College Hoops Today: Tarleton State Bounces Back

This week, David Coit tied the Maryland record with nine three-pointers en route to a career high 43 points; after starting 16-0, Iowa State has dropped its last two games; and Air Force coach Joe Scott has been suspended while there’s an inquiry into his treatment of players. Other college basketball stories we’re following include…

Cam McDowell Catches Fire

Two years ago – in just its fourth season of existence – the Tarleton State Texans basketball program erupted for 25 wins, but was unable to maintain that success, dropping to a mere dozen victories last year in its worst season yet.

Small wonder Tarleton State ranked just 270th in preseason projections.

But the Texans have vastly outplayed those expectations, shaking off an 0-2 start to go on a 10-2 run. However, after winnings its first WAC game, the team has gone 1-4 in conference play since to drop to 11-8 overall. Still, that leaves the Texans just one win shy of matching their entire 2024-25 total, so it’s definitely been a better season, as evidenced by their current ranking of 174th on Kenpom.com.

One player who’s really stepping up lately is senior guard Cam McDowell. He exploded for 25 points, five assists, three steals and one three-pointer on Saturday, and has suddenly scored 23 or more in four of the last five while managing at least 20 in seven of the last nine.

This explosion is sort of out of nowhere for McDowell. He barely saw the court as a freshman at Georgia and was at best a role player for Jacksonsville State as a soph, prompting him to transfer to a D2 school for two seasons. Back in D1 this season, McDowell has developed more of an outside game (averaging a trey per contest) but can still throw it down, and has thrived offensively, mostly off the bench.

The 6’5” Georgia native finished second in D2 scoring while shooting 39 per cent from beyond the arc last season, so perhaps this isn’t a total shock, but to see it translate to this level is somewhat surprising. McDowell does flash smooth and advanced offensive ability as a shooting guard/wing, and while he doesn’t appear to be an NBA prospect, he’s may be putting himself on the map for a potential European pro contract.

Aggies Match Win Total

Back in 2022-23, the North Carolina A&T Aggies moved to the Coastal Athletic Association and had a decent debut, winning 13 games for its most victories since 2019-20. However, the following seasons were both awful, ending with 25 losses each time.

This season, NCAT got off to a 3-1 start and was already at seven wins (against four losses) when conference play again. So far the CAA has proved overwhelming for the Aggies (0-5) and, as per FanDuel, they remain a 5.5-point ‘dog on Monday when they travel to Hampton to take on the Pirates.

In North Carolina A&T’s latest loss on Thursday freshman forward Lewis Walker enjoyed the finest scoring game of his young career, potting 33 points with three treys (but just two boards and no assists). The Aggies’ leading scorer needed a game like this as he’d been cold for a couple of weeks, failing to top 16 points in any of the three previous games, and being held to a season-low six in his last game.

Walker has played all but one game this season, mostly as a starter, and has flashed a developing three-point touch. Right now, it’s all about the points (18.4 per game), but he’s also shown some rebounding skill with 5.1 per game. Walker is not yet an NBA draft prospect, but given that he’s capable of throwing his body around in the paint (a trait which he had back at high school; see video below) and has offensive chops, we’re keeping an eye on him this season.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

American singer (and actress) Lainie Kazan has been active since 1958, and released her first album in 1966. The following year, she put out a single “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”