March 02, 2004
GAME #26
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-18, 0-14 Big 12)
vs.
Oklahoma Sooners
(16-9, 6-8 Big 12)
8 p.m. (CST)
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Lloyd Noble Center (11,100 cap.)
Norman, Okla.
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Airtime: 7:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
ESPN Regional
Fred White, play-by-play
Paul Splittorff, commentary
The Texas A&M Aggies (7-18, 0-14 in Big 12) begin a two-game road swing to end the regular season against the Oklahoma Sooners (16-9, 6-8 in Big 12) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (CST) at the Lloyd Noble Center (11,100 cap.) in Norman, Okla. The game will be regionally televised by ESPN Regional. The Aggies have lost 14 straight games but have had second-half leads in nine of those games and are coming off a tough 76-70 loss to Colorado at home on Saturday. The Sooners have lost four straight since defeating the Aggies, 78-72, on Feb. 14 in College Station. A&M is 2-9 in road games this season while Oklahoma is 11-3 at home. The Sooners lead the series, 20-1, and have won nine straight. A&M closes the regular season against No. 7-ranked Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
About Oklahoma
The Sooners return two starters and four lettermen from last year's team, which finished 27-7 overall and finished third in the Big 12 with a 12-4 mark. Oklahoma advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual national champion Syracuse, 63-47. The Sooners are in their 10th season under head coach Kelvin Sampson. Oklahoma started the season 10-0, then lost four straight, including three straight to start Big 12 play. The Sooners then won six of their next seven games, but have since lost four straight. The Sooners were ranked as high as No. 6 nationally earlier this season (Jan. 5). Oklahoma is led by senior guard Jason Detrick (6'5"), who is averaging 11.7 points and has made almost 80 percent from the free throw line. Freshman guard Drew Lavender (5'7") is adding 11.3 points and 3.8 assists -- and scored 31 points against the Aggies in College Station -- while sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander (6'4") is adding 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds and has made 39.3 percent from three-point range. Freshman guard Lawrence McKenzie (6'1") is contributing 8.5 points and senior center Jabahri Brown (6'10") is averaging 7.1 points and a team-best 5.1 rebounds. OU ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring defense (63.0) but ranks last in field goal percentage (.408).
Quick Notes
*Sophomore Antoine Wright has averaged 14.8 points and made 49 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in the last five 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 in rebounding for the season (9.3) and in league play (9.8).
*Senior forward Jesse King has scored in double figures in a team-high 18 games and ranks second on the team in scoring for the season (12.3) and in league play (11.5). King is making 78.1 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 (15.6), second most in the Big 12. In league play, A&M leads the conference in offensive boards (15.6). This prowess had led A&M to get an average of 6.1 more shots per game than its opponents in Big 12 play, the biggest differential in the league.
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +7.4 in the last 16 games. The Aggies have outrebounded or equaled 20 of 25 opponents, including 15 of the last 17, and have outrebounded their opponents on the offensive boards in all but three games.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in rebounding margin in conference play (+5.4) and its season margin of +5.2 ranks third in the Big 12 and 20th nationally.
*The Aggies rank fourth in the Big 12 in assists (15.7), but rank rank 11th in turnover margin for the season (-1.4) and are last in league play (-3.5).
*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) and field goal percentage defense (.478) and is 11th in three-point percentage defense (.385).
*12 of A&M's 14 league games have been within five points at halftime, with A&M leading five times.
*A&M has had a second-half lead in nine Big 12 games.
A&M-OU Series
Oklahoma leads the series, 20-1, and has won nine straight since a 74-72 A&M victory in College Station in 1999. The Sooners have a 9-0 advantage in games played in Norman (all at Lloyd Noble Center). The last four meetings have each been decided by seven points or fewer, including last year's game in Norman, which Oklahoma, won, 75-68.
TEXAS A&M vs. Oklahoma
(OU leads, 20-1)
LAST 10 GAMES
Year Winner Site
1998-99 A&M, 74-72 College Station
1999-00 Oklahoma, 78-53 Norman
Oklahoma, 77-59 College Station
2000-01 Oklahoma, 78-65 Norman
Oklahoma, 72-63 College Station
2001-02 Oklahoma, 89-63 Norman
Oklahoma, 68-64 College Station
2002-03 Oklahoma, 75-68 Norman
Oklahoma, 69-64 College Station
2003-04 Oklahoma 78-72 College Station
Head Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-109 at A&M (6th year)
102-129 overall (8th year)
1-10 vs. Oklahoma
1-10 vs. Kelvin Sampson
Oklahoma
Kelvin Sampson (Pembroke State '78)
230-90 at Oklahoma (10th year)
406-238 overall (21th year)
15-1 vs. Texas A&M
10-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
Sidebars
A&M guard Leandro Garcia-Morales and Oklahoma center Jabahri Brown were high school teammates at Champagnat High School in Hileah, Fla....former A&M forward Tomas Ress, now playing professional basketball in Italy, also was a member of that same prep team...Oklahoma assistant coach Jimmy Tubbs is a former head coach at Dallas Kimball High School (1982-90), where A&M freshman guard Acie Law later starred.
