March 05, 2004
GAME #27
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-19, 0-15 Big 12)
vs.
#7 Oklahoma State Cowboys
(23-3, 13-2 Big 12)
12:45 p.m. (CST)
Saturday, March 6, 2004
Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611 cap.)
Stillwater, Okla.
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Airtime: 12:25 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
ESPN Regional
Fred White, play-by-play
Paul Splittorff, commentary
The Texas A&M Aggies (7-19, 0-15 in Big 12) close the regular season against the No. 7-ranked (ESPN-USA Today, No. 8 by AP) Oklahoma State Cowboys (23-3, 13-2 in Big 12) on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. (CST) at Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611 cap.) in Stillwater, Okla. The game will be regionally televised by ESPN Regional. The Aggies have lost 15 straight games but have had second-half leads in nine of those games. They are coming off an 86-60 loss at Oklahoma on Wednesday, their biggest loss of the Big 12 season. A victory would hand the Cowboys their first outright conference title since they won the Big Eight crown in 1965. Oklahoma State has won two straight and is coming off a 76-67 victory against Texas at home on Monday. The Cowboys are 14-0 at home this season while the Aggies are 2-10 in road games. OSU leads the series, 22-8, with an 8-1 mark in games played in Stillwater.
About Oklahoma State
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), Texas Tech (83-62) and Missouri (93-92), all on the road. The Cowboys have beaten five ranked teams -- No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 13 Kansas and No. 10 Texas at home, and No. 16 Texas (72-67) in Austin. OSU is led by senior guard Tony Allen (6'4"), who is averaging 16.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Junior guard John Lucas (5'11"), a transfer from Baylor, is adding 14.7 points and ranks second in the Big 12 in assists at 4.9 per game. Senior forward Ivan McFarlin (6'8") is averaging 12.6 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds, while junior guard Joey Graham (6'7") is contributing 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. As a team, OSU leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally in field goal percentage at 51.3 percent, while allowing its opponents to make just 41.4 percent.
Quick Notes
*The Aggies will be the No. 11 seed at the 2004 Big 12 Tournament next week in Dallas. A&M will meet the No. 6 seed (still to be determined) in Thursday's first round at 8:20 p.m.
*Sophomore Antoine Wright has averaged 14.3 points and made 44 percent from three-point range in the last six 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 in league play (9.3).
*Senior forward Jesse King has scored in double figures in a team-high 19 games and ranks second on the team in scoring for the season (12.3) and in league play (11.6). King is making 79.0 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 (15.7), second most in the Big 12. In league play, A&M leads the conference in offensive boards (15.7).
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +6.8 in the last 17 games. The Aggies have outrebounded or equaled 20 of 26 opponents, but have been out-rebounded in three of the last five games.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in rebounding margin in conference play (+4.8).
*The Aggies rank fourth in the Big 12 in assists (15.4), but are tied for last in in league play in turnovers margin (-3.6).
*A&M is 1-15 when it commits 15 or more turnovers and it is 2-15 when it allows 14 or more points off turnovers.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (76.8), field goal percentage defense (.482) and three-point percentage defense (.388).
*12 of A&M's 15 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.
*Senior Nick Anderson has been named to the 2004 Big 12 All-Academic Team. He missed 19 games as a junior under Big 12 academic suspension.
A&M-OSU Series
Oklahoma State leads the series, 22-8, with an 8-1 mark in Stillwater and an 8-0 record at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys have won eight straight in the series since a 64-59 A&M win in College Station in 1999-00. A&M's lone win in Stillwater came in 1922-23, when the Aggies posted a 24-17 victory.
TEXAS A&M vs. Oklahoma State
(OSU leads, 22-8)
Last 10 Games
Year Winner Site
1998-99 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
2003-04 OSU, 91-79 College Station
Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
60-110 at A&M (6th year)
102-130 overall (8th year)
1-10 vs. Oklahoma State
1-10 vs. Eddie Sutton
OKLAHOMA STATE
Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State '58)
317-127 at OSU (14th year)
747-291 overall (34th year)
34-6 vs. Texas A&M
10-1 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 34-6 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 (7-19, 0-15)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 8.3 9.0
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 12.3 5.8
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 13.4 4.1
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 6.9 2.3
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.3 4.1a
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. 5.3 3.7
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.5 1.5
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 3.5 3.0a
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 2.9 1.8
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 2.5 2.0
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 1.8 0.7
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.9 0.1
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
Watkins Quoteboard
"Against Oklahoma, the best way I can sum it up is that we just couldn't stop them. We just could not make it happen. OU played pretty good in the end and that is why the score was what it was. We had some opportunities at the basket that we did not finish and we have to finish those. For the most part, 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 most 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 most of these teams. I'm really proud of the kids for doing that. It seems we always play Oklahoma State on their senior night. In addition to that, they have an outright conference title on the line so we know they will be ready to play."
Tale of the Tape
A&M OSU
Record 7-19 23-3
Conference 0-15 13-2
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 236 9
Streak L15 W2
Field Goal Pct. .419 .513
Opponent FG Pct. .482 .414
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .333 .386
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .388 .335
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.3 4.8
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.7 12.4
Free Throw Pct. .688 .692
Opponent FT Pct. .690 .652
Rebound Avg. 38.5 36.1
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.7 12.0
Rebounding Margin +5.0 +5.1
Turnovers Avg. 15.2 13.6
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 13.7 16.5
Assists Avg. 15.4 16.9
Blocks Avg. 1.3 3.8
Steals Avg. 6.3 8.3
Scoring Avg. 73.2 79.3
Opponent Scoring 76.8 63.7
Scoring Margin -3.5 +15.5
Oklahoma Recap
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- De'Angelo Alexander scored 17 points and freshman Drew Lavender had 14 points and eight assists to help Oklahoma break its four-game losing streak with an 86-60 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday night. Jaison Williams, Jason Detrick and Johnnie Gilbert each had 12 points for the Sooners, who opened the game with a 21-2 run. The Aggies missed 10 of their first 11 shots and committed seven turnovers in the first 9 minutes, falling behind by 19 points. Oklahoma led 35-20 at halftime, holding the Aggies to 5-for-29 shooting (17 percent) with 13 turnovers. The Aggies never got any closer than 11 points in the second half, and trailed by as many as 30. Jesse King led Texas A&M with 13 points and Antoine Wright added 12. The Sooners managed to shoot a season-best 59 percent from the field -- not so surprising since the effort came against the Big 12's worst defense. Texas A&M is one loss away from becoming only the second Big 12 team to go winless in league play. Baylor did it in 1999. The Aggies will try to avoid that dubious mark Saturday at No. 6 Oklahoma State, the regular season conference champs.
Last Month vs. Oklahoma State
COLLEGE STATION (AP/Feb. 3, 2004) -- 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 for its sixth straight victory. The Cowboys never trailed after the opening minutes of the game, but the Aggies 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 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.