January 20, 2004
GAME #14
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-6, 0-2 Big 12)
vs.
Kansas State Wildcats
(8-5, 0-2 Big 12)
7 p.m. (CST)
Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004
Bramlage Coliseum (13,500 cap.)
Manhattan, Kan.
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Airtime: 6:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
Metro Sports (Kansas City only)
Ben Boyle, play-by-play
Stan Weber, commentary
The Texas A&M Aggies (7-6, 0-2) will be looking for their first Big 12 Conference win of the season when they play the Kansas State Wildcats (8-5, 0-2) on Wedneday at 7 p.m. (CST) at Bramlage Coliseum (13,500 cap.) in Manhattan, Kan. The Aggies have lost two straight to open Big 12 play, falling to preseason league favorites Missouri (82-77) on the road and No. 12-ranked Kansas (71-65) at home on Saturday. Kansas State also has lost two straight to open league play, falling at Kansas (73-67) and at home to Oklahoma State (57-56) on Saturday. The Aggies are 2-4 in true road games this season while the Wildcats are 8-1 at home. KSU leads the series, 9-3, and are 5-0 against the Aggies in Manhattan. A&M won last year in College Station, 79-66.
About the Wildcats
The Wildcats return two starters and six lettermen from last year's team, which finished 13-17 overall and placed 11th in the Big 12 with a 4-12 mark. Kansas State is in its fourth season under head coach Jim Wooldridge. KSU won seven of its first eight games this season, but has since lost four of its last five. In the Wildcats' 57-56 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday, they out-rebounded the Cowboys 42-22. KSU ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding margin at +8.8 per game. The Wildcats are one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12, leading the league in three-point percentage defense (.278) and ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.374). The Wildcats are led by junior forward Jeremiah Massey (6'8"), who is averaging 13.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Senior guard Tim Ellis (6'3") adds 13.0 points and is making 47.2 percent from three-point range, while sophomore forward Marques Hayden (6'7") is contributing 10.8 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jarrett Hart (6'4") is averaging 8.4 points and senior guard Frank Richards (6'2") is adding 7.1 points and a team-best 4.0 assists per game. Offensively, KSU is averaging 71.7 points and is making 44.7 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from three-point range and 65.8 percent from the line.
SERIES
Kansas State leads the series, 9-3, with a 5-0 mark in games played in Manhattan and a 4-0 record at Bramlage Coliseum. A&M won last year in College Station, 79-66. The teams first met in 1960-61, with No. 20-ranked KSU posting a 69-64 victory in Manhattan.
TEXAS A&M vs. Kansas State
(Kansas State leads, 9-3)
Year Winner Site
1960-61 Kansas State, 69-64 Manhattan
1967-68 Kansas State, 82-77 Lawrence
1990-91 Kansas State, 81-49 Kansas City
1993-94 Kansas State, 63-54 Manhattan
1996-97 Texas A&M, 76-67 College Station
1997-98 Kansas State, 95-80 Manhattan
1998-99 Texas A&M, 79-74 College Station
Kansas State, 87-76 Kansas City
1999-00 Kansas State, 81-76 Manhattan
2000-01 Kansas State, 53-48 College Station
2001-02 Kansas State, 69-38 Manhattan
2002-03 Texas A&M, 79-66 College Station
COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-97 at A&M (6th year)
102-117 overall (8th year)
2-4 vs. Kansas State
1-2 vs. Jim Wooldridge
KANSAS STATE
Jim Wooldridge (Louisiana Tech '77)
45-56 at Kansas State (4th year)
274-203 overall (17th year)
3-1 vs. Texas A&M
2-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
SIDEBARS
A&M Associate Head Coach Lew Hill played college basketball at Wichita State, where he earned all-conference honors and led the team to the NCAA Tournament in 1988...Hill's Shockers beat KSU, 63-60, in Wichita in 1986-87 and lost, 58-57, in Manhattan in 1987-88...Hill began his coaching career as an assistant at East HS in Wichita in 1989-90...A&M junior guard Bobby Leach played the last two seasons at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan...as head coach at Southwest Texas State (1991-94), KSU coach Jim Wooldridge's team beat the Aggies, 73-71, on a buzzer-beater at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 1991-92...A&M freshman guard Acie Law (Dallas Kimball HS) and Kansas State freshman guard Dez Willingham (DeSoto HS) were teammates on Team USA at the 2003 Global Games in Dallas.
