Texas

College basketball winners and losers: Texas, Texas A&M impress on big NCAA Tournament bracketology day

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2024

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

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Texas

More severe weather possible in North Texas on Friday

Published

8 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

More severe weather possible in North Texas on Friday

Severe storms are moving across North Texas Wednesday night with strong winds and hail in parts of Kaufman and Wise counties. A brief break arrives on Thursday before a higher threat for large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes returns Friday.

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Texas

Democrat James Talarico wins Senate primary in Texas

Published

20 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrat James Talarico wins Senate primary in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — James Talarico did not mention Donald Trump when he greeted exuberant supporters at his primary night celebration.

But the newly minted Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Texas is now a front man for the political opposition to the Republican president, not just in his own state but around the country. With his victory over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the state lawmaker from Austin will test whether a smiling message of unity and change is enough to answer voters’ frustrations amid discord at home and now a war abroad.

READ MORE: What to watch in the consequential Senate primaries in Texas

“We are not just trying to win an election,” Talarico told supporters in the Texas capital early Wednesday. “We are trying to fundamentally change our politics, and it’s working.”

The campaign provided “Love thy Neighbor” signs to people in the crowd.

The question for Talarico as he heads into the general election campaign is whether he can generate enthusiasm from voters who opted for Crockett because they saw her as the more aggressive fighter against Trump. Crockett conceded to Talarico on Wednesday morning, saying that “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.”

Talarico will need all the help he can get in a Republican-dominated state where Democrats have gone decades without winning a statewide race. He will face either U.S. Sen. John Cornyn or state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who advanced to a Republican runoff on Tuesday.

Conventional political wisdom has it that Talarico was the stronger Democratic candidate in November, especially if Republicans nominate Paxton, a conservative firebrand who has weathered allegations of corruption and infidelity over the years.

WATCH: What’s at stake for Democrats and Republicans in the Texas Senate primaries

Although Democrats are often choosing between moderate and progressive candidates in primaries, they faced a largely stylistic choice in Texas.

Talarico, 36, is a Presbyterian seminarian who quotes Scripture and rarely raises his voice. Crockett, 44, is an unapologetic political brawler who hammers Trump and other Republicans with acidic flourish.

Both have been reliably progressive votes in their current roles and telegenic faces across cable news and social media. Both represent generational change for a party with aging leadership. Each called for a more equitable economy and society. Each talked about bringing sporadic voters into their coalitions.

But Talarico’s broader argument is one that he could have made regardless of whether Trump was in the White House. Talarico’s campaign, he said often, is about addressing a country whose fundamental divide is not partisan but “top vs. bottom.” He regularly assails the rise in Christian nationalism. A former teacher, he has advocated for public education –- and against Texas conservatives’ policies to restrict curriculum and reshape how U.S. history is taught.

“He’s just a good friend and he’s a serious advocate for the disenfranchised and a serious policymaker,” said Lea Downey Gallatin, 40, an Austin resident who became friends with Talarico when they interned together for a congressman.

Crockett promised Democrats that she could increase turnout within the party’s base, while Talarico campaigned on the theory that he could pull new people into the party’s tent.

“I can’t tell you how many have come up to me, whispering that they’re not a Democrat,” Talarico said as he campaigned in San Antonio in the closing days of the primary campaign. “I can’t tell you how many young people have said it’s the first time that they’ve ever voted, and that they are participating for the first time.”

As he strolled through the city, Talarico posed for pictures and greeted the singer of a Tejano band playing nearby. He later spoke to hundreds of people at the historic Stable Hall, a 130-year-old circular structure built for showing horses and now a converted event center. Hundreds more, unable to get into the full event, wound around the corner and along the sidewalk for blocks.

Inside, Lori Alvarez, a 39-year-old who works for a disaster relief nonprofit, said she supported Talarico because “he really listens to what we need.”

“I think he’s going to be able to make change in Washington for us,” said the married mother of three young girls.

Yet that was not what attracted so many voters to Crockett.

Troy Burroughs, a 61-year-old Navy retiree, called Crockett “rugged” and “the only one I see fighting for us.”

He added: “I like how she doesn’t back down from anybody.”

Burroughs said some voters probably saw Talarico as more electable because he is more soft-spoken. But, he said, “We’ve got to get into the gutter with these folks, because that’s where they are.”

Talarico, meanwhile, keeps fighting his own way.

“Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope,” he said Tuesday, “and a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta, Figueroa from Austin, Texas, and Beaumont from San Antonio.

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Texas

Big top, bigger mission: Inclusive Omnium Circus makes Texas debut in Garland

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Big top, bigger mission: Inclusive Omnium Circus makes Texas debut in Garland

Garland is about to witness a different kind of big top spectacle when Omnium Circus’ new show “I’m Possible” rolls into town for its first Texas performance on March 16 and 17 at the Atrium in Garland.

This inclusive circus was founded in 2020 by founder and executive director Lisa B. Lewis. She is no stranger to the circus world. Lewis grew up attending the circus with her grandfather, who was a Shriner. She would then later begin her own circus career at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College.

A performer in a black suit rides inside a cyr wheel
against a stage lit in red. The letters of the OMNIUM
sign are in the background.

The idea for an inclusive circus came to her during one of her first experiences working as a clown. Lewis says that during her performance, she saw a row of grumpy teenagers.

“They had their arms folded like they were mad and grumpy, and then my partner, whom I was working with, began telling jokes in sign language,” Lewis said. “How he knew they were deaf, I don’t know. The group of teenagers immediately started laughing, and the energy of the entire section shifted.”

Lewis said that in that moment, something clicked in her head, and she realized the power of inclusion.

She would then go on to spread joy through the art of circus to special-needs kids. And then later, she created Omnium Circus.

“Circus elevates our belief in ourselves; it allows us to see the best of what humanity has to offer,” Lewis said.

A female with blue hair facing a man with a red hat
between them is a large bubble with... — A female with blue hair facing a man with a red hat
between them is a large bubble with smaller bubbles
inside of it. There is a golden light coming from
behind the bubbles.
Maike Schulz

Omnium is a Latin word meaning of all and belonging to all. The circus’ mission is to create joy and entertainment for all no matter the body you inhabit or the skin that you’re in.

The hour-long show in Garland will feature many inclusive acts, such as deaf singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey, an America’s Got Talent finalist and Golden Buzzer winner.

The show will feature two ringmasters: deaf ringmaster Malik Paris will conduct the sign-language portion of the show, while ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson will handle the vocal portion. Iverson is the first Black ringmaster for a major U.S. circus, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

A juggler wearing red and black gazes at his pins in
the air while cast members around him... — A juggler wearing red and black gazes at his pins in
the air while cast members around him look on in
amazement. The letters of the OMNIUM sign are in
the background behind the performers.

The show will also feature the six-time Paraclimbing World Cup champion, the world’s fastest female juggler, clowns from Dallas, plus more.

Details: March 16 at 7 p.m. and March 17 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.at the Atrium, 300 N. 5th Street, Garland. Tickets are $21.99 for youth and $27.19 for adults.

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