January 27, 2004
GAME #16
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-8, 0-4 Big 12)
vs.
Iowa State Cyclones
(11-4, 2-2 Big 12)
6:30 p.m. (CST)
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004
Hilton Coliseum (14,092 cap.)
Ames, Iowa
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Airtime: 4:45 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
Cyclone Television Network (Iowa only)
Dave Armstrong, play-by-play
Gary Thompson, commentary
Hoping to break a four-game losing skid, the Texas A&M Aggies (7-8, 0-4) will be looking for their first Big 12 Conference win of the season when they play the Iowa State Cyclones (11-4, 2-2) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) at Hilton Coliseum (14,092 cap.) in Ames, Iowa. The Aggies have lost four straight to open Big 12 play and are coming off a heartbreaking 80-78 loss to No. 18-ranked Texas Tech at home on Saturday. Iowa State has lost two straight Big 12 games, sandwiched around a non-conference win against Iowa (84-76), and are coming off a 63-59 loss at Baylor on Saturday. The Aggies are 2-5 in true road games this season while the Cyclones are an impressive 10-0 at home. Iowa State leads the series, 6-2, but the Aggies have won two of the last three meetings. The last time the teams met in Ames two years ago, A&M posted a 52-50 victory. The Aggies won last year in College Station, 66-54, but the Cyclones knocked the Aggies out of the 2003 Big 12 Tournament with a 97-70 first-round victory in Dallas.
About Iowa State
The Cyclones return four starters and eight lettermen from last year's team, which finished 17-14 overall and tied for ninth in the Big 12 with a 5-11 mark. Iowa State advanced to the postseason NIT, where they won a first-round game. The Cyclones are in their first season under head coach Wayne Morgan. Iowa State opened the season with seven straight wins before losing consecutive road games to Virginia (85-74) and San Diego State (86-76). The Cyclones opened Big 12 play with a 70-65 win at home against Missouri and also beat Nebraska (89-74) at home. ISU is led by freshman guard Curtis Stinson (6'2"), who is averaging 14.7 points and 4.4 assists per game. Stinson is the league's top freshman in scoring and assists. Senior guard Jake Sullivan (6'1") is adding 13.7 points and is one of the Big 12's top three-point threats, while senior forward Jackson Vroman (6'10") is averaging 13.6 points and leads the league in rebounding (9.9). Junior center Jared Homan (6'9") is contributing 12.1 points and 6.7 boards. Homan missed the Baylor game with a sprained ankle, but is expected to return to action against the Aggies.
THE SERIES
Iowa State leads the series, 6-2, with a 2-1 record in Ames, but the Aggies have won two of the last three meetings. The last time the teams met in Ames two years ago, A&M came away with a 52-50 victory. The Aggies won last year in College Station, 66-54. The Cyclones ended A&M's two-game winning streak in the series with a 97-70 victory in the first round of the 2003 Big 12 Tournament in Dallas.
TEXAS A&M vs. Iowa State
(ISU leads, 6-2)
Year Winner Site
1996-97 Iowa State, 71-57 College Station
1997-98 Iowa State, 68-59 Ames
1998-99 Iowa State, 64-53 College Station
1999-00 Iowa State, 65-58 Ames
2000-01 Iowa State, 72-53 College Station
2001-02 A&M, 52-50 Ames
2002-03 A&M , 66-54 College Station
Iowa State, 97-70 Dallas
THE COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-99 at A&M (6th year)
102-119 overall (8th year)
2-4 vs. Iowa State
1-1 vs. Wayne Morgan
IOWA STATE
Wayne Morgan (St. Lawrence '73)
11-4 at Iowa State (1st year)
102-88 overall (7th year)
1-1 vs. Texas A&M
1-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
SIDEBARS
ISU freshman Curtis Stinson and A&M freshman Marlon Pompay were teammates last season at Winchendon (Mass.) Prep...Winchendon also produced A&M senior Jesse King...A&M assistant coach Lance Irvin served as an assistant coach at Iowa State under Larry Eustachy in 2001-02...A&M coach Melvin Watkins and Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan met twice when Morgan was head coach at Long Beach State (1996-2002)...A&M lost at Long Beach State, 83-76, in 2000-01, but avenged that loss with a 71-56 victory in College Station in 2001-02...Iowa State assistant coach Bob Sundvold served as head coach at Missouri-Kansas City from 1996-2000, where he was 0-2 against the Aggies.