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-6, 0-2)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 9.6 9.2
3 Jesse King III F 6-7 Sr. 13.0 5.8
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 15.8 4.7
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 5.8 2.6a
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 4.5 4.0a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 7.8 2.2
1 Acie Law IV G 6-3 Fr. 7.2 4.2a
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 4.8 3.2
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.6 1.3
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 4.0 2.3
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 3.6 2.1
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.8 1.0
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.8 0.1
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"Against Kansas, we took a few more threes than I would have liked. We just needed a few more shots to go down. We probably should have gotten Andy (Slocum) a few more touches. Slocum is really having a good year for us. He's a big load in there. When he uses his body, not many people can push him around. A big part of why we're playing better is that he's playing better. We hope to have Jesse (King) back for Kansas State, but even if we do we're not sure he'll be 100 percent. We surely missed him in the Kansas game. Our guys are upbeat and feel like they are headed in the right direction. Kansas State is a better basketball team this year with more weapons. They are playing better as a team and they think they can win ball games. And Manhattan has never been an easy place for us to play. We know they will be on top of their game and will want to protect their home court."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M KSU
Record 7-6 8-5
Conference 0-2 0-2
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 228 119
Streak L2 L2
Field Goal Pct. .434 .447
Opponent FG Pct. .465 .374
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .348 .331
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .377 .278
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.8 4.4
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.5 13.2
Free Throw Pct. .694 .658
Opponent FT Pct. .670 .694
Rebound Avg. 39.9 42.3
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.8 14.5
Rebounding Margin +4.9 +8.8
Turnovers Avg. 14.6 15.5
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 15.8 15.0
Assists Avg. 17.8 17.5
Blocks Avg. 1.5 2.5
Steals Avg. 7.3 6.5
Scoring Avg. 78.8 71.7
Opponent Scoring 75.4 62.8
Scoring Margin +3.4 +8.9
Kansas Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Keith Langford scored 21 points and No. 12 Kansas held off Texas A&M 71-65 on Saturday. Kansas won its seventh straight conference game dating to last season and improved to 9-0 against the Aggies. The Jayhawks had to scramble even after taking a 61-48 lead with 4:17 to play. Texas A&M's Antoine Wright led a 17-10 charge, scoring 11 of his 25 points over the final 1:51. Wright also grabbed 12 rebounds. Andy Slocum dominated inside for A&M with a game-high 14 rebounds. Langford shot 7-of-8 from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts. The Aggies went cold early in the second half and Kansas moved to a 51-39 lead behind nine straight points from J.R. Giddens, who made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. The Aggies led most of the first half until the Jayhawks rallied behind Langford in the closing minutes for a 31-29 halftime lead. Kansas trailed 20-15, but Langford scored 10 points over the final 4:22 of the first half. Langford's 3-pointer with 3:46 left in the half tied it at 22, and his 3 with 2:06 to go gave Kansas its first lead since the opening basket of the game. Jesse King, A&M's second-leading scorer, sat out with a bruised toe.
Last Year Against Kansas State
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Jan. 25, 2003) -- Bernard King scored 18 points and had 11 assists to lead Texas A&M to a 79-66 victory over Kansas State. Antoine Wright led Texas A&M with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Wright was 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and made 8 of 11 free throws. Pervis Pasco led Kansas State with 13 points, and Matt Siebrandt added 12. Frank Richards had 11 assists against only one turnover for the Wildcats. Texas A&M led 39-37 at the half, but a 20-5 run midway through the second half enabled the Aggies to pull away. A&M shot 48.1 percent for the game. The Wildcats, who have lost 10 straight Big 12 road games, pulled within seven points late in the second half after a layup by Jarrett Hart, but A&M answered with 10 straight points. Kansas State has lost three of its last four games, all away from home. The Aggies' record is their best after 15 games since 1993-94, the last season they advanced beyond the conference postseason tournament.
Quick Notes
*Senior center Andy Slocum has had five double-doubles, tied for second the Big 12, and is averaging 11.2 points and 10.8 rebounds in the last six games. Slocum ranks second in the league in rebounding (9.2) and leads the Big 12 in conference play (12.5).
*Jesse King, A&M's second leading scorer and rebounder, missed the Kansas game with a bruised toe and is questionable for the Kansas State game.
*Antoine Wright has averaged 21.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in the last six games.
*Leandro Garcia-Morales has averaged 8.5 points and made 58 percent from the field and 54 percent from three-point range (7-of-13) in the last four games.
*As a team, the Aggies rank third in the Big 12 in scoring (78.8).
*The Aggies rank 13th nationally and second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounding (15.8).
*The Aggies lead the Big 12 and rank 17th nationally in assists (17.9) and also lead the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.22).
*After committing a season-high 28 turnovers against Louisiana-Monroe, the Aggies have averaged just 12.7 in the last three games.
*The Aggies rank second in the Big 12 in three-pointers made per game (6.8), and made 11-of-27 (.407) against Missouri.
*Kevin Turner's career three-point percentage of .429 ranks as the best in school history and is the fifth best in Big 12 annals.Turner ranks third in the league, and 17th nationally, in three-point percentage (.489).
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (75.4) and field goal percentage defense (.465), and is 11th in three-point percentage defense (.377), but has allowed 70.6 points and 44.4 percent shooting (.356 on three-pointers) in the last five games.
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +11.0 in the last four games. The Aggies have outrebounded 10 of 13 opponents, including five straight.