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

Texas chose John Cornyn as a principled conservative, not a Trump lackey | Opinion

Published

4 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Texas chose John Cornyn as a principled conservative, not a Trump lackey | Opinion

Voters deserve better than scorched-earth partisan politics that divide our country.

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Not for us

In 35 years as a loyal Republican, I watched my party become unrecognizable. Now, Sen. John Cornyn’s transformation from principled conservative to full-throated Donald Trump sycophant is complete.

In the span of a week, Cornyn reversed his longstanding defense of the Senate filibuster, trying to appease Trump and secure his coveted endorsement. He also co-sponsored the SAVE America Act, which would force Texans to present passports or birth certificates that match their current surnames. Texas voters deserve better than scorched-earth partisan politics that divide our country and paralyze effective governance.

– Malcolm Jacobson, The Woodlands

Real fraud

I am sick and tired of hearing about voter fraud. There isn’t any to speak of, and what has been found was not perpetrated by people in the country illegally. Donald Trump has consistently claimed that there’s rampant fraud. Please show us your evidence, Mr. President. You can’t, because there is none, but people still believe him.

Please wake up to what this man is doing to our country.

– Zelda L Blalock, North Richland Hills

Death penalty

Texas is nearing its 600th execution since the death penalty was reinstated, with three already this year and three more scheduled. It should give us pause to know that four of the offenders are not white.

Legislators and district attorneys should step up, lock up the worst of the worst criminals and end the senseless barbaric practice of the state killing in our name.

– Bob Michael, Grapevine

What reason?

For more than 80 years, nuclear deterrence has kept the world safe from nuclear war, largely because of the power of the U.S. military, skilled diplomacy and moral leadership. Even hostile nations have understood the risks of nuclear engagement.

In just a few weeks, the United States’ war on Iran has cost billions, displaced millions and killed thousands of civilians, according to United Nations and Iranian officials. U.S. military stockpiles are degraded, energy prices are rising and the Iranian people are suffering increased repression.

The Iranian regime and military have been set back, but the country still has much enriched uranium and an even stronger incentive to develop nuclear weapons. It is difficult to understand the need for or benefits of this war.

– Karen Myers, Fort Worth

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Texas

Ted Cruz praises Trump, blasts Democrats as Texas takes center stage at CPAC

Published

16 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Ted Cruz praises Trump, blasts Democrats as Texas takes center stage at CPAC

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz warned on Saturday that Democrats would dismantle Republican victories and try to impeach President Donald Trump if they win control of Congress in November.

Speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Cruz said Republicans have gained historic victories, from a sweeping crackdown on immigration to changes in the tax policy, since Trump took office in January 2025.

Democrats, Cruz said, “want to tear this country down.”

Cruz was among a slate of Texas lawmakers and politicians to address CPAC, one of the most influential conservative gatherings in the country, on the final day of the conference. They sought to frame Texas as both the nation’s leader and its ideological brainchild.

Cruz portrayed the Republican party as a group of blue-collar workers and populists, blasting Democrats as coastal elites who are out of touch with the average American.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pauses as he shares his remarks during the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center in Grapevine.

Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer

The senator did not mention Democrat James Talarico, a Texas state representative who is running to flip the Senate seat currently held by incumbent John Cornyn. Instead, he singled out California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who he joked “should be named Texas realtor of the year.”

“Nobody in history has sold more homes in the state of Texas than Gavin Newsom,” Cruz said.

Cruz is considered a potential Republican contender to run for president in 2028; Newsom is one of the leading contenders on the Democratic side.

In his address Saturday, Cruz repeatedly praised Trump — who skipped CPAC this year for the first time in a decade — on foreign policy, jobs and economic prosperity and national security.

“The world is safer when the president is strong and our enemies are afraid,” Cruz said.

Republicans could face a difficult landscape in November, with the party in power typically losing seats in the House of Representatives and often the Senate in midterm elections. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in March found Trump’s approval rating fell to 36%, the lowest number since he returned to the White House in January 2025.

