February 05, 2004
GAME #19
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-11, 0-7 Big 12)
vs.
Baylor Bears
(6-14, 1-6 Big 12)
5 p.m. (CST)
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2004
Ferrell Center (10,284 cap.)
Waco, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 4:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
Fox Sports Southwest
Greg Lucas, play-by-play
Jim Haller, commentary
Trying to break a seven-game losing skid, the Texas A&M Aggies (7-11, 0-7) will be searching for their first Big 12 win of the season when they face the Baylor Bears (6-14, 1-6) on Saturday at 5 p.m. (CST) at Ferrell Center (10,084 cap.) in Waco. The game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Southwest. The Aggies have had second-half leads in five of their seven conference games and are coming off a 91-79 loss to No. 13-ranked Oklahoma State at home on Tuesday. Baylor has lost three straight, and eight of their last nine, and is coming off an 83-63 loss to Texas Tech on Tuesday in Lubbock. The Aggies are 2-6 in true road games this season and have lost three straight while the Bears are 5-7 at home. A&M leads the series, 118-69, its most wins against any opponent. The teams each won at home against each other last year, and Baylor has beaten the Aggies four straight times in Waco. A&M has lost 10 straight conference road games.
About the Bears
Baylor returns two starters and seven lettermen from last year's team, which finished 14-14 overall and tied for 10th in the Big 12 with a 5-11 mark. The Bears are in their first season under head coach Scott Drew. Baylor's lone Big 12 victory came against Iowa State (63-59) on Jan. 24 in Waco. Baylor is led by senior forward Terrence Thomas (6'6"), who ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring with a 17.2 average and also leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 per game. Junior forward Harvey Thomas (6'8") is adding 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds and is a candidate for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors. Senior center R.T. Guinn (6'10") is averaging 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds, while senior guard Matt Sayman (6'4") is contributing 7.8 points and leads the team with 3.7 assists per game. As a team, OSU is averaging 65.2 points per game, fewest in the Big 12, while allowing 70.8. The Bears are connecting on 42.9 percent from the field, and rank last in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense, allowing 47.5 percent. The Bears also rank last in the league in assists (12.3) and assists-to-turnovers ratio (0.76), and are committing a league-high 16.1 turnovers per game.
THE SERIES
Texas A&M leads the series, 118-69. A&M also leads in games played in Waco, 46-41, but the Bears have an 8-7 edge, and have won four straight, in games played at the Ferrell Center. A&M won six of the first seven meetings at the Ferrell Center. Baylor won last year in Waco, 77-69, but the Aggies bounced back for a 79-60 win in College Station. Since Big 12 play began in 1997, Baylor has posted an 8-7 edge with a 6-1 record in Waco. A&M's only win in Waco in that span came in Melvin Watkins' first season in 1999, when Chris Clayton hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 57-56 victory.
TEXAS A&M vs. Baylor
(A&M leads, 118-69)
Last 10 Games
Year Winner Site
1998-99 A&M, 57-56 Waco
A&M, 69-58 College Station
1999-00 Baylor, 81-75 College Station
Baylor, 63-54 Waco
2000-01 A&M, 73-69 College Station
Baylor, 85-59 Waco
2001-02 A&M, 63-60 College Station
Baylor, 97-45 Waco
2002-03 Baylor, 69-77 Waco
A&M, 79-60 College Station
THE COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-102 at A&M (6th year)
102-122 overall (8th year)
5-5 vs. Baylor
0-0 vs. Scott Drew
BAYLOR
Scott Drew (Butler '93)
6-14 at Baylor (1st year)
26-25 overall (2nd year)
0-0 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
SIDEBARS
Baylor sophomore forward Corey Herring is a product of Winchendon Prep School in Massachusetts, which also produced A&M senior forward Jesse King...A&M freshman forward Marlon Pompey, who has missed most of the season with a leg injury, played two seasons ago at Houston's Heritage Christian Academy, where he was coached by Jerome Tang, who is now in his first year as an assistant at Baylor...Baylor's NCAA Faculty Representative, Michael Rogers, is the son of former A&M head coach Bob Rogers (1957-63)...A&M's last win in Waco came in 1999 when Chris Clayton nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer after a full-court pass for a 57-56 victory.
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-11, 0-7)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 9.7 10.2
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 13.2 5.7
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 14.2 4.4
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 7.6 2.3a
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 3.8 3.6a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.3 3.8a
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 6.1 4.2
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 5.8 1.7
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.4 1.1
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 3.3 1.8
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 3.2 2.1
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.2 0.8
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.8 0.1
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"The Oklahoma State game was a case of no defense on our part. We wanted to stay matched up with some of their shooters, but I guess we got caught up in that. We tinkered with the lineup to look at some things and I think that bothered a couple of our players. I didn't think we played as hard as we have in some other games. We have to reevaluate some things. Playing good teams, you can't afford to make mental mistakes and we keep doing that. Key players on other teams step up and make a basket when they need to and that is something we don't have right now. We know we have to go to Baylor and play as hard as we can. Baylor's starting lineup is very solid and can play with just about anybody. They proved that when they beat Iowa State and they have played some other teams awfully tough, especially at home. We know we have to play very well if we want to come out of there with a victory."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M BU
Record 7-11 6-14
Conference 0-7 1-6
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 202 215
Streak L7 L3
Field Goal Pct. .429 .429
Opponent FG Pct. .471 .475
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .338 .311
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .394 .366
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.4 6.0
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.1 19.2
Free Throw Pct. .691 .671
Opponent FT Pct. .683 .696
Rebound Avg. 39.9 34.0
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.9 13.8
Rebounding Margin +5.3 +1.3
Turnovers Avg. 14.6 16.2
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 14.1 14.8
Assists Avg. 16.7 12.3
Blocks Avg. 1.4 2.4
Steals Avg. 6.4 7.9
Scoring Avg. 76.8 65.2
Opponent Scoring 76.7 70.8
Scoring Margin +0.1 -5.5
OKlahoma State Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- John Lucas scored 27 points and Tony Allen had 13 of his 21 in the second half for No. 13 Oklahoma State, which held off Texas A&M 91-79 Tuesday night for its sixth straight victory. The Cowboys never trailed after the opening minutes of the game, but the Aggies (7-11, 0-7) got within 73-68 with 5:51 to play before going on to their seventh straight loss. The Cowboys took a 53-39 lead early in the second half on a 3-pointer by Lucas. The Aggies went on an 11-2 run to get within 55-51, but Oklahoma State answered with a run that included consecutive baskets by Janavor Weatherspoon to make it 64-53. Lucas scored the Cowboys' final six points. Jesse King led the Aggies with 19 points and Antoine Wright had 13. Andy Slocum got his seventh double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds. The Cowboys closed out a tight first half with an 11-2 run that ended with a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Lucas that made it 43-34. The Cowboys have won 12 of their last 13 games and beat the Aggies for the eighth straight time.
Last Year in Waco
WACO (AP, Feb. 4, 2003) -- John Lucas scored 24 points and Lawrence Roberts added 23 points to lead Baylor to a 77-69 win over Texas A&M. A&M took a 61-59 lead with 3:35 left on a three-point play by Bernard King, who finished with 17 points. Baylor tied the game on its next possession with a layup by Lucas and built a lead of 66-61 with just more than two minutes remaining. The Aggies narrowed the gap to 66-63, but Baylor converted 8-of-10 free throws in the final minute and a half to win. Roberts had 10 rebounds for Baylor. Baylor tied the score at 41-41 with just 13 minutes remaining in the second half. Lucas put the Bears ahead for the first time 43-41 seconds later with a steal followed by his uncontested layup. The Aggies took a 15-7 lead midway through the first half. Baylor struggled from the field, hitting only three of its first 13 field goal attempts and just one of eight from three-point range. A&M led 32-27 at the half. Jesse King scored 13 points for the Aggies, while Tomas Ress and Antoine Wright added 11 apiece.
Last Year in College Station
COLLEGE STATION (AP, March 5, 2003) -- Andy Slocum scored a season-high 18 points as Texas A&M ended a three-game conference losing streak with a 79-60 victory over Baylor. Forwards Antoine Wright and Keith Bean added 13 and 10 points respectively for A&M. The Big 12's all-time leading scorer, Bernard King, scored just three points for A&M but posted 10 assists. Baylor scored just three field goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Aggies went on a 12-1 run as they held the Bears without a field goal for six minutes of play midway through the half. Baylor could get no closer than nine points in the second half and A&M led by as many as 31 points. Lawrence Roberts and John Lucas, both averaging over 14 points per game, were held to a combined 10 points over the first 36 minutes of play for Baylor. Roberts finished with 12, scoring six in the final three minutes. Slocum closed out the final minute of the first period with a pair of field goals to give A&M a 36-26 lead. Roberts was held to just two points while picking up three fouls in the first half. R.T. Guinn picked up the slack, hitting his first three 3-pointers for the Bears and scoring 13 in the half, but Guinn did not score again before fouling out.
Quick Notes
*Senior center Andy Slocum has had seven double-doubles, second most in the Big 12, and leads the league in rebounding for the season (10.2) and in conference play (12.4). Slocum ranks 11th nationally.
*Jesse King, A&M's second leading scorer and rebounder, missed the Kansas game with a bruised toe but has averaged 13.8 points in the last 12 games, including a 21-point, 11-rebound performance at Iowa State.
*Leandro Garcia-Morales has averaged 10.4 points and made 54 percent from the field and 53 percent from three-point range in the last nine games. He has scored in double figures in all seven 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 9.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in the last six games, including a season-high 14 points against Texas.
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +9.2 in the last nine games. The Aggies have outrebounded 15 of 18 opponents, including 10 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 (+5.7), more than twice the margin of the No. 2 team.
*The Aggies rank eighth nationally in offensive rebounding (15.9), second most in the Big 12. In Big 12 play, A&M leads the league in offensive boards (16.4).
*The Aggies rank second in the Big 12 in assists in league play (14.7) and are fifth in the league in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.02).
*A&M is the only team in the Big 12 to have all of its conference games to this point decided by 12 points or fewer. The Aggies have led in the second half in all but two games and were within four points in the second half of both of those contests.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (76.7) and three-point percentage defense (.394) and is 11th in field goal percentage defense (.471).