December 03, 2002
Game #5: Texas A&M AGGIES (3-1) vs. Tennessee VOLUNTEERS (2-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002
7 p.m. (Central)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 6:50 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION: Dodge Ram Lone Star Series (Channel 15 in Bryan/College Station)
Doug Bell, play-by-play
Reid Gettys, commentary
Kandace Krueger, reporter
The Texas A&M Aggies (3-1) play host to the Tennessee Volunteers (2-0) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Aggies have won two straight and are coming off a 71-65 win against Oakland University at home on Monday. The Aggies upset LSU, 79-77, on Saturday in the Space City Hoops Classic at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Tennessee also has won two straight, beating Virginia Military Institute (VMI) at home on Nov. 25 after opening the season with a 71-69 victory against Gardner-Webb at home on Nov. 22. Tennessee is playing its first road game of the season while the Aggies are 2-0 at home. The Volunteers lead the series, 3-0, but are making their first visit to College Station. The teams last met in 1985, with Tennessee posting a 70-64 victory at the 1985 Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans.
About the Volunteers
Tennessee returns two starters and eight lettermen from last year, when the Volunteers finished 15-16 overall and placed fourth in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division with a 7-9 mark. Tennessee is in its second season under coach Buzz Peterson. The Vols are led by senior forward Ron Slay (6-8), a third-team All-SEC pick last year who is averaging 25.0 points and is 14-of-14 from the free throw line this season. Sophomore forward Brandon Crump (6-10) is averaging 14.5 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds, while senior guard Jon Higgins (6-3) is adding 13.0 points and has made 53.8 percent (7-13) from three-point range. As a team, Tennessee is limiting its opponents to 33.8 percent field goal accuracy and has connected on 78.0 percent from the free throw line. The Vols have an average rebounding margin of +6.0 and are averaging 79.5 points while allowing just 62.5.
The Series
Tennessee leads the series, 3-0, but has never played in College Station. The Vols are 2-0 against A&M. In Knoxville and are 1-0 at neutral sites. The lastt ime the teams met was the 1985 Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans, where UT posted a 70-64 victory. A&M is 15-28 against teams from the Southeastern Conference, but has won two straight, including a 79-77 win against LSU on Saturday in Houston.
TEXAS A&M vs. TENNESSEE (UT leads, 3-0) Year Result Site 1951-52 UT 60, A&M 52 Knoxville 1985-86 UT 88, A&M 70 Knoxville UT 70, A&M 64 New Orleans
The Coaches
- TEXAS A&M: MELVIN WATKINS (UNC Charlotte '77)
- 42-78, 5th year at A&M
- 84-98, 7th year overall
- 1-1 vs. Buzz Peterson
- 1-0 vs. Tennessee
TENNESSEE: BUZZ PETERSON (North Carolina '86)
- 17-16, 2nd year at UT
- 122-66, 7th year overall
- 1-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
- 0-0 vs. Texas A&M
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-1) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 2 Keith Bean F 6-8 Sr. 7.3 8.0 3 Jesse King F 6-7 Jr. 7.3 3.8 21 Antoine Wright G 6-7 Fr. 19.0 7.0 32 Bernard King G 6-5 Sr. 16.3 5.5a 10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-2 Jr. 5.3 3.8a TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (2-0) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 3 Stanley Asumnu F 6-5 Fr. 5.5 3.0 35 Ron Slay F 6-8 Sr. 25.0 5.5 4 Brandon Crump F 6-10 So. 14.5 8.0 42 Jon Higgins G 6-3 Sr. 13.0 3.5a 32 C.J. Watson G 6-2 Fr. 6.0 6.5a
Watkins Quoteboard
"Tennessee is a team that's got some offensive weapons. (Ron) Slay is averaging about 25 points. So they can score -- if they don't score, you're going to see us really playing some good defense. But they're pretty strong in every category ‹ rebounding, defense ? they are a team that's just good and solid. They are as good as LSU and will represent what some of the teams in the Big 12 will be like. We've made defense a priority. We've put a lot of emphasis on that because we know that's an area where to be a good team, you've got to play well. I was not pleased with our defensive effort against Oakland. Still, coming down the stretch, where we needed to get it done, this year we were able to get it done. Defense is the thing that we hope we can rest our hat on as we continue to move through the season."
