February 02, 2004
GAME #18
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-10, 0-6 Big 12)
vs.
#13 Oklahoma State Cowboys
(15-2, 5-1 Big 12)
7 p.m. (CST)
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 6:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
Cox Communications (Oklahoma only)
Talent TBA
Aggie Ultimate Access
(live streaming)
$4.95
www.AggieAthletics.com
A&M Postgame Satellite Feed:
Galaxy 3C, Transponder 9C Feed Time: (9:45-10 p.m. CST)
Facing their fourth straight nationally-ranked team at home, the Texas A&M Aggies (7-10, 0-6) will be hoping to end a six-game Big 12 losing streak when they play the No. 13-ranked (AP) Oklahoma State Cowboys (15-2, 5-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (CST) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The Aggies have had second-half leads in five of their six conference games and are coming off a 69-59 loss to No. 16-ranked Texas at home on Saturday. Oklahoma State has won five straight games and is coming off a thrilling 70-66 victory against Texas Tech at home on Saturday. The Aggies are 5-4 at home this season but have lost three straight -- all to nationally-ranked teams -- while the Cowboys are an impressive 3-1 in true road games. The Cowboys broke open a close game late for a 93-76 victory last year in College Station and posted a 77-52 victory in Stillwater.
Slovacek Sausage Night
Tuesday will be Slovacek Sausage Night at Reed Arena. Slovacek sausages will be available for 50 cents.
About the Pokes
The Cowboys return three starters and six lettermen from last year's team, which finished 22-10 overall and placed fourth in the Big 12 with a 10-6 mark. Oklahoma State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they were eliminated by eventual national champion Syracuse, 68-56. The Cowboys are in their 14th season under head coach Eddie Sutton. OSU's losses have been to BYU (76-71) and Texas Tech (83-62), both on the road. The Cowboys have beaten three ranked teams -- No. 6 Oklahoma (77-56) and No. 13 Texas Tech at home, and No. 16 Texas (72-67) in Austin. OSU is led by senior guard Tony Allen (6'4"), who is averaging 15.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Junior guard John Lucas (5'11"), a transfer from Baylor, is adding 12.6 points and ranks second in the Big 12 in assists at 5.0 per game. Senior forward Ivan McFarlin (6'8") is averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds, while junior guard Joey Graham (6'7") is contributing 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds. As a team, OSU leads the nation in field goal percentage, making 51.3 percent, while allowing just 39.8 percent.
THE SERIES
Oklahoma State leads the series, 21-8, with a 4-1 record at Reed Arena. The Cowboys have won seven straight in the series since a 64-59 A&M win in College Station in 1999-00. In all games played in College Station, OSU leads, 9-5. In the seven games played in College Station since Big 12 play started in 1997, five have been decided by six points or fewer. Last year, OSU broke open a close game late for a 93-76 victory after A&M led at halftime, 41-40. The Aggies trailed by just four points with nine minutes left.
TEXAS A&M vs. Oklahoma State
(OSU leads, 21-8)
Last 10 Games
Year Winner Site
1998-99 OSU, 64-59 College Station
OSU, 66-61 Stillwater
1999-00 A&M, 64-59 College Station
OSU, 87-55 Stillwater
2000-01 OSU, 76-64 Stillwater
OSU, 82-76 College Station
2001-02 OSU, 71-66 College Station
OSU, 66-51 Stillwater
2002-03 OSU, 93-76 College Station
OSU, 77-52 Stillwater
COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-101 at A&M (6th year)
102-121 overall (8th year)
1-9 vs. Oklahoma State
1-9 vs. Eddie Sutton
OKLAHOMA STATE
Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State '58)
309-126 at OSU (14th year)
739-290 overall (34th year)
33-6 vs. Texas A&M
9-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
SIDEBARS
Oklahoma State senior guard Janavor Weatherspoon and Texas A&M senior forward Jesse King were teammates at Winchendon Prep School in Massachusetts in 1999-00...Oklahoma State has three players from Texas on its roster -- senior forward Ivan McFarlin (Missouri City/Willowridge HS), junior guard John Lucas (Houston/Bellaire HS) and senior forward Jason Miller (Livingston/Livingston HS)...OSU coach Eddie Sutton is 33-6 in his career against Texas A&M, including a 19-5 mark as head coach at Arkansas (1974-85) in the old Southwest Conference and a 1-0 mark as head coach at Creighton (1969-74)...OSU assistant coach James Dickey is the former head coach at Texas Tech (1991-2001)...former A&M head coach John Floyd (1950-55), who led the Aggies to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1951, played at Oklahoma State and then served as an assistant to legendary OSU coach Henry Iba.
