston is averaging 7.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Schaefer said Gaston recently saw a specialist and is walking around without the assistance of crutches. On Tuesday night, she was spotted with just a boot on her left foot. “I think the doctor’s cautiously optimistic, but being a good doctor, he’s very careful with her,” Schaefer said.
Without Gaston, Texas should still be fine in the paint. Post players Aaliyah Moore and Khadija Faye combined for 31 points in the Kansas game. Last January against Oklahoma State, forward Taylor Jones shot 9-of-10 from the floor.
Texas fans, meet Quincy Noble
A 5-foot-10 guard, Noble is averaging 12.6 points per game in her first season at Oklahoma State. On Wednesday, she scored 30 points in a beatdown of BYU. That was Oklahoma State’s first 30-point game by an individual in three seasons.
This is Noble’s sixth year of college basketball. The McKinney native spent her first year at New Mexico before transferring to North Texas ahead of the 2019-20 season. While playing for former UT assistant coach Jalie Mitchell in Denton, Noble was a three-time all-conference pick. Her 1,316 career points rank eighth in UNT history.
Texas vs. Oklahoma State prediction
Texas. Making predictions based off of the theory of transitive properties is dangerous. But in the past week, Texas has beaten Kansas by 35 points and Oklahoma State has lost to that same Kansas team. Even without Gaston, Texas should win this one comfortably.
A day off at the pool — and a little sunburn — didn’t stop the Minnesota Twins’ momentum.
Brooks Lee hit a three-run homer as Minnesota scored multiple runs in the first inning for the third consecutive game, and the Twins went on to complete a series sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 9-3 win Thursday.
Minnesota has won four games in a row and scored 25 runs in the three-games series in Texas. The two teams had a rare, mid-series day off on Wednesday with the England-Croatia World Cup game being played in Arlington.
“We’re locked in every day,” Lee told Audra Martin on the team’s broadcast. “Yesterday, taking time off, lay out by the pool, get a little burnt and then right back to it. We did a good job getting focused. I feel like we do that with rain delays, too, just lock back in and we’re doing it.”
Lee’s 12th homer capped a four-run first off Jack Leiter (3-7). Trevor Larnach made it 6-0 in the fourth with a two-run shot to straightaway center that just cleared the extended glove of leaping Alejandro Osuna. Larnach’s third hit was an RBI single in the fifth, and Ryan Kriedler hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Joe Ryan (5-3) struck out seven but needed 97 pitches to get through five scoreless innings while allowing three singles. Leiter was done after the fourth, and has given up 17 runs while losing three starts in a row.
The Twins never trailed in the sweep that extended their winning streak to four, matching their longest this season. Their 14-5 record at Globe Life Field is the best for any American League opponent since the ballpark opened in 2020.
Wyatt Langford, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue hit solo homers for the Rangers, who have lost five of six games. They are 0-15 when giving up multiple runs in the first inning.
Twins DH Josh Bell, who was born in nearby Irving and grew up in the area, had an RBI single before Lee’s homer. Bell hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the series-opening 4-2 win Monday, and had an RBI single for a 2-0 lead in the first of a 12-2 win on Tuesday.
“We’re just passing the baton each time,” Lee said of the offensive output. “Our guys are hot. They feel good and they came out swinging today. It was awesome to see. We’ve done that for a while now.”
Up next
Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-4, 5.26 ERA) starts Friday at Arizona. The Diamondbacks are scheduled to start right-hander Michael Soroka (8-3, 3.11).
Watch CBS News
A Texas state trooper was killed in a crash in the Panhandle, becoming the 244th Texas Department of Public Safety officer to die in the line of duty since 1823, according to the agency.
Sergio Romero, 27, died Wednesday after a semi-truck pulled in front of him as he attempted a traffic stop around 4 p.m. on U.S. 287 in Childress County, DPS said.
In a statement, Col. Freeman F. Martin praised Romero’s courage, integrity, and service.
“Today, we grieve the loss of one of our own,” Martin said. “… Our hearts break alongside his family, friends, fellow troopers, and all who loved him. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made in service of his fellow Texans.”
Romero previously served with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office before joining DPS as part of Class B-2025 in Childress, the agency said.
He is survived by his wife, Francisca, and their two young sons.
Funeral arrangements are pending. The crash remains under investigation.
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