December 12, 2002
Game #7: Texas A&M AGGIES (5-1) vs. Texas-San Antonio ROADRUNNERS (2-3)
Sunday, Dec. 15, 2002
2 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: 1:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION: None
The Texas A&M Aggies (5-1) go for their fifth straight win when they play host to the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (2-3) on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The game will mark the first meeting between the schools. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($15-courtside; $12-mezzanine; $10-balcony; $6-gallery). The Aggies have won four straight and have been idle since an 83-78 double overtime win at Prairie View A&M on Dec. 7. UTSA has been idle since an 81-67 win at home against St. Mary's on Dec. 4. A&M is 3-0 at home this season while UTSA is 0-2 in true road games. The Aggies started last season on a four-game winning streak, but the last time A&M won five straight games was in 1993-94, which also was the last time A&M advanced to postseason play (NIT).
Franchione to Address Crowd
New A&M football coach Dennis Franchione will address the crowd at halftime of Sunday's game against UTSA. Franchione was named head coach late last week.
About the Roadrunners
Texas-San Antonio returns two starters and eight lettermen from last year's team that finished 19-10 overall and placed third in the Southland Conference with a 13-7 mark. The Roadrunners are in their eighth season under head coach Tim Carter, the winninest coach in school history. UTSA is led by junior forward LeRoy Hurd (6-7), who is averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Senior forward Ike Akotaobi (6-6), adds 15.6 points and has made 45.4 percent from three-point range. UTSA has beaten Idaho State (76-71) and St. Mary's (81-67), with road losses to Marquette (80-68) and Nebraska (69-53) and a home loass to UNC-Wilmington (66-52). The Roadrunners have made 73.5 percent from the free throw line this season. UTSA's athletic director is Lynn Hickey, who served as A&M's women's basketball coach from 1984-94 and was associate athletic director at A&M prior to taking the UTSA position in 2000.
The Series
Texas A&M and Texas-San Antonio have never played in basketball. The Aggies are 102-35 against current members of the Southland Conference.
The Coaches
- TEXAS A&M: MELVIN WATKINS (UNC Charlotte '77)
- 44-78, 5th year at A&M
- 86-98, 7th year overall
- 0-0 vs. Tim Carter
- 0-0 vs. UTSA
UT-SAN ANTONIO: TIM CARTER (Kansas '79)
- 107-94, 8th year at UTSA
- 118-110, 9th year overall
- 0-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
- 0-0 vs. Texas A&M
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (5-1) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 2 Keith Bean F 6-8 Sr. 7.7 6.2 3 Jesse King F 6-7 Jr. 6.7 4.5 21 Antoine Wright G 6-7 Fr. 18.5 8.3 32 Bernard King G 6-5 Sr. 17.0 6.0a 10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-2 Jr. 4.3 4.2a A&M INJURIES: Andy Slocum, back surgery (will not play). UT-SAN ANTONIO ROADRUNNERS (2-3) No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG 33 Juan Valdez C 6-11 Jr. 6.4 4.4 00 LeRoy Hurd F 6-7 Jr. 16.0 6.0 3 Ike Akotaobi F 6-6 Sr. 15.6 3.6 25 Jon Havens G 6-2 Sr. 5.6 2.8 13 David President G 6-1 So. 8.0 5.2a
Melvin Watkins Quoteboard
"I've been real impressed with UTSA. They do a great job of executing their half-court offense. We know they will come in here fired up and ready to play us, so we have to be just as excited. It should be an exciting afternoon of college basketball. I have some confidence in this team. We're beginning to understand what it takes. We're not there yet but we surely like the taste of winning and fear the taste of losing. That's something every team has to have. I've got confidence in this team that we'll keep moving forward."
TALE OF THE TAPE (2002-03 STAT COMPARISON) UTSA A&M Record 2-3 5-1 Conference 0-0 0-0 Sagarin Rtg. 196 99 RPI 249 19 W-L Streak W1 W4 FG Pct. .394 .449 Opp. FG Pct. .418 .392 3-Pt. FG Pct. .317 .386 Opp. 3-Pt. Pct. .345 .315 3-Pt. FG Avg. 6.4 8.2 3-Pt. Att. Avg. 20.2 21.1 FT Pct. .735 .694 Opp. FT Pct. .598 .609 Rebound Avg. 34.4 41.7 Off. Reb. Avg. 9.0 11.8 Reb. Margin -6.8 +1.8 Turnovers Avg. 17.8 17.2 Opp. Turnovers 18.2 15.8 Assists Avg. 11.0 18.5 Blocks Avg. 2.8 1.7 Steals Avg. 6.6 5.5 Scoring Avg. 66.0 76.3 Opp. Scoring 70.6 69.8 Scoring Margin -4.6 +6.5
Prairie View A&M Recap
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (AP)-- Antoine Wright scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Texas A&M held on to beat Prairie View A&M 83-78 in double overtime Saturday. Prairie View's 7-0 run at the close of regulation forced the first overtime. The Panthers' Malachi Thurston hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 34 seconds left in that overtime to force a second. Kevin Turner started the second overtime with a 3-pointer for the Aggies (5-1), who led throughout the period. Texas A&M hit seven free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Bernard King had 18 for the Aggies, and Turner added 14 points. Prairie View (1-2) was led by Thurston, who finished with 24 points. Gregory Burks added 18, Kevin Cooper 15 and Roderick Riley 10 for the Panthers.
Quick Notes
- An early candidate for National Freshman of the Year, forward Antoine Wright was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Monday for the second straight week. Wright leads the team in scoring, rebounding, three-point field goals and minutes played. He's on pace to break Big 12 and A&M records for each of those categories.
- The Aggies have won four straight, their longest winning streak since the start of last season. A win against UTSA would extend the streak to five, A&M's longest since the 1993-94 season (which was also the last year A&M advnaced to postseason play).
- After leading at halftime just four times last season (with a 2-2 record when they did), the Aggies have led at halftime in five of six games this season. A&M is 5-0 when leading at halftime.
- The Aggies are 3-0 at home this season. A&M has allowed an average of just 62.0 points at home with an average winning margin of +12.6. A&M's home opponents have made just 35.4 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three-point range In addition, the Aggies have averaged 23.0 assists with just 13.7 turnovers in home games.
- A&M's 5-1 start matches its start of last season. A win against UTSA would make the Aggies 6-1 for the first time since they started 7-1 in 1998-99, Melvin Watkins' first season as head coach.
- A&M has never played UTSA in men's basketball.
- Bernard King needs 146 points to become A&M's career scoring leader and needs 198 to break the Big 12 mark.
- The Aggies have out-rebounded five of six opponents this season.
- The Aggies are 50 when shooting at least 43 percent from the field.
- Jesse King leads the team in dunks with six, including four in the seocnd half against Oakland.
- A&M is 5-0 when it controls the opening tip.
- A&M is 5-0 when it makes at least 43 percent from the field.
- The Aggies have averaged 24.0 bench points this season.
- The A&M frontcourt has averaged 39.3 points per game while the backcourt has contributed 35.3 points per contest.
Who's Hot?
- Kevin Turner has averaged 15.0 points in the last two games, making 7-of-15 from three-point range (.467). Turner made four straight three-pointers in 81 seconds to ice the win against Tennessee.
- Antoine Wright has had back-to-back double-doubles, averaging 17.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in the last two games. Wright has scored in double figures in all six games.
- Bernard King has averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the last two games.
- Bradley Jackson scored eight points against Prairie View A&M, making 6-of-6 from the free throw line and adding five assists.