HBU moving to Division One

According to Jim Hicks' "VIP Room" at RCSSports.com, Houston Baptist University is moving its athletics program from NAIA to NCAA Division I.

Hicks reports "HBU has submitted all the needed paperwork to the NCAA requesting to become a Division One institution."

RCSSports.com adds the Huskies "will compete as an independent for only three years (normally it's seven years, a la Texas A&M-Corpus Christi prior to joining the Southland Conference this past season). But since HBU had been a D1 school in the past, it will not have to wait the entire seven seasons, only three."

The Huskies are expected to compete with an independent schedule while attempting to possibly become a member of either the Southland or Sun Belt Conferences. HBU must add track and field, in addition to a few more sports (not football), in order to satisfy NCAA requirements.

Also, according to Hicks, HBU is slated to break ground on a brand new hoop facility. HBU is expected to make an official announcement within the next seven days.

Blogging from the T.C. Rockets host the Bucks

Let's see if I can do this blogging thing better than last week...

Rockets (44 - 26) host the Milwaukee Bucks (25 - 43).

After losing Sunday night to the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets, the Rockets look to bounce back with a victory at home tonight.

Yao Ming should have a much better game tonight than he did last night.

Milwaukee's Michael Redd may have to score at least 45 points for the Bucks to have a legit shot to win tonight.

Time for the Rockets' introductions...

Live Blog: Rockets host Pistons tonight at 7:30

I'll be conducting a live blog tonight during the Houston Rockets (43 - 25) - Detroit Pistons (43 - 23) basketball game.

If you don't know me nor have you heard me on Houston sports radio stations the last 11 plus years, I'm a huge Detroit Pistons' fan. However, being a Pistons' fan does not mean, I won't tell it like it is tonight. If the Pistons are stinking up Toyota Center, I'll say so. Also, if the Rockets are kicking butt, I'll say so.

Driving to the T.C., I saw three people wearing Detroit Pistons' jerseys: (#36 - Rasheed Wallace, #32 - Rip Hamilton, and #1 - Chauncey Billups).

We'll see if those fans leave the T.C. happy tonight or not.

fyi - Billups will play tonight. His groin injury has healed enough for him to give it a go tonight versus the Rockets. Rip Hamilton will play tonight, too.

However, until the game tips off, I'm going to watch some college hoops.

TSU's Moore and Jones Earn All-SWAC Honors

Texas Southern University’s Chris Moore and Jacques Jones were among the Southwestern Athletic Conference players named to the SWAC Men’s basketball All-Conference team. Both players were named to the All-SWAC Second Team.

“I am proud of both these guys and the other players on our team for their accomplishments,” says Head Coach Ronnie Courtney. “Chris has consistently demonstrated that he is among the best in this league. His abilities speak for themselves whether he is recognized for his accomplishments or not.”

Moore was injured in the March 1 game against Southern, and he will support his team from the sideline as they compete in the 2007 SWAC Championship Tournament. Texas Southern, 4th seed, faces Alcorn, 5th seed, on Thursday, March 8th, at 8:00pm.

2007 SWAC All-Conference Teams

Owls' Almond Named C-USA Player of the Year

Rice senior guard Morris Almond has been named the Conference USA Player of the Year for the 2006-07 season, while UCF head coach Kirk Speraw has been named the league's Coach of the Year, it was announced today in Memphis, site of the 2007 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship.

The senior out of Powder Springs, Ga., has moved into fourth place in career scoring at Rice with 1,753 points and set a new single-season record for free throws made with 227. Almond has scored 30 or more points in a game seven times this season, including a Conference USA record 44 points against Vanderbilt.

Rice's Almond and UCF's Speraw Earn Top C-USA Men's Hoops Honors

Rice, #7 seed, plays UTEP, #10 seed, at noon today to start the 2007 C-USA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship. UCF will play the winner of this match-up tomorrow, March 8, at noon.

C-USA Announces Award Winners

Yesterday, Tulane's Chris Moore was named the Conference USA Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, March 4. Moore helped lead Tulane to a 2-0 Conference USA record last week as the Green Wave earned a No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the 2007 Conference USA Championship.

Today, C-USA announced the winners of the men's basketball specialty awards; and, Houston's Oliver Lafayette, for the second consecutive season, was named to the C-USA All-Defensive Team.

Jeremy Wise, from Southern Miss, was named C-USA Freshman of the Year while Jeremy Hunt, from Memphis, was named C-USA Sixth Man of the Year. Hunt's teammate, Joey Dorsey, was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Year.

Owls' Almond, Coogs' McKiver Named to C-USA First Teams

Rice senior guard Morris Almond (Powder Spings, Ga/McEachern HS) has been selected to the All-Conference USA First Team for the second consecutive season. It also is the fourth straight year that a Rice Owl has been named to the all-conference first team.

Almond leads the league and ranks third nationally, averaging 26.6 points pergame for the Owls. In Rice's regular season finale March 3, he set the Conference USA single season scoring record with 772 points. The 6-6 guard, one of 30 players selected as a midseason finalist for the John R. Wooden All-America Team, currently ranks fourth on Rice's all-time scoring chart with1,753 career points.

As voted by the league's 12 head coaches and select media, joining Alomond on the First Team are Robert McKiver of Houston, junior Joey Dorsey and sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis and junior Paul Delaney III of UAB.

2007 C-USA All Conference Teams

Yao Ming Medically Cleared to Play

Houston Rockets all-star center Yao Ming today was medically cleared by Rockets team physicians to return to action and has been moved to the team's active roster. Yao is expected to be in the starting lineup for Monday's road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

The five-time all-star starter has been out since suffering a small fracture of the right anterior medial tibial plateau in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers on 12/23/06. Prior to the injury, Yao was averaging a career-best 25.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. So far this season, Yao has posted nine 30-point performances and leads the team with 11 double-doubles despite having played in just 27 of the team's 59 games. In November, he was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for the first time in his career after averaging 25.7 points and 10.1 rebounds and leading the Rockets to a 10-5 record for the month.

Horns' Durant Tops Big 12 Honors

Kevin Durant, the sensational freshman forward for the Texas Longhorns, was named Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year today by the league's head coaches. The Defensive Player of the Year accolades were shared by Mario Chalmers (Kansas) and Marcus Dove (Oklahoma State), while Stefhon Hannah is the Newcomer of the Year. Cartier Martin (Kansas State) captures the inaugural Sixth Man Award, with Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M) earning Coach of the Year honors.

The coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

The All-Big 12 First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention teams were also announced, while conference coaches also selected All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams.

Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards Announced

From T.C.: Spurs at Rockets

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker will not play in tonight's Rockets - Spurs game due to a strained left hip flexor he suffered during Friday night's game versus the Orlando Magic. Jacque Vaughn will start in Parker's place at point guard.

The Spurs (40 - 18) have lost to the Rockets (36 - 22) twice during three regular season match-ups this season.

Nov. 14, 2006: Spurs 92, Rockets 84.
Dec. 22, 2006: Rockets 97, Spurs 78.
Jan. 24, 2007: Rockets 90, Spurs 85.

From Autry Court: Rice versus Tulsa

I'm sitting here in (or is it at?) Autry Court getting for the Rice Owls versus Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball game.

2pm tip-off.

This is Senior Day and the last basketball game played in this antiquated facility. Starting this July, Autry Court will undergo major renovations.

Seniors Morris Almond (shooting guard), Greg Killings (center), and Lorenzo Williams (point guard) will be honored today. Congratulations to these three young men. I've followed them their entire Rice career. I wish them much success in the future.