Texas
College basketball winners and losers: Texas, Texas A&M impress on big NCAA Tournament bracketology day
On the first weekend of February, it’s officially time for college hoops fans to reacquaint themselves with things like the bubble, quads, NET rankings and all the other terminology unique to the stretch run in college basketball. We’re past the halfway mark of league play around the country, and time is beginning to run short for teams to prove they deserve at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
So while there were three top-10 battles on Saturday, we were treated to several more undercard games involving squads fighting for their lives. Few teams needed to win more desperately on the loaded Saturday of college basketball action than Texas, which had lost four of six and had fallen to “First 4 Out” territory in Jerry Palm’s NCAA Tournament Bracketology.
In a hostile environment at No. 25 TCU, the Longhorns delivered with 77-66 victory, closing on a 13-2 run to pick up their fourth Quad 1 win. Right there with them was Texas A&M, which had uncharacteristically dropped three home games entering an SEC showdown with Florida. The Aggies were among Palm’s “Last Four In” beginning the day and responded with a 67-66 win after trailing 40-34 at halftime.
It wasn’t all roses and daisies for teams from the Lone Star State as No. 4 Houston fell 78-65 at No. 8 Kansas. But there is no mystery over whether the Cougars will be dancing next month. Between the high-level showdowns and plethora of bubble battles, it was a day packed full of college basketball action.
Here are the winners and losers from the day.
Winner: Kansas remains king in Allen Fieldhouse
No. 8 Kansas was an underdog at home for just the second time ever under Bill Self as No. 4 Houston came to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, and the Jayhawks made quick work of the visiting Cougars in a 78-65 beatdown of their new Big 12 foes. The win moved Self and KU to 11-1 against AP top five opponents in Allen Fieldhouse and 19-1 when facing an opponent ranked higher than KU – including 16 straight wins dating back to 2006. – Boone
Loser: Indiana squanders chance to get back on track
Indiana missed a golden opportunity to get things back on track Saturday at home in a loss – no, no, a meltdown of epic proportions – inside Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers led by as many as 11 but completely folded in the second half, as Penn State outscored them 48-30 in the final 20 minutes to win 85-71.
It was a squandered chance to get a win after entering the day as losers of three of their last four. Worse, the loss came against a PSU team that did not have leading scorer Kanye Clary. Instead, despite Kel’El Ware turning in 25 points and 11 boards, the Nittany Lions beat IU inside Assembly Hall for the first time since 2014, bumping IU to 13-9 in what is quickly unraveling into a lost season for the Hoosiers. – Boone
Winner: Harrison Ingram goes off
Harrison Ingram is a junior forward for North Carolina. His sister, Lauren, is a freshman outside hitter for Duke’s volleyball team. Lauren made a good choice by wearing a UNC jersey to the rivalry showdown. Her brother put on a show with 21 points on a career-high five made 3-pointers as the No. 3 Tar Heels beat No. 7 Duke 93-84. Ingram is thriving in his first season since transferring from Stanford and helped push UNC’s edge in the ACC standings to two games with his performance. — Cobb
Loser: George Mason’s situational awareness
George Mason tied the game UMass at 65-65 on the road Saturday with 1.2 seconds remaining, only to commit the biggest brain fart of the day.
After the Patriots scored, one player appeared to be confused about the situation and score, and committed an intentional foul just before time expired instead of playing it out. The whoopsie sent UMass’ Rahsool Diggins to the line with less than one second remaining.