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-18, 0-14)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 8.6 9.3
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 12.3 5.8
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 13.5 4.0
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 7.0 2.3
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.4 4.2a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 8.0 1.8
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 5.5 3.8
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. 3.0 1.9
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 2.6 2.0
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.0 0.8
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.9 0.2
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
Watkins Quoteboard
"Our kids have played hard and I've liked our attitude. I like the fact that we've probably coached better this year than we ever have in terms of guys following the game plan. That's allowed us to be right there in games, but we just haven't been able to finish them off. Our basketball IQ has been the area that has caused us the most problems. We've made too many mental mistakes. Our effort has been there and that's why we haven't just been blown out by these teams. I'm really proud of the kids for doing that. Oklahoma has some young kids that they're relying on and that's always difficult. Their point guard is a talented freshman, but he's still a freshman. The wars in the Big 12 can really wear you down and I think they've experienced a little bit of let down. If you go back and look at the game plan we had when we played them before, we had the game won, but we didn't finish it off. We may change a little bit but not a whole lot. Like most teams, Oklahoma is a different basketball team at home."
Tale of the Tape
A&M OU
Record 7-18 16-9
Conference 0-14 6-8
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 235 36
Streak L14 L4
Field Goal Pct. .422 .408
Opponent FG Pct. .478 .428
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .335 .339
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .385 .367
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.4 6.6
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.0 19.6
Free Throw Pct. .688 .675
Opponent FT Pct. .698 .691
Rebound Avg. 38.7 34.3
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.6 13.3
Rebounding Margin +5.2 -2.1
Turnovers Avg. 15.1 12.7
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 13.7 17.9
Assists Avg. 15.7 12.7
Blocks Avg. 1.4 5.4
Steals Avg. 6.2 8.9
Scoring Avg. 73.8 67.1
Opponent Scoring 76.4 63.0
Scoring Margin -2.6 +4.1
Colorado Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Blair Wilson scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, including three straight 3-pointers that put Colorado ahead for good, as the Buffaloes beat Texas A&M 76-70 Saturday. David Harrison had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Colorado. Michel Morandais scored 12 points with nine assists. Texas A&M lost its 14th straight and wrapped up its home schedule without a conference victory. The Aggies' only chances for a conference win are at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State next week. Kevin Turner led A&M with 21 points. The Aggies led 42-36 at halftime on 50 percent shooting. But A&M was held to just 29 percent in the second half (7-of-24). Colorado used a 9-2 run early in the second half to cut the A&M lead to two points. A layup by Lamar Harris tied the game at 49-49. Harris scored six points in a row during the stretch and finished with nine points and nine rebounds. Three of A&M's seven field goals in the second half came in the final minute after Colorado already had built a double-digit lead. With the game tied at 51, Wilson hit the 3-pointers, separated only by a pair of free throws by Harrison as Colorado jumped out to a 62-55 lead. Three of A&M's seven field goals in the second half came in the final minute after Colorado had already built a double-digit lead. Wilson hit 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in the final 1:05.
Earlier This Year vs. OU
COLLEGE STATION (AP/Feb. 14) - Drew Lavender scored a career high 31 points, including nine in the final two minutes to lead Oklahoma to a 78-72 victory over Texas A&M. With 1:50 remaining and the Sooners trailing, Lavender missed the second of two free throws, but Oklahoma got three straight offensive rebounds followed by misses before Jabahri Brown took a fourth straight rebound and found Lavender outside the arc. The freshman drained the 3-pointer to give Oklahoma a 72-70 lead. Jason Detrick and Lawrence McKenzie added 14 and 10 points respectively. A&M was led by Kevin Turner with 16 points. Oklahoma led by as much as 10 points in the first half as the Sooners hit seven of their first 10 3-pointers, including 4 by Lavender. A&M led by three points with less than two minutes left, but missed two free throws and had a turnover on its next two possessions. Lavender scored all but four of OU's points in the final five minutes and eventually regained the lead for good with his 3-pointer. The Sooners were out-rebounded 40-27.
Last Year in Norman
NORMAN, Okla.(AP/Jan. 28, 2003)- Bernard King became Texas A&M's all-time leading scorer and the Aggies fought back from a 19-point second-half deficit but fell just short in a 75-68 loss at No. 6 Oklahoma. King moved past Vernon Smith, who scored 1,778 points for the Aggies from 1977-81. Hollis Price scored 24 points and Ebi Ere had 18 for the Sooners, who extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 33 games. The Aggies got 21 points from King. Oklahoma put together a 14-0 run in the first half to get control after a listless start in which it committed six of its 11 turnovers. The Aggies led 13-9 before Price made a 3-pointer and followed with a short bank shot. Ere added a short jumper and two free throws in the spurt. The Aggies, meanwhile, went scoreless for nearly seven minutes. Oklahoma scored the first seven points of the second half to build a 48-29 lead. Texas A&M gradually chipped away and got within 68-61 with 3:44 left. The Aggies nearly cut the margin to four, but a 3-point try by Kevin Turner with 2:55 remaining rimmed out. White then hit a jumper in the lane to make it 70-61, and after an A&M turnover, Kevin Bookout scored on a pass from Price for an 11-point lead with 1:51 to play.