9+ mon, 2+ week ago (402+ words) Two of the best teams in college basketball face off in a Saturday matinee as the Arizona Wildcats (17-7, 11-2) host the Houston Cougars (20-4, 12-1) in Tucson, Arizona. Arizona is coming off a 73-70 road loss to Kansas State that dropped them one game behind Houston in the Big 12 standings. The Wildcats have won 13 of their last 15 games and are ranked No. 10 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 13 in both the AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll. Houston has won 16 of its last 17 games and is coming off a 76-65 win over Baylor. The Cougars are ranked No. 3 in NET Rankings and No. 6 in the AP and coaches polls. The Cougars have four players averaging in double figures, led by 6-foot-1 senior guard L.J. Cryer at 14.3 points per game and 6-foot-8 senior forward J'Wan Roberts at 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Houston leads the nation…...

9+ mon, 2+ week ago (398+ words) Houston has been knocking at the door toward the top of several national rankings, both polls and analytical websites. There is one analytics site, though, where the Cougars are ranked No. 1. The website BartTorvik.com has Houston ranked at the very top in the latest edition of the site's T-Rankings. Bart Torvik listed the Cougars at No. 1 based on the team's BARTHAG ranking, which is .9824. The BARTHAG is a projected win percentage against an average team on a neutral court, which really comes into play for next month's NCAA Tournament. Offensive and defensive efficiency is factored into the equation, along with points scored and points allowed per possession. Houston maintains No. 3 NCAA NET ranking but does pick up huge Quad 1 win In addition, the website lists adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. Houston was given an adjusted offensive efficiency rating…...

6+ mon, 2+ day ago (405+ words) Purdue or Houston? Houston or Purdue? Many in college basketball view those two teams as the best in the sport entering the 2025-26 season. But which team is No. 1? Recently, insider Jon Rothstein bumped the Boilermakers ahead of the Cougars for the top spot in his preseason rankings. Since Rothstein produced his "Rothstein 45," he had Houston penciled into that No. 1 spot. It seemed likely he would double down on that decision after Cougars star Milos Uzan announced that he would withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and return to Houston for another season. Uzan is coming off a year in which he averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game. But something else happened this week that forced Rothstein to change his mind about Houston as the No. 1 team. Veteran guard and former Creighton star Pop Isaacs signed with Texas A…...

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (430+ words) It will be a busy offseason for the Houston Cougars football program. After finishing 4-8, head coach Willie Fritz will look to retool his roster through the college football transfer portal. We'll keep you updated with the latest losses and additions through the portal over the next few months. The transfer portal officially opened on Monday and will stay open until Dec. 28. Players on the teams competing in the College Football Playoff, and bowl games that are played in late December, will be allowed to enter an additional five-day transfer portal window in January after the portal closes. Here are the latest Houston transfer portal updates as of Dec. 10: Defensive tackle Anthony Holmes Jr., a redshirt sophomore, entered the transfer portal. Holmes had 35 tackles, 11 run stops and 2 sacks this past season. Manjack is a big loss for the Cougars. He was…...

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (280+ words) With Texas Tech already holding the No. 1 ranked transfer portal class in the country, the Red Raiders are still in position to make some major additions. On M With Texas Tech already holding the No. 1 ranked transfer portal class in the country, the Red Raiders are still in position to make some major additions. On Monday, it was reported that former five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson was trending toward returning to Lubbock. Following his freshman season with the Red Raiders, Hudson hit the portal and landed with Texas A&M back in December. But after just four months in College Station, Hudson - in the portal once again - is now favored to land back with Texas Tech. If the Red Raiders to bring their former five-star WR home, it would be one of the biggest pickups so far this offseason. In…...

9+ mon, 3+ week ago (397+ words) Houston has won 14 out of its last 15 ballgames, and now the Cougars hit the road. The Cougars (18-4, 10-1 Big 12 Conference) are in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday afternoon to face a Colorado squad still seeking its first win in the conference. How to watch Houston-Colorado basketball: TV channel, live stream, predictions Follow Houston Cougars On SI writer Buck Ringgold (@Bucks_Ballpark) for all of the live updates and scoring from the Fertitta Center. - 3-POINTER HOUSTON. Coogs make it back-to-back treys as LJ Cryer gets a shot to drop in. (Houston, 39-30 | 17:17, 2nd) - 3-POINTER HOUSTON. Colorado knocked down a 3 to cut Houston's lead to three, but seconds later, Terrance Arceneaux responds with a trey of his own. (Houston, 36-30 | 18:10, 2nd) - Houston was 38.7 percent from the field in the first half (12-of-31) and 40 percent from 3-point range (4-of-10). Colorado was 37.5 percent from the field (9-of-24) and 26.7 percent from beyond the…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago (463+ words) The Houston Astros had a busy trade deadline day as they made three big moves and were in talks to complete even more. Astros general manager Dana Brown walked out of the day, addressing most of the major needs and refusing to overpay to complete the others. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that Houston refused a deal with the San Diego Padres that would have shipped away Spencer Arrighetti and three prospects for Dylan Cease. That was a smart move by Brown. More News: Benches Clear After Astros Pitcher Balks Red Sox Runner For Potential Sign Stealing The moves that he did end up making weren't too bad of decisions either, here is the grade for each: Putting baseball aside for a second, it is hard not to like the idea of Correa back in an Astros uniform. It was…...

9+ mon, 2+ week ago (428+ words) Houston opens up its 2025 baseball season with a three-game home series this weekend against Minnesota. The Cougars will face the Golden Gophers Friday and Saturday night, and then conclude the set with a Sunday afternoon game. All three games will be televised by ESPN+. Head coach Todd Whitting returns for his 15th season in the Cougars" dugout. He has won 444 games, the second-most in program history. Last season, the Cougars finished 26-28, dropping four of their last five games and failing to qualify for the Big 12 postseason tournament. This season, some fresh new faces may help get Houston over the hump and win some more ballgames while making postseason play. Those notable new faces include third baseman Cade Climie, who was the 2024 NJCAA World Series MVP while playing at Blinn Junior College in nearby Brenham. Climie, who hit .394 with 20 home runs and…...

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (400+ words) The Red Raiders got a huge boost to their championship hopes earlier this month when rising star JT Toppin announced he was returning for one more season. As a ... The Red Raiders got a huge boost to their championship hopes earlier this month when rising star JT Toppin announced he was returning for one more season. As a sophomore during the 2024-25 campaign, Toppin led Texas Tech in scoring (18.2 ppg), rebounds (9.4 rpg), and blocks (1.5 bpg). With numbers like that, it wouldn't have been surprising at all to see Toppin take his talents to the NBA. But in today's era of college athletics, NIL offers an opportunity to keep talent home in an effort to win championships. According to CBS Sports analyst Matt Norlander, Toppin is expected to haul in around $4 million in NIL next season. With Toppin back in the mix,…...

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (452+ words) The Houston Rockets have surprised everyone with how good they've been to start the 2024-25 NBA season, and that has translated into their NBA Cup play. Houston went 3-1 in West Group A, clinching a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament over the LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, and Sacramento Kings. Houston will compete with seven other teams for the championship, starting with their quarterfinal matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 8:30 p.m. CT. The Warriors are 2-0 in the season series, grabbing wins on Nov. 2 and Dec. 5. Both games told different stories in terms of offensive production, but both were six-point losses for the Rockets. Both teams are top five in defensive rating and within one spot of each other in defensive rating, so expect an entertaining matchup one way or the other. If the Rockets were…...