Aggies Venture on Road to Face Nittany Lions in Final Big 12 Tuneup
Dec 31, 2004 | Men's Basketball
December 31, 2004
The Texas A&M Aggies (10-0, 0-0 in Big 12) take their first road trip of the season when they play the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-6, 0-0 in Big Ten) on Sunday at 1 p.m. (Eastern)/Noon (Central) at the Bryce Jordan Center (15,261 cap.) in University Park, Pa.
The game is the Aggies' final non-conference matchup before starting Big 12 play on Wednesday at No. 2-ranked Kansas. The Aggies opened the