February 24, 2004
GAME #24
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-16, 0-12 Big 12)
vs.
Baylor Bears
(7-18, 2-10 Big 12)
7 p.m. (CST)
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 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:
No Live TV
Aggie Ultimate Access
(live internet streaming)
www.AggieAthletics.com
$4.95
Postgame Highlights Feed
Galaxy 3, Transponder 9 (C-Band)
9:45-10 p.m. (CST)
Still searching for their first Big 12 win of the season, the Texas A&M Aggies (7-16, 0-12 in Big 12) will battle the Baylor Bears (7-18, 2-10 in Big 12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CST) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The Aggies have had second-half leads in seven conference games and are coming off a tough 76-60 loss to No. 22 Texas Tech on Saturday in Lubbock. Baylor has lost four straight since defeating the Aggies, 72-64, on Feb. 7 in Waco. The Bears are coming off a hard-fought 70-66 loss to Missouri at home on Saturday. The Aggies are 5-7 at home this season and have lost six straight (four to nationally-ranked teams), while the Bears are 0-8 in true road games. A&M leads the series, 118-70, with a 4-1 edge at Reed Arena.
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. In addition to the win against A&M, Baylor also has beaten Iowa State (63-59) in Big 12 play. The Bears are led by senior forward Terrence Thomas (6'6"), who ranks fifth in the Big 12 in scoring with a 16.2 average and also leads the team in rebounding at 7.0 per game. Junior forward Harvey Thomas (6'8") is adding 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds and scored 20 points with six blocked shots in the first meeting against A&M. Senior center R.T. Guinn (6'10") is averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, while senior guard Matt Sayman (6'4") is contributing 8.1 points and leads the team with 3.8 assists per game. Sayman scored 20 against the Aggies earlier this month in Waco. As a team, Baylor is averaging 64.5 points per game, fewest in the Big 12, while allowing 71.9. The Bears are connecting on 42.1 percent from the field, and rank last in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense, allowing 47.9 percent. The Bears also rank last in the league in assists (12.1) and assists-to-turnovers ratio (0.78) and are committing a league-high 15.5 turnovers per game. In league play, Baylor ranks fourth in free throw percentage (.734) and is sixth in steals (6.4).
Quick Notes
*Sophomore Antoine Wright has averaged 13.3 points and made 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range in the last three games. Wright has been named to the NABC All-District Team for the second straight year.
*Senior center Andy Slocum has had eight double-doubles, second most in the Big 12, and ranks second in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally in rebounding (9.5). he also ranks second in league play at 10.3.
*Senior forward Jesse King leads the team in scoring in conference play (12.2) and has scored in double figures in a team-high 17 games. King is making 77.1 percent from the free throw line after entering the season as a career 51 percent free throw shooter.
*Senior guard Leandro Garcia-Morales has been slowed the last two games because of a stomach virus. he played just 10 minutes at Texas and six minutes at Texas Tech.
*The Aggies rank seventh nationally in offensive rebounding (15.9), second most in the Big 12. In league play, A&M leads the conference in offensive boards (16.1). This prowess had led A&M to get an average of 5.7 more shots per game than its opponents (6.6 in Big 12 play).
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +8.6 in the last 14 games. The Aggies have outrebounded or equaled 19 of 23 opponents, including 14 of the last 15, and have outrebounded their opponents on the offensive boards all but twice.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in rebounding margin in conference play (+6.4) and its season margin of +5.8 ranks third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally.
*The Aggies rank fourth in the Big 12 in assists (15.7), but rank rank 12th in turnover margin for the season (-1.43) and in league play (-4.0).
*A&M is 1-13 when it commits 15 or more turnovers and it is 2-13 when it allows 14 or more points off turnovers.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (76.8) and in three-point percentage defense (.393) and is 11th in field goal percentage defense (.477).
*Ten of A&M's 12 league games have been within five points at halftime, with A&M leading three times.
*Ten of A&M's last 14 losses were within four points in the final two minutes.
THE A&M-BAYLOR SERIES
Texas A&M leads the series, 118-70. A&M also leads in games played in College Station, 69-26, with a 4-1 edge in games played at Reed Arena. The Aggies have won three straight against the Bears at home. A&M posted a 79-60 win last year in College Station, its last Big 12 victory. Since Big 12 play began in 1997, Baylor has posted a 9-7 edge, but is 1-4 in College Station. Baylor's only win at Reed Arena came in 2000 by a score of 81-75. A&M and Baylor are playing for the 189th time, making the Bears A&M's second most frequent opponent behind Texas (204 games).