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-8, 0-4)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 10.1 9.5
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 12.6 5.4
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 14.5 4.4
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 6.9 2.5a
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 4.5 4.1a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.6 3.9a
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 6.7 1.9
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 5.1 3.9
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.2 1.2
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 4.0 2.3
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 3.4 2.3
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
"We have made some progress, but we have to learn how to finish those close games and win them. We are being very competitive now. We are carrying out game plans better than we ever have in the past. Now we have to focus on playing good basketball and winning games. I'm disappointed we haven't been winning, but there is a lot of basketball left and I know we are good enough to get some wins. We've told the team that we can't sit back and wait for something good to happen -- we have to go out and make it happen. What I like about this team is that they take coaching better than any team since I've been at A&M. We just need to get over the hump. Iowa State is unbeaten at home this season and they will be even tougher after losing to Baylor. We expect to see their best basketball team and that's what we're preparing for. They shoot the ball very well and they always have great crowds and atmosphere."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M ISU
Record 7-8 11-4
Conference 0-4 2-2
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 217 72
Streak L4 L1
Field Goal Pct. .439 .474
Opponent FG Pct. .470 .404
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .347 .383
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .383 .336
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.4 5.3
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 18.5 17.3
Free Throw Pct. .687 .658
Opponent FT Pct. .678 .691
Rebound Avg. 39.5 39.5
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.7 13.3
Rebounding Margin +5.6 +3.4
Turnovers Avg. 14.7 14.7
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 15.1 16.2
Assists Avg. 17.6 15.3
Blocks Avg. 1.5 6.0
Steals Avg. 6.9 8.1
Scoring Avg. 77.5 77.0
Opponent Scoring 75.3 68.9
Scoring Margin +2.2 +8.1
Tech Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Andre Emmett scored 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with six seconds to play as No. 18 Texas Tech won its 12th consecutive game with an 80-78 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday night. The Red Raiders led by 12 points late in the first half, then held on for a 40-37 halftime lead. The Aggies took a 49-46 lead with 16:11 left in the game on a three-point play by Antoine Wright. There were seven ties in the second half, the last at 78-78 on a putback by A&M's Jesse King with 20 seconds to play. Emmett then fought his way to the basket for the winning layup. The Aggies got one more chance to win it but Leandro Garcia-Morales missed a long three-pointer at the buzzer. Jarrius Jackson added 16 points and Mikey Marshall had 14 for the Red Raiders, who shot 61 percent from the field. Acie Law had 14 points for the Aggies, who shot 50 percent. The Red Raiders kept pulling away, but the Aggies kept rallying in a back-and-forth first half. The Red Raiders used an 11-0 run to take a 20-9 lead midway in the first half. The Aggies cut the lead to 24-21 before Jackson hit consecutive 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 35-23 with 4:36 to play. Then, Wright hit a 3-pointer and Andy Slocum's three-point play got the Aggies back in the game. Acie Law had two late baskets to cut Tech's lead to three at the half.
Last Year vs. ISU in College Station
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Feb. 19, 2003) -- Bernard King scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as Texas A&M pulled away from Iowa State late for a 66-54 victory. After trailing 30-29 at halftime, A&M went on a 17-3 run midway through the second half to take a double-digit lead it never relinquished. Keith Bean posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Bradley Jackson scored 12 points. The Cyclones shot just 30-percent in the second half and made just 2-6 from 3-point range. The Cyclones shot 52-percent in the first half. Iowa State did not make a single shot from the field for over eight minutes as the Aggies sealed the game with its big run. Early in the first half Iowa State's shooters could not be stopped, going on a 9-0 run and breaking away to a 22-13 lead. The Cyclones pulled away from the Aggies with four 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes of play. Iowa State scored just eight points in the last 10 minutes of the first while forwards Antoine Wright and Keith Bean led on the offensive end to set up the halftime turnaround.
Last Year vs. ISU in Dallas
DALLAS (AP, March 13, 2003)- Jake Sullivan scored 12 of his 17 points in Iowa State's opening flurry and the Cyclones led throughout in a 97-70 win over Texas A&M in the Big 12 tournament. Sullivan's third 3-pointer gave Iowa State a 29-11 lead midway through the first half. The Cyclones scored the first five points, including the first of Sullivan's four 3-pointers, and never trailed. Tim Barnes had 21 points to lead six players in double figures for Iowa State. Barnes had five 3-pointers. Bernard King, the Big 12's career scoring leader, led A&M with 20 points. Marcus Jefferson had 19 points, Jared Homan 15, Jackson Vroman 13 and Adam Haluska 11 for the Cyclones. Vroman also had 11 rebounds. Iowa State responded with 12 straight points after Antoine Wright's 3-pointer for the first Texas A&M basket. After Jefferson came up with a loose ball and broke for a pull-up jumper, Iowa State led 31-11 with 9:43 left. The Cyclones then went scoreless for six minutes, but the drought didn't prove costly. Tomas Ress had its only two baskets in A&M's 11-0 run, including a jumper with 5:07 left that made it 31-22. But the Aggies didn't have another field goal before halftime, when they trailed 40-28.
Quick Notes
*Senior center Andy Slocum has had six double-doubles, tied for the Big 12 lead, and is averaging 11.8 points and 11.0 rebounds in the last eight games. Slocum leads the Big 12 in rebounding in conference play (11.8). Slocum's 16 boards at Kansas State were an A&M record for a Big 12 game.
*Jesse King, A&M's second leading scorer and rebounder, missed the Kansas game with a bruised toe but has bounced back to averaged 10.5 points in the last two games, despite being less than 100 percent.
*Leandro Garcia-Morales has averaged 10.3 points and made 60 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range (12-of-22) in the last six games. Garcia-Morales scored a career-high 17 points at Kansas State.
*Nick Anderson has averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds as a starter in the last three games.
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +11.8 in the last six games. The Aggies have outrebounded 12 of 15 opponents, including seven straight, and have outrebounded their opponents on the offensive boards in every game.
*The Aggies rank 13th nationally and second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounding (15.7). In Big 12 play, A&M leads the league in offensive rebounds (16.0) and rebounding margin (+7.0).
*The Aggies lead the Big 12 and rank 22nd nationally in assists (17.6) and also lead the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.19).
*After making 11-of-27 (.407) three-pointers against Missouri, the Aggies have made just 14-of-52 (.269) in the last three games.
*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 16th nationally, in three-point percentage (.489).
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (75.3), field goal percentage defense (.470) and three-point percentage defense (.383).