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-10, 0-6)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 9.6 9.9
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 5.8 4.2
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 14.2 4.5
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 7.4 2.3a
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 3.9 3.8a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 12.8 5.8
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.4 3.7a
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 6.2 1.8
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.3 1.1
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 3.4 1.9
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 3.3 2.2
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
"Oklahoma State is at the top of its game and probably is playing with the most confidence of any team in the league. They definitely are one of the better teams in the Big 12. They don't have a big front line, but they crash the boards and are very athletic. They play well as a team and get defensive stops when they need them. They are a well-balanced team. We aren't down on ourselves. Our kids are following game plans and listening better than they ever have, but we still haven't been able to get the wins. If they keep working as hard as they have been, we still have the opportunity to win some games. OSU won't want to cooperate with us, but this is a home game for us and we hope to get a win and get back on track. We were ahead of Texas by five points with 12 minutes left, then we seemed to lose our focus and concentration."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M OSU
Record 7-10 15-2
Conference 0-6 5-1
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 212 15
Streak L6 W5
Field Goal Pct. .430 .513
Opponent FG Pct. .464 .398
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .342 .371
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .384 .318
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.5 4.2
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.1 11.4
Free Throw Pct. .683 .652
Opponent FT Pct. .677 .646
Rebound Avg. 40.2 36.0
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.9 11.8
Rebounding Margin +5.2 +4.6
Turnovers Avg. 14.9 14.3
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 14.4 18.2
Assists Avg. 16.8 16.8
Blocks Avg. 1.5 4.1
Steals Avg. 6.7 9.0
Scoring Avg. 76.7 77.6
Opponent Scoring 75.9 60.8
Scoring Margin +0.8 +16.8
Texas Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Texas didn't allow a field goal in the final 12:41 and beat Texas A&M on the road for the 10th straight time, 69-59 on Saturday. The 16th-ranked Longhorns shot just 28.2 percent from the floor in the first half, but were able to overcome it thanks to their late defensive performance. Brian Boddicker and Kenton Paulino led Texas with 11 points, while Jason Klotz added 10. Guard Royal Ivey had 10 rebounds. Nick Anderson had 14 points and six rebounds for A&M, which has lost six in a row. Andy Slocum led all players with a career-high 18 rebounds. The Longhorns have won 29 of their last 32 games against A&M. They have also won two straight since a home loss to Oklahoma State on Jan. 24. Marcus Watkins hit a jumper with 12:41 left to give the Aggies a 46-43 lead. Texas then went on a 16-0 run to take a 59-43 lead with 8:11 to play. Texas hit 48.1 percent of its field goals in the second half, while A&M managed just 29.2 percent after missing its last 13 shots. A&M has a 47-45 rebounding edge against the Longhorns, who entered the game ranked second nationally in rebounding margin, but the Boddicker and Klotz kept the Aggies from establishing an inside game and forced the Aggies to shoot 21 three-pointers. They made just six. The Longhorns also forced 17 turnovers, while committing only six.
Last Year in College Station
COLLEGE STATION (AP/Jan. 11, 2003) -- Tony Allen scored a season-high 29 points and had nine rebounds to lead OSU to a 93-76 victory over Texas A&M in its Big 12 opener. Allen hit four three-pointers in the first half to help keep the hot-shooting Aggies in check. In the second half, he teamed up with Melvin Sanders and Cheyne Gadson to break open a close game and pull away in the final 13 minutes. Oklahoma State got its 10th straight win, while getting double digit scoring from five players. Gadson had 17 points off the bench as the Cowboys shot 54-percent for the game. A&M shot a red hot 59-percent in the first half, but hit just one of 14 from 3-point range in the second half while struggling against OSU's pressure defense. Bernard King led the Aggies with a season high 27 points. The Aggies jumped out to the early lead with hot first half shooting from King and Kevin Turner and led for over 13 minutes. Turner finished with 13 points. The Aggies led, 41-40, at halftime. Sanders hit a jumper at the 13:14 mark to give OSU a 53-51 lead they never relinquished.
Last Year in Stillwater
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP/March 8, 2003) -- Ivan McFarlin had 17 points and 14 rebounds as No. 20 Oklahoma State ended a three-game losing streak with a 77-52 victory over Texas A&M. The Cowboys held on to an early lead and wore down the Aggies with their defense. Oklahoma State had 34 defensive rebounds to A&M's 22. Melvin Sanders also scored 17 points for the Cowboys, while Tony Allen added 12 and Andre Williams and Victor Williams each had 10. The Aggies trailed 32-17 at halftime, the fewest first-half points allowed by Oklahoma State this season. Shut down on the inside, A&M shot 31 percent from the field and was only 3-of-18 from 3-point range. Bernard King led the Aggies with 17 points, followed by Andy Slocum with 10. Oklahoma State took the lead for good four minutes into the game and used runs of 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 to go up by as many as 17 points in the first half. A&M got within 14 points in the second half when Tomas Ress made two free throws after officials called a technical foul on Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton. But Allen scored the Cowboys' next six points and Oklahoma State pulled away.
Quick Notes
*Senior center Andy Slocum has had six double-doubles, second most in the Big 12, and is averaging 10.6 points and 11.3 rebounds in the last 10 games. Slocum leads the Big 12 in rebounding for the season (9.9) and in conference play (12.0), ranking 13th nationally.
*Jesse King, A&M's second leading scorer and rebounder, missed the Kansas game with a bruised toe but has averaged 13.3 points in the last 11 games, including a 21-point, 11-rebound performance at Iowa State.
*Leandro Garcia-Morales has averaged 10.4 points and made 56 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range in the last eight games. He has scored in double figures in all six Big 12 games and is the only player to rank in the top 10 in the league in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage.
*Nick Anderson has averaged 9.2 points and 7.0 rebounds as a starter in the last five games, including a season-high 14 points against Texas.
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +9.5 in the last eight games. The Aggies have outrebounded 14 of 17 opponents, including nine straight, and have outrebounded their opponents on the offensive boards in all but one game.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in rebounding in conference play (+5.5). Texas ranked second nationally in rebounding margin, but A&M out-rebounded the Longhorns, 47-45.
*The Aggies rank 10th nationally in offensive rebounding (15.9), second most in the Big 12.
*The Aggies rank second in the Big 12 in assists (16.8) and are fourth in the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.12).
*A&M is the only team in the Big 12 to have all of its conference games to this point decided by 10 points or fewer. The Aggies have led in the second half in all but the Kansas game (and they led the Jayhawks late in the first half).
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (75.9) and three-point percentage defense (.384) and are 11th in field goal percentage defense (.464).