TALE OF THE TAPE (2002-03 STAT COMPARISON) UT A&M Record 2-0 2-1 Conference 0-0 0-0 Sagarin Rtg. 67 152 RPI -- -- W-L Streak W2 W2 FG Pct. .435 .450 Opp. FG Pct. .338 .408 3-Pt. FG Pct. .365 .400 Opp. 3-Pt. Pct. .241 .376 3-Pt. FG Avg. 9.5 7.0 3-Pt. Att. Avg. 26.0 17.5 FT Pct. .780 .716 Opp. FT Pct. .759 .566 Rebound Avg. 44.5 40.5 Off. Reb. Avg. 13.5 12.0 Reb. Margin +6.0 +3.3 Turnovers Avg. 13.5 18.5 Opp. Turnovers 12.5 17.0 Assists Avg. 20.5 17.5 Blocks Avg. 4.5 1.5 Steals Avg. 9.0 6.0 Scoring Avg. 79.5 73.0 Opp. Scoring 62.5 68.8 Scoring Margin +17.0 +4.2
Oakland Recap
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Antoine Wright scored 21 points, leading Texas A&M to a 71-65 victory Monday night against Oakland. Bernard King was held to a season-low nine points, but turned a three-point play at 0:31 to break a 64-64 tie. Oakland's Grizzlies could not overcome it. Jordan Sabourin fouled King driving to the hoop but the basket fell and King nailed the free throw. Bradley Jackson made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining to make it a two possession game at 69-65. In the final 10 seconds, Wright stole the ball from Oakland's Mike Helms and passed downcourt to Jesse King, who slammed the ball home for the win. A&M (3-1) led by as many as 11 points in the first two minutes of the second half, but the Grizzlies (2-2) went on a 9-0 run to take a 49-47 lead with 9:27 to play. Wright has scored more than 20 points in three straight games.
Common Heritage
A&M coach Melvin Watkins and Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson are both from the state of North Carolina. The 48-year-old Watkins is from Reidsville and the 39-year-old Peterson is from Asheville. Both coaches earned high school All-America honors. Watkins went on to lead UNC Charlotte to the 1977 Final Four while Peterson was a member of North Carolina's 1982 national championship team. Watkins went on to become head coach at UNCC from 1996-98 while Peterson was head coach at Appalachian State (Boone, N.C.) from 1996-00. The pair squared off twice at those schools, with Watkins posting a 75-63 win in Charlotte in 1996-97 and Peterson following with a 66-60 win in Boone in 1997-98. They battled as assistant coaches in 1988-89, with UNCC beating Appalachian State, 77-63, in Charlotte. Peterson went on to become an assistant at North Carolina State from 1990-93, but the Wolfpack did not play the 49ers in that period.
Watkins vs. Tennessee
Melvin Watkins is 1-0 against the Volunteers, posting a 72-51 victory in Charlotte, N.C., in 1996-97, his first season as head coach at North Carolina Charlotte.
Tale of Two Kings
Senior Bernard King is no relation to former Tennessee great Bernard King (1974-77), although both are and were prolific scorers. A&M's King is on track to become the first 2,000-point scorer in Big 12 history (he has 1,596 to date) while Tennessee's King scored 1,962 points in his career.
Hail The King
Senior guard Bernard King, a preseason candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year, scored 26 points in Saturday's win against LSU and is on track to become the career scoring leader in Big 12 and Texas A&M history. King now has 1,596 points (17.3 average), ranking fourth in Big 12 annals and third on the A&M chart. King needs 183 points to pass Vernon Smith (1977-81) as A&M's leader and needs 235 to pass Iowa State's Marcus Fizer (1997-00) as the Big 12 leader. King also has compiled 422 assists and 407 rebounds and is attempting to become only the eighth Division I player to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds in a career. King's 422 assists rank 11th all-time in the Big 12 and fourth at A&M. Last season, he was the only player in the country to average at least 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. King is rated as the 21st best NBA prospect in the Class of 2003 by NBADraft.net. King has had 33 career 20-point games. A preseason All-Big 12 pick, King was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday. Last season, he became the first A&M player to receive the honor after leading the Aggies to a road victory against No. 24-ranked Texas.
Diaper Dandy
Freshman forward Antoine Wright, the consensus pick as the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is also a member of Dick Vitale's prestigious "Diaper Dandies," a list of the nation's top 16 freshmen as selected by the ESPN analyst. Wright was rated as the top shooting guard and the No. 4 overall prospect in the country by ESPN.com last year. Wright, rated as the 10th best NBA prospect in the Class of 2006 by NBA Draft.net, also was a member of the USA Junior World Championship Team last summer. He is averaging a team-best 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and has made a blazing 14-of-27 (.519) from three-point range. Wright has posted three straight 20-point efforts, scoring a career high 25 against Miami, adding 22 in the win against LSU and finishing with 21 against Oakland. If Wright scores 20 against Tennessee, he would tie the school's freshman record for consecutive 20-point games set by Bernard King in 1999-00. Wright has made 13-of-24 (.541) from three-point range in the last three games. The consensus preseason pick as Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Wright was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Monday. He is the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top 15 in the league in seven statistical categories.
