December 21, 2004
Off to their best start in 45 years, the Texas A&M Aggies (8-0, 0-0 in Big 12) play the Grambling State Tigers (3-2, 0-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (central) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The Aggies are 8-0, their best start since the 1959-60 team began the year with a 10-0 mark and was ranked No. 8 nationally, the highest in school history. The Aggies are coming off a 90-70 win against Chicago State at home on Sunday, while the Tigers have been idle since a 113-54 loss at Rice on Dec. 6. 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 8-0 at home this season, their longest home winning streak since the 1985-86 team won nine straight at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Tigers are 0-2 in road games. A&M leads the series, 1-0, after posting a 103-101 double-overtime win last year at Reed Arena.
GAME #9
Texas A&M AGGIES
(8-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Grambling TIGERS
(3-2, 0-0 SWAC)
7 p.m. (central)
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 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
PROMOTION:
*"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.
About Grambling State
The Tigers return a whopping 14 lettermen and four starters from last year's team that finished 11-18 overall and tied for fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a 9-9 mark. Grambling State is in its fifth season under coach Larry Wright. The Tigers have beaten Jarvis Christian (59-50), Texas College (80-58) and Stephen F. Austin (75-60) at home while losing to Houston (95-52) and Rice (113-54) on the road. GSU is led by junior guard Brion Rush (6'2"), a preseason all-conference pick who is averaging 10.0 points. Senior guard Ron Ellis (6'2") leads the team in scoring with an 11.2 average, while freshman guard Marcus Watson (5'11") is adding 10.8 points and freshman guard Andre Ratliff (5'10") is contributing 9.5 points. Junior guard Maurice Searight (6'2"), who had a triple-double against A&M last season, missed the first three games and is averaging 7.5 points and a team-best 4.0 assists. As a team, the Tigers are averaging 64.0 points while making 38.0 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from three-point range and 55.3 percent from the free throw line.
The Series
Texas A&M leads the series, 1-0, after posting a 103-101 double-overtime win last year in College Station. The Aggies are 22-1 against members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, winning eight straight.
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
8-0 at A&M (1st year)
38-32 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Grambling State
0-0 vs. Larry Wright
GRAMBLING
Larry Wright (Grambling State '82)
44-104 at GSU (5th year)
44-104 overall (5th year)
0-1 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Sidebars
Grambling State coach Larry Wright was one of the top players in Grambling history, earning SWAC player of the year honors in 1976 and twice earning first-team Small College All-America honors...Wright was GSU's only first-round NBA draft pick in 1976 (Washington Bullets)...Wright was a member of the Bullets' world championship team in 1978...Grambling junior guard Maurice Searight, transferred to Grambling from Michigan prior to last season...the Aggies got one vote in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, the first time A&M has received votes in two years.