Diggins made one of his two free throws and sealed the win for the Minutemen, 66-65. – Boone
Winner: Stephon Castle is shining
One game after setting a career-high 20 points, freshman guard Stephon Castle set a new one with 21 in No. 1 UConn’s 77-64 win over St. John’s. Castle’s emergence as a star only further solidifies the notion that the Huskies can repeat as national champions. Cam Spencer wasn’t too shabby, either. The veteran sharpshooters scored 17 of his 23 points after halftime as the Huskies pummeled the Red Storm 41-27 after the break. — Cobb
Winner: Lamont Paris continues to make case for Coach of the Year
South Carolina is one of the stories of the year in college basketball. The Gamecocks continued their hot start to SEC play by knocking off Georgia 72-62. South Carolina is now one game behind Alabama for first place in the SEC with a 7-2 record. This is a team that won four (total!!) conference games last season in Lamont Paris’ first season at the helm. Paris deserves some serious consideration for National Coach of the Year because South Carolina (pending a disaster in the final month of the season) will be in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 — when they went to the Final Four under coach Frank Martin. – Salerno
Loser: TCU lets Texas off the hook (’em)
TCU’s student section showed up en masse with horns down shirts for Texas’ final visit to Schollmaier Arena as members of the Big 12. The No. 25 Horned Frogs rode the energy to an early 16-6 lead before Texas rallied for a 77-66 win to stop a two-game skid. The Longhorns entered as one of the First 4 Out in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology. A fourth Quad 1 win should position them on the right side of the bubble as they head home to face Iowa State and West Virginia next week. Maybe it will cool some of the “horns down” hype for a bit, too. – Cobb
Winner: David Jones ends Memphis’ misery
Riding a four-game losing streak, Memphis looked destined to slide even further onto the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble when it trailed Wichita State by 14 with under eight minutes remaining. Then David Jones happened. The former DePaul and St. John’s wing has been magnificent for the Tigers all season and turned in another heroic effort, scoring 16 points in the final 7:39 to lead Memphis back for a 65-63 win. His pull-up jumper with 2.8 seconds left put the Tigers ahead and finally gave Memphis a chance to exhale after a miserable stretch of basketball. – Cobb
Loser: Clemson’s pain persists
Clemson’s last three losses have come by a combined five points. On Saturday the Tigers fell 66-65 to Virginia when Jack Clark’s potential game-winning 3-pointer bricked off the iron just before time expired. The Tigers did well to rally from a 12-point second half deficit but came up just short a week after their controversial one-point loss at Duke. Back on Jan. 16, they fell 93-90 in two overtimes against Georgia Tech. This team remains comfortably in the projected NCAA Tournament field for now. But at just 4-6 in ACC play, the Tigers are messing with mediocrity just as they have so often in recent years. — Cobb
Winner: Charlotte is shining
Charlotte is now 14-7 (8-1 AAC) and has won eight-straight conference games for the first time in program history after beating East Carolina 67-52. The 49ers were picked to finish 13th in their first season as AAC members, which was understandable given the circumstances. Head coach Ron Sanchez left the program in June for a spot on Virginia’s staff, giving Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill little choice but to name an interim leader from within the staff. He chose Aaron Fearne, a rare Australian in the college basketball coaching ranks. At this point, it feels like only a matter of time before Fearne lands the full-time gig as Charlotte positions itself to compete for a conference title. – Cobb
Winner: Vanderbilt wins battle of bad SEC teams
The month of January was not kind for the bottom of the SEC. Missouri and Vanderbilt combined to go 0-15 in conference play last month but the good news was someone had to win on Saturday. Vanderbilt star Era Manjon scored 17 points and closed the game out by hitting five free throws in the final 32 seconds to give his team a 68-61 win. Missouri dropped to 0-9 in SEC in Year 2 of the Dennis Gates era. The good (and bad news) is this is the only matchup of the season between the two schools. — Salerno
Loser: Wolverines blow double-digit lead in fifth consecutive loss
Michigan extended its lead against Rutgers to 15 points with 17:03 remaining at home in the second half … and lost the game 69-59. The last month and a half has been a dumpster fire for Juwan Howard and company. The Wolverines have lost 10 of their last 11 and sit alone last place in the Big Ten with a 2-9 conference record. This is a new low in a lost cause of a season. After the game, Howard said “Maybe I should go to my walk-ons. I know they care.” — Salerno
Winner: Cincinnati gets a massive win
There were six Big 12 teams included in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology entering Saturday’s action. Cincinnati was not among them, despite standing at No. 35 in the NET. The reason? The Bearcats were just 2-5 in Quad 1 games entering their game at No. 15 Texas Tech. But after beating the Red Raiders 75-72, Cincy will find itself creeping closer to the right side of the bubble as the program seeks its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019. — Cobb
Winner: Auburn finally has a Quad 1 win
At long last, No. 16 Auburn can stop hearing about its lack of a Quad 1 victory. The Tigers remedied the dubious distinction by throttling Ole Miss 91-77 behind a 56-point effort in the second half. Six players reached double figures for Bruce Pearl’s club, which shot an obscene 73.3% from the floor after halftime. — Cobb
Winner: Indiana State widens lead in MVC
Indiana State tightened its grasp on the Missouri Valley Conference with a huge 75-67 home win over Drake. The victory came behind Robbie Avila’s 20-point, 11-rebound outing for the Sycamores. Indiana State led by as many as 17 before blowing the lead late, but charged to the finish line on an 8-0 run to close out the visiting Bulldogs. Avila had 11 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks in the second half, and kickstarted the final push the Sycamores made in the last minute of regulation with a clutch 3-pointer from NBA range. — Boone
Loser: McNeese loses its winning streak
The nation’s longest winning streak came to an end at 14 games as McNeese fell 77-74 at Southeastern Louisiana. Coach Will Wade’s club is still well-positioned to earn the Southland Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. But the distinction of college basketball’s longest winning streak now belongs to High Point, which won its 12th straight by knocking off Presbyterian 78-68. — Cobb
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.
The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.
The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.
In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.
“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”
The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.
The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.
The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.
The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.
“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”
Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.
“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.
Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.
“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“
The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.
“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”
Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.
“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”
Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.
Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.
The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.
Car found at Arlington motel
Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work.
Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.
Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side
King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said.
According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car.
Medical examiner review pending
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.
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