TEXAS A&M vs. Baylor
(A&M leads, 118-70)
Last 10 Games
Year Winner Site
1998-99 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, 77-69 Waco
A&M, 79-60 College Station
2003-04 Baylor, 72-64 Waco
THE COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-107 at A&M (6th year)
102-127 overall (8th year)
7-9 vs. Baylor
0-1 vs. Scott Drew
BAYLOR
Scott Drew (Butler '93)
7-18 at Baylor (1st year)
27-29 overall (2nd year)
1-0 vs. Texas A&M
1-0 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, 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).
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-16, 0-12)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 8.7 9.5
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 12.6 5.6
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 13.2 4.0
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 7.1 2.4
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.7 4.0a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 7.1 1.6
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 5.9 4.0
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.2 1.3
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 3.5 3.1a
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 3.1 1.9
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 2.8 2.1
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.2 0.9
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.8 0.2
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"Baylor already has beaten us once, so we won't go into the game thinking we are automatically going to win. We've got to play well and I think our players understand that. We had 23 turnovers in Waco and most of them were unforced. We played kind of clumsy and didn't have the emotion we needed. The strain of losing is definitely there and it affects kids in different ways. Baylor is going to come in here with a lot of confidence knowing they beat us last time. They have played really well. They have a new coach with new energy and their players are responding to that. If they play like they've been playing, they will try to spread the floor, slow the game down and work time off the clock. They have been effective with that. We want to play up-tempo and work to change the pace."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M BU
Record 7-16 7-18
Conference 0-12 2-10
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 212 205
Streak L12 L4
Field Goal Pct. .423 .421
Opponent FG Pct. .477 .479
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .333 .310
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .393 .372
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.3 5.8
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.1 18.7
Free Throw Pct. .689 .697
Opponent FT Pct. .699 .704
Rebound Avg. 39.1 32.3
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.9 12.7
Rebounding Margin +5.8 -1.7
Turnovers Avg. 15.2 15.5
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 13.7 14.7
Assists Avg. 15.7 12.1
Blocks Avg. 1.5 2.6
Steals Avg. 6.4 7.8
Scoring Avg. 74.5 64.5
Opponent Scoring 76.8 71.9
Scoring Margin -2.3 -7.4
Texas Tech Recap
LUBBOCK (AP)- Andre Emmett became the Big 12's all-time leading scorer, getting 18 points to lead No. 22 Texas Tech to a 76-60 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday. Emmett needed four points coming into the game to overtake Nick Collison of Kansas (2,097 points). Texas Tech went up by double digits early in the first half and built the margin to 50-29 on a layup and free throw by Jarrius Jackson with 15:09 remaining in the game. The Aggies answered with a 19-8 run and whittled their deficit to 60-50 on a rebound by Antoine Wright with 5:20 remaining but they couldn't get any closer. Jackson added 19 points for the Red Raiders, while Devonne Giles got 14, Robert Tomaszek 13 and Ronald Ross 10. Wright scored 17 points and Kevin Turner added 13 to lead the Aggies. The Red Raiders had lost five of their past seven games after a 12-game winning streak. Tech and coach Bob Knight are one game shy of winning 20 games for the third consecutive season, a feat never done at Tech. Tech led 38-24 at halftime. The Red Raiders used a 11-3 run early in the first half to take an 18-8 lead. Devonne Giles had six points and Ross had the other five. Tech maintained a double-digit margin for the rest of the half.
Earlier This Season in Waco
WACO (AP/Feb. 7, 2004)- Harvey Thomas scored 20 points and blocked six shots and Matt Sayman had 20 points and five assists as Baylor beat Texas A&M 72-64. Baylor led by as many as 15 before A&M pulled to within 60-56 on Jesse King's 3-pointer with 2:12 left. But A&M then committed its 22nd and 23rd turnovers and Baylor hit 12 of 16 free throws in the final two minutes. Baylor also got 14 points from Carl Marshall. R.T. Guinn's five points were the Bears' only points off the bench. He was 0-for-3 from the field but 5-of-6 from the foul line. Kevin Turner led the Aggies with 14 points and Nick Anderson added 11. Baylor held A&M's leading scorer, Antoine Wright who had been averaging 14 points per game, to only five points. Baylor led 30-26 at halftime but opened the second half on a 13-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Marshall. The Bears built a 56-41 lead with a little over six minutes left when A&M began its late run. Baylor has beaten Texas A&M five straight times in Waco. A&M outrebounded Baylor 43-22.
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.