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (8-0, 0-0)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 10.4 7.8 1.1 blk
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 6.4 4.7 68% FG
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 17.1 7.5 56% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 9.9 2.9 4.0 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 11.8 3.5 6.0 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 5.6 1.8 3.1 ast
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 5.0 2.3 71% FG
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 4.6 3.8 57% FG
2 Marcus McIntosh 6'0" So. 3.3 0.9 --
5 Kenneth White 6'1" Fr. 2.6 1.0 --
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 2.2 0.5 --
11 Luis Clemente 6'8" Jr. 2.6 1.9 --
24 Stephen Davenport 6'3" Fr. 0.5 0.5 --
40 Slade Weishuhn 6'9" Fr. -- -- --
Gillispie Quoteboard
"Grambling has some very good players and they almost won here last year. We know we've got to play our best every time we take the court. Against Chicago State, we got some defensive stops and started making our easy shots a little better in the second half and that's why we won. I just want our guys to play hard. If they play hard and it's not good enough, that's all right. We've got a great deal of respect for everybody we play. People seem to feel like just because a school is not from one of the so-called major conferences that you're supposed to sort of have a walk in the park and that's not the case. Let's get real -- we've got a long way to go. "
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M GSU
Record 8-0 3-2
Conference 0-0 0-0
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 222 191
Streak W8 L1
Field Goal Pct. .525 .380
Opponent FG Pct. .321 .435
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .380 .370
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .265 .329
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 5.8 6.8
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 15.1 18.4
Free Throw Pct. .623 .553
Opponent FT Pct. .620 .608
Rebound Avg. 41.9 41.0
Offensive Reb. Avg. 14.4 15.0
Rebounding Margin +12.1 -1.6
Turnovers Avg. 17.3 20.2
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 21.8 16.4
Assists Avg. 21.5 13.4
Blocks Avg. 3.8 4.0
Steals Avg. 9.3 7.6
Scoring Avg. 82.0 64.0
Opponent Scoring 52.1 75.2
Scoring Margin +29.9 -11.2
Chicago State Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Antoine Wright scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Texas A&M to a 90-70 victory over Chicago State on Sunday night. Wright struggled in the first half, scoring just three points in seven minutes. But he took control of the game after halftime, scoring 17 of the Aggies 57 second-half points. Joseph Jones scored 15 points and Edjuan Green added 10 for the Aggies (8-0). They each had nine rebounds. Chicago State (0-7) hung with the Aggies for the first 20 minutes of play, trailing 33-32 at the half. Tony Weeden led Chicago State with 18 points. Kevin Jones Jr. added another 12. A&M is off to its best start since the 1959-60 team began the year at 10-0. First-year A&M coach Billy Gillispie is off to the best coaching start for the Aggies since Tubby Graves began his career with an 11-0 record in 1915-16.
Last Year vs. Grambling State
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Dec. 21, 2003) -- Antoine Wright scored a career-high 32 points to lead Texas A&M to a 103-101 victory over Grambling State in double overtime. The biggest of Wright's shots didn't even go in the basket. With six seconds left and Grambling (2-7) up 101-100, the Tigers were called for goaltending and a foul against the sophomore forward. Wright drained the ensuing free throw for a three-point play and sealed A&M's overtime win. Grambling's Paul Haynes, who finished with 22 points, and A&M's Acie Law exchanged baskets in the final stretch of the second half. Each had six points in the final three minutes of regulation to leave the game tied at 81-81. Law hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining for a 90-87 lead in the first overtime, only to watch Ron Ellis answer with his own 3-pointer with two seconds left, tying the game at 90 at the end of the first overtime. Brion Rush led Grambling with 24 points.
Quick Notes
*A win against Grambling State would hand the Aggies a 9-0 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 a 9-0 start, the second best in A&M history for a first-year coach behind Tubby Graves 11-0 start in 1915-16.
*A win would extend A&M's home winning streak to nine games, its longest since it won 10 straight at G. Rollie White Coliseum from 1984-86.
*Junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, has posted three double-doubles. He is the only Big 12 player to rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring (4th, 17.1), rebounding (8th, 7.5) and field goal percentage (10th, .559).
*Freshman Joseph Jones has had two double-doubles and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in rebounding (7.8). He's the only Big 12 freshman to average at least 10.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, and also ranks fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.571).
*Sophomore Acie Law is the only Big 12 player to rank in the top five in the league in assists (2nd, 6.0) and assist/turnover artio (5th, 2.67).
*Freshman Dominique Kirk has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games.
*A&M leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (.321) and scoring margin (+29.9) and is fourth in scoring defense (52.1).
*The Aggies rank second nationally in assists (21.5) and are fifth in field goal percentage (.525).
*The Aggies have out-rebounded all eight opponents and rank sixth nationally (first in the Big 12) in rebounding margin (+12.1).
*A&M is forcing an average of 21.8 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12.
*In the last four games, 120 of A&M's 152 field goals have been assisted (79.0 percent). For the season, the Aggies have an assist rate of 72.0 percent.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in seven statistical categories and rank in the top five in all but three.