In a statement, the Democratic National Committee’s rapid response director Kendall Witmer said rising gas prices, the Iran war and Trump’s tariffs have soured voters on Republicans.

“Donald Trump has broken one promise after another — and even his own supporters are fed up,“ Witmer said. ”Trump told Americans he would lower prices, create jobs, and put an end to forever wars — and he’s delivered on none of it.”

A group of attendees watch as Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during the final day of the... — A group of attendees watch as Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center in Grapevine.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
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Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, who represented South Texas, said Republicans will lose in November if they do not make inroads with Latino voters, who she called the “future of the Republican party.” Flores urged the Trump administration to hire a Hispanic outreach coordinator.

“There is no future for the Republican party if we do not invest in the Hispanic community,” Flores said to little applause. “We are people of faith, family and hard work.”

U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a McKinney Republican, said the GOP must ban Sharia, the moral code laid out in Muslim scripture. Like many at the conference, Self warned that Sharia was seeping into Texas and the country, posing a risk to Americans.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said “preventing Sharia law” in Texas will be among his major priorities for the next legislative session.

“Sharia has no place in America,” Self said, calling it a “religion of the sword.”

In previous statements, the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has accused state leaders of a “publicity stunt” and “inventing imaginary threats.”

One speaker after another stressed the importance of Texas to the country’s future. On Friday, Trump ally Steve Bannon called Texas the “crown jewel of the union.”

“Where Texas goes, so goes the nation,” Bannon told the crowd to cheers. “And where the nation goes, so goes the world.”

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Texas

Texas’ Justice Carlton has turned baking passion into full-fledged business

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Texas’ Justice Carlton has turned baking passion into full-fledged business

Ansley Gavlak
| Special to USA TODAY

FORT WORTH, TX — When she’s not on the court, Texas forward Justice Carlton is baking cookies.

If you’re wondering if they’re good, just ask her teammates.

“They’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” senior Sarah Graves said.

What started as baking for her teammates and managers for fun has grown into a full-fledged business: J’s Rollin In Dough.

After hours of practice on the basketball court and in the weight room, Carlton spends six hours a day baking cookies to fulfill her orders – or sometimes, simply for fun.

“Anytime that I get out of practice around 5 I’m so happy because I just go home and bake,” Carlton said.

Carlton’s love for baking dates back to her childhood.

“My mom worked over the summers, so when we were out of school it was so boring,” she said. “But the Easy-Bake Oven and the cake pop machine saved my life.”

Over winter break, she and her mom began discussing the possibility of creating a business of her own. They decided she could use her NIL money to form a limited liability company and obtain her food handlers license, so she did just that.

In just three months of business, she’s received more than 100 orders and has gained nearly 1,200 followers on Instagram. She takes orders through a form linked in her Instagram bio.

“It’s funny to see athletes do other things they are passionate about because they put the same focus and intensity into it,” Graves said. “And I can tell she has that for baking.”

Watch March Madness on Fubo

Last month, Carlton baked a batch of cookies for the “College Gameday” staff in hopes of gaining some media attention. The following month, the SEC Network staff ordered a batch at the SEC tournament and tried the cookies on live TV.

“I used basketball as my platform, which (associate director of communications Jeremy Rosenthal) really helped me do,” she said. “I’ve just kind of been getting my name out there, so that’s been something that’s really fun.”

The flavors offered are chocolate chip, cookie monster, cookies n’ cream, red velvet, brown butter salted caramel snickerdoodle and her newest flavor, sugar cookie. She also takes requests.

“She made a banana pudding cookie recently,” freshman Aaliyah Crump said. “I think that one was my favorite.”

While many of her orders come from her teammates, she recently received an order from the Longhorns football team for a team party and for a neuroscience class celebration.

In the future, Carlton hopes to move her business outside of the kitchen and onto the streets.

“I’ve put all my sales money aside and I want to start a food truck,” she said. “I think I would do something like a Crumbl Cookies on wheels.”

For now, Carlton has turned the oven off while she and the Longhorns prepare to face Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on March 28.

Ansley Gavlak is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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