Gen. Bradley
Senior guard Bradley Jackson, who started in 19 games at point guard last season, has prospered off the bench this season. He scored 10 points with four assists and two steals against Oakland. His two free throws with 14 seconds left iced the game for the Aggies.
Mr. Bean
Senior forward Keith Bean scored 11 points with a career-high 13 rebounds against Miami. Bean had a pair of double doubles last year and had a trio of 12-rebound games. He just missed another double-double on Monday against Oakland, scoring eight points with 10 rebounds. in the last three games, Bean has averaged 9.6 rebounds. A career 56 percent free throw shooter coming into the season, bean has made 9-of-10 (.900) from the line through four games.
Another Watkins
Freshman guard Marcus Watkins, son of A&M head coach Melvin Watkins, has quickly made an impact on the Aggies. He scored nine points and added four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Texas Southern, then followed with six against Miami. For the season, he is averaging 3.8 points and has made 62.5 percent from the field (5-8) and 83.3 percent from the line (5-6). As a senior last season at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, the younger Watkins earned first-team all-state honors after averaging 31.1 points per game, which included a pair of 50-point efforts. The 6-4 Watkins played post in high school but hopes to make a smooth transition to guard in college, just like his father did more than a quarter century ago at North Carolina Charlotte. Coach Watkins was a prep All-American as a center at Reidsville (N.C.) High School, but became a point guard at UNCC. he started his final two years, leading the 49ers to the NIT finals in 1976 and the NCAA Final Four in 1977, where they lost to eventual champion Marquette.
Another King
Junior forward Jesse King, perhaps the team's best athlete, had a slow start this season while coming back from off-season knee surgery. However, against Oakland on Monday, King scored 12 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds, making 6-of-8 from the field. Four of King's six baskets came on spectacular slam dunks in the second half. King is averaging 7.3 points and is making a team-best 73.7 percent from the field this season.
Pride of Uruguay
Junior guard Leandro Garcia-Morales, a member of the 2001 Uruguay National Team, has started in all four games at point guard. He is averaging 5.3 points and ranks second on the team in assists with 3.8 per game. he scored 10 points in the win against LSU and had a career-best seven assists in the opener against Texas Southern. As a sophomore last season at Miami-Dade Community College, Garcia-Morales was the only JUCO player in the country to rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring, assists and steals. The Sporting News ranked him as the top under 6-5 passer in the JUCO ranks last season.
Turner Burner
Junior guard Kevin Turner, rated as one of the top 10 JUCO guards in the country last year by Lindy's, has quickly become a mainstay in the rotation. Turner is averaging 7.3 points per game and has made 41.7 percent (5-12) from three-point range while playing just 17.0 minutes per game. Turner scored nine points against Miami, then added eight in the win against LSU, making both of his three-point attempts.
About Slocum
Junior center Andy Slocum, who missed eight Big 12 games last year after suffering a broken left hand against Texas Tech, broke his right hand in a pickup basketball game in the summer. The hand healed, but Slocum then suffered a back injury prior to the start of fall practice. Slocum is expected to return to action by the start of Big 12 Conference play in early January. He missed the entire 2000-01 season after having shoulder surgery. Slocum averaged 8.5 rebounds and 7.3 points in eight Big 12 games last year, including a 22-point, 14-rebound performance at Oklahoma. A&M has not had a player average at least 8.0 rebounds for a full season since Winston Crite in 1985-86 (8.0).
Tough on Boards
The Aggies have out-rebounded all four of their opponents this season. A&M has posted an average rebounding margin of +3.3. The Aggies out-rebounded their opponents in 20 of 31 games last season.
Turnover Woes
The Aggies are averaging 18.5 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12, and rank 11th in the league in turnover margin at -1.5. The Aggies had a season-high 24 turnovers in the loss at Miami, but still led the game with 1:30 left to play.
Helping Hand
While the Aggies have struggled with turnovers, they have made up for it somewhat with assists, ranking second in the Big 12 with an average of 17.5 per game. A&M ranks sixth in the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio at 0.95. Senior Bernard King ranks sixth in assists at 5.5 while Leandro Garcia-Morales ranks 11th at 3.8.
On the Line
The Aggies are making 71.6 percent from the free throw line, a marked improvement over last season's 65.2 percent. The last time A&M made better than 70.0 percent from the line for a season was in 1988-89, when the Aggies connected on 70.9 percent. The last time A&M made better than 71.0 percent was in 1975-76 (72.8).
Bombs Away
A&M leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 40.0 percent after ranking last in the league last year at 32.5 percent. The Aggies rank third in the Big 12 with an average of 7.0 three-pointers made per game, well ahead of last year's norm of 5.8. A&M tied a school record with 179 treys last season. Antoine Wright (3.5), Bernard King (1.8) and Kevin Turner (1.3) are each averaging at least one three-pointer made per game.