February 27, 2004
GAME #25
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-17, 0-13 Big 12)
vs.
Colorado Buffaloes
(16-8, 8-5 Big 12)
12:30 p.m. (CST)
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 12:10 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
No Live TV
OTHER MEDIA:
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)
The Texas A&M Aggies (7-18, 0-13 in Big 12) will close their home schedule against the Colorado Buffaloes (16-8, 8-5 in Big 12) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (CST) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The game will mark the final appearance at Reed by A&M's six senior players (Andy Slocum, Jesse King, Nick Anderson, Dylan Leal, Leandro Garcia-Morales and Kevin Turner), who will be honored prior to the game. The Aggies have had second-half leads in eight conference games and are coming off a heartbreaking 67-61 overtime loss to Baylor at home on Wednesday, its second overtime loss of the year. The Buffaloes have won three straight and are coming off a 94-87 overtime win against Oklahoma at home on Wednesday. A&M is 5-8 at home this season while Colorado is 5-5 in road games. The Buffaloes, lead the series, 8-1, but are 1-1 in games played at Reed Arena.
About the Buffaloes
Colorado returns four starters and 10 lettermen from last year's team, which finished 20-12 overall and tied for fifth in the Big 12 with a 9-7 mark. The Buffaloes are in their ninth season under head coach Ricardo Patton. Colorado is 6-0 at home in Big 12 play, but is 2-5 on the road with wins at Kansas State and Nebraska. The Buffaloes are led by junior center David Harrison (7'0"), who is averaging 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots, ranking among the top four in the Big 12 in all three categories. Senior guard Michel Morandais (6'5") is adding 16.3 points, has made 46 three-pointers and is making 84.9 percent from the free throw line, while senior forward Blair Wilson (6'6") is averaging 12.5 points and ranks second in the Big 12 with 64 three-pointers, making almost 40 percent. Senior forward Lamar Harris (6'7") is contributing 7.4 points and ranks second on the team with 8.5 rebounds. Colorado ranks third in the league in field goal percentage (.463) and leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (6.0). The Buffaloes average 74.1 points while allowing 69.5 per game. They rank last in free throw percentage (.632) and are 10th in turnover margin (-1.3) and assists-to-turnovers ratio (0.95).
A&M Quick Notes
*Sophomore Antoine Wright has averaged 14.5 points and made 46.3 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range in the last four 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 22nd nationally in rebounding (9.5). He also is tied for the lead in league play at 10.2.
*Senior forward Jesse King leads the team in scoring in conference play (12.0) and has scored in double figures in a team-high 18 games. King is making 77.3 percent from the free throw line after entering the season as a career 51 percent free throw shooter.
*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 (16.2). This prowess had led A&M to get an average of 5.7 more shots per game than its opponents (6.5 in Big 12 play).
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +8.4 in the last 15 games. The Aggies have outrebounded or equaled 20 of 24 opponents, including 15 of the last 16, 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 20th nationally.
*The Aggies rank third in the Big 12 in assists (15.8), but rank rank 11th in turnover margin for the season (-1.42) and are last in league play (-3.8).
*A&M is 1-14 when it commits 15 or more turnovers and it is 2-14 when it allows 14 or more points off turnovers.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (76.4), field goal percentage defense (.478) and in three-point percentage defense (.392).
*11 of A&M's 13 league games have been within five points at halftime, with A&M leading four times.
*12 of A&M's last 15 losses were within four points in the final two minutes.
THE SERIES
Colorado leads the series, 8-1, and has won four straight since A&M's lone victory in 2000, which came by a score of 74-69 in the first meeting at Reed Arena. CU leads in games played in College Station, 2-1, but is 1-1 at Reed Arena. A&M has come no close than 15 points in the last four games against the Buffaloes. The teams only meeting prior to the start of Big 12 play in 1997 came in the consolation round of the 1969 NCAA Tournament, with the Buffaloes posting a 97-82 victory in Manhattan, Kan.
TEXAS A&M vs. Colorado
(CU leads, 8-1)
Year Winner Site
1968-69 Colorado, 97-82 Manhattan, Kan.
1996-97 Colorado, 77-64 Boulder
1997-98 Colorado, 68-67 College Station
1998-99 Colorado, 71-61 Boulder
1999-00 A&M, 74-69 College Station
Colorado, 79-53 Kansas City
2000-01 Colorado, 88-58 Boulder
2001-02 Colorado, 92-77 College Station
2002-03 Colorado, 98-83 Boulder
COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-108 at A&M (6th year)
102-128 overall (8th year)
1-5 vs. Colorado
1-5 vs. Ricardo Patton
COLORADO
Ricardo Patton (Belmont '80)
141-111 at Colorado (9th year)
141-111 overall (9th year)
7-1 vs. Texas A&M
5-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
SIDEBARS
Colorado assistant coach Paul Graham is a former head coach at Kimball High School in Dallas (1974-82), which produced A&M freshman guard Acie Law...Colorado guard Antoine McGee and A&M forward Antoine Wright played on the same AAU team in California...Colorado freshman guard Marcus Hall is from Houston (Jersey Village HS)...Saturday's game will be "Senior Day" at Reed Arena, with the Aggies' six senior players and two senior managers honored prior to the game...A&M also will play host to the annual Former Players' Reunion after the game in the Reed Arena practice gym...more than 80 former players, coaches and managers are expected to attend.
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-17, 0-13)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 8.5 9.5
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 12.5 5.6
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 13.4 4.2
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 6.9 2.3
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.7 4.2a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 7.4 1.7
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 5.6 3.9
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.2 1.3
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 3.5 3.0a
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 3.1 1.9
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 2.7 2.0
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.0 0.8
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.8 0.2
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"Colorado probably is playing as well as anyone in the Big 12 right now. They have a strong presence inside with David Harrison, who can score, rebound and block shots, and they have good shooters in Michel Morandais and Blair Wilson. Morandais is a great scorer who can hurt you in a lot of different ways. If we hit the free throws down at the end of the Baylor game, we get the win. We didn't play well, but at least we would have gotten the win. Then we might have loosened up a bit. We were just hoping that we were going to win. In this conference, you can't hope you're going to win. You've got to go out and get it done. Baylor made big plays in the end and we didn't. Players have got to make plays. It was obvious that we tightened up at the end of the game."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M CU
Record 7-17 16-8
Conference 0-13 8-5
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 231 48
Streak L13 W3
Field Goal Pct. .423 .463
Opponent FG Pct. .478 .409
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .332 .359
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .392 .351
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.3 6.3
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.0 17.4
Free Throw Pct. .683 .632
Opponent FT Pct. .699 .677
Rebound Avg. 39.0 38.9
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.9 12.3
Rebounding Margin +5.8 +4.1
Turnovers Avg. 15.2 14.5
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 13.8 13.3
Assists Avg. 15.8 13.8
Blocks Avg. 1.4 6.0
Steals Avg. 6.4 6.3
Scoring Avg. 73.9 74.1
Opponent Scoring 76.4 69.5
Scoring Margin -2.5 +4.7
Baylor Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Matt Sayman scored six of his 15 points in overtime to lead Baylor to a 67-61 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday night. A&M led 57-55 when Antoine Wright was fouled with 23 seconds remaining in regulation. Wright missed the front end of a one-and-one. Terrance Thomas threw up a wild shot in traffic for the Bears that bounced off both sides of the rim before dropping in. He also drew a foul, but missed the free throw. Wright was fouled again for A&M with three seconds remaining but missed both free throws, sending the game into overtime. Baylor controlled overtime, going on a 10-2 run to start the extra period and holding the Aggies to just four points. Baylor entered the game on a four-game losing streak, winless since defeating A&M 72-64 in Waco. Harvey Thomas led the Bears with 17 points and Thomas scored 12. Wright led Texas A&M with 18 points, but missed all three of his free throws down the stretch that could have broken a 12 game skid. A&M led by as many as eight points twice in the second half, but turnovers and poor defense allowed Baylor back into it each time. With six minutes remaining, Baylor's Tommy Swanson hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one. A minute later, Corey Herring took an offensive rebound and drove to the basket for an uncontested layup, giving Baylor its first lead of the second half. Another easy layup by Herring capped a 13-3 run by Bears. With 2:24 remaining Wright banked a 3-pointer off the glass to retake the lead, breaking a stretch of over six minutes without an A&M field goal.
Last Year Against Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. (AP/Feb. 15, 2003) -- Michel Morandais scored 24 points and Stephane Pelle added 21 points and 12 rebounds as Colorado beat Texas A&M 98-83. Colorado had five players in double figures, including David Harrison, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Antoine Wright and Bernard King each scored 22 points for A&M. King, who scored a season-high 29 in the Aggies' win over Missouri on Wednesday, went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line against Colorado. Colorado led 42-37 at halftime and open the second half with a 21-7 run, culminating in a 3-pointer by Blair Wilson to make it 63-44 with 12:56 to play. The Aggies pulled to within 14 points with 2:15 left after a 3-pointer by Dylan Leal. Wright scored the final six points for the Aggies. A&M led 12-4 early in the game but Colorado responded with four unanswered baskets and never trailed again. Colorado was 7-of-11 on 3-pointers and shot 61 percent from the floor. A&M shot only 38 percent from the floor and hit 12 of 29 3-pointers.
Two Years Ago at Reed
COLLEGE STATION (AP/Feb. 26, 2002)- Blair Wilson posted a career-high 24 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead Colorado to a 92-77 victory over Texas A&M in the Aggies' home finale. Wilson's previous career best, 21, came on seven 3-pointers in a win over Kansas State in Boulder on Jan. 22. Colorado snapped a five-game losing skid with the victory. Meanwhile, A&M lost its eighth straight game. The Buffaloes went on a 16-4 run midway through the first half to take a 15-point lead at 27-12 on Wilson's third 3-pointer of the half. A&M would clip the deficit to seven at the break, trailing 38-31. The Aggies cut the Colorado lead to five with 8:33 to play in the game after A&M converted two free throws and added a jumper by Nick Anderson, but would get no closer. Bernard King scored a season-best 32 points, including 5-of-9 shooting from behind the arc. Anderson (13) and Keith Bean (10) were the other Aggies in double figures. Also for Colorado, Michel Morandais scored 21 and David Harrison added 20. Stephane Pelle posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 boards.