December 17, 2004
GAME #8
Texas A&M AGGIES
(7-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Chicago State COUGARS
(0-6, 0-0 Mid-Continent)
7 p.m. (central)
Sunday, Dec. 19, 2004
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 6:45 p.m. (central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
None
Postgame Satellite Highlight Feed
9:45-10 p.m. (Central)
Galaxy 3, Transponder 7
TICKETS:
Available
$12, $10, $6
PROMOTIONS:
*"Holiday Hoops 2-for-1"
Fans can purchase two tickets for the price of one for any men's or women's
game through Jan. 5.
*"Toy Drive"
Fan who donate a "new or gently-used" toy will receive free admission.
Donations will benefit "Toys for Tots" and will be accepted by members of
the Dance Team and the Aggie Angels starting when doors open (1 1/2 hours
prior to tipoff) until game time.
* "Pictures with Santa"
Santa will be available to pose for photos with children from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
AGGIES EYE BEST START SINCE 1959
Reaching for their best start in 45 years, the Texas A&M Aggies (7-0, 0-0 in Big 12) play the Chicago State Cougars (0-6, 0-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference) on Sunday at 7 p.m. (central) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The Aggies are 7-0, their best start since the 1980-81 team began the year with a 7-0 mark. A win would make A&M 8-0 for the first time since the 1959-60 team started 10-0. The Aggies are coming off a resounding 78-36 win against Louisiana-Monroe at home on Wednesday, while the Cougars have lost six straight to open the season and are coming off a 68-58 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday. First-year coach Billy Gillispie is off to the best coaching start in Aggieland since Tubby Graves began his career with an 11-0 mark in 1915-16. The Aggies are 7-0 at home this season, while the Cougars are 0-5 in road games.
About Chicago State
The Cougars return five lettermen and three starters from last year's team that finished 12-20 overall and tied for fifth in the Mid-Continent Conference with a 9-7 mark. Chicago State is in its third season under coach Kevin Jones. The Cougars' record may be deceiving as they have played a difficult schedule that has included UCLA (64-53), Texas Southern (63-57), Northwestern (78-53), No. 1-ranked Illinois (78-59) and Minnesota (68-58) on the road and Wisconsin-Green Bay (79-71) at home. CSU is led by senior guard Tony Weedon (6'2"), a preseason all-conference pick who is averaging 14.3 points. Sophomore center Deji Akindele (7'1") is adding 13.2 points and 8.8 rebounds, while sophomore guard Royce Parran (5'10") is averaging 12.5 points. Senior guard Craig Franklin (6'3"), a preseason all-conference pick and the team's leading scorer last season at 14.3 per game, missed the first five games before making his season debut against Minnesota. As a team, the Cougars are averaging 58.5 points while making 42.3 percent from the field, 27.9 percent from three-point range and 63.3 percent from the free throw line.
The Series
Texas A&M and Chicago State have never played. The Aggies are 35-14 against current members of the Mid-Continent Conference, including an 81-63 win against Oakland on Dec. 1.
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
7-0 at A&M (1st year)
37-32 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Chicago State
0-0 vs. Kevin Jones
CHICAGO STATE
Kevin Jones (Eastern Illinois '87)
12-38 at CSU (3rd year)
12-38 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-0, 0-0)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 9.7 7.6 1.2 blk
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 5.8 4.0 71% FG
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 16.7 7.1 59% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 10.1 3.0 3.5 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 11.4 3.0 5.9 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 5.7 2.3 75% FG
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 5.3 4.3 57% FG
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 5.0 2.0 3.2 ast
5 Kenneth White 6'1" Fr. 3.0 1.1 --
2 Marcus McIntosh 6'0" So. 2.6 1.0 --
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 2.2 0.5 --
11 Luis Clemente 6'8" Jr. 2.6 1.9 --
23 Brian Gahan 6'4" Sr. 1.7 1.7 --
24 Stephen Davenport 6'3" Fr. 0.5 0.5 --
40 Slade Weishuhn 6'9" Fr. -- -- --
Gillispie Quoteboard
"I was really proud of our effort against Louisiana-Monroe. Everyone really went out and played hard. We're still making way too many careless turnovers and we've got to cut those things out. Free throws are becoming a concern but its not something I really like to talk about a lot. We've got to do much better. But I'm hopeful we'll start making them, and I'm hopeful we'll stop turning the ball over. But I'm also hopeful that we'll keep guarding like we're guarding. Our defensive positioning is getting better, we're contesting shots and we're doing a lot of little things, but we've still got a long way to go. I'm proud of this team so far because they're trying to do what I'm asking them to do."
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M CSU
Record 7-0 0-6
Conference 0-0 0-0
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 210 281
Streak W7 L7
Field Goal Pct. .527 .423
Opponent FG Pct. .303 .479
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .387 .279
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .248 .353
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.1 4.0
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 15.9 14.3
Free Throw Pct. .638 .633
Opponent FT Pct. .605 .631
Rebound Avg. 41.9 27.8
Offensive Reb. Avg. 13.6 9.2
Rebounding Margin +12.3 -10.5
Turnovers Avg. 18.4 14.0
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 22.1 14.0
Assists Avg. 20.9 10.8
Blocks Avg. 4.1 3.3
Steals Avg. 9.4 6.3
Scoring Avg. 80.9 58.5
Opponent Scoring 49.6 71.7
Scoring Margin +31.3 -13.2
Louisiana-Monroe Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Antoine Wright scored 21 points to lead Texas A&M to a 78-36 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday night. Wright added nine rebounds and two assists for the Aggies (7-0), who already have won as many games as they did all last season. The team is off to its best start since the 1980-81 season. Acie Law added 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Aggies. DeAndre Alexander, Daryl Mason and Darien Bynum each scored eight points for Louisiana-Monroe (4-3). The Aggies never trailed after jumping out to an 18-4 lead, and had increased the lead to 40-20 by halftime. A&M scored 34 points off 30 turnovers by Louisiana-Monroe. Louisiana-Monroe's 36 points were the third fewest in school history.
Quick Notes
*A win against Chicago State would hand the Aggies an 8-0 start for the first time since 1959-60 and would match their longest winning streak since 1979-80.
*A win would give coach Billy Gillispie an 8-0 start, the best by a first-year A&M coach since Tubby Graves started 11-0 in 1915-16.
*Junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, has posted two double-doubles and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in scoring (16.7) and is sixth in field goal percentage (.587). Wright and OSU's Joey Graham are the only two players to rank in the top 10 in both categories.
*Freshman Joseph Jones has had two double-doubles and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in rebounding (7.6). The A&M record for season rebounding average by a freshman is 8.7 by Rudy Woods in 1978-79.
*Sophomore Acie Law is second in the Big 12 in assists with a 5.9 average.
*Freshman Dominique Kirk has scored in double figures in five of the last six games.
*A&M leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (.303) and scoring margin (+31.1) and is third in scoring defense (49.6).
*The Aggies rank second nationally in assists (20.9) and are fifth in field goal percentage (.527).
*The Aggies have out-rebounded all seven opponents and rank second in the Big 12 in rebounding margin (+12.3).
*A&M is forcing an average of 22.1 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12.
*In the last four games, 94 of A&M's 118 field goals have been assisted (79.7 percent). For the season, the Aggies have an assist rate of 71.2 percent.
*A&M made 76.0 percent from the line in the first three games, but has made just 54.1 percent in the last four games.
*The Aggies are in the midst of a 10-game, season-opening home stand, the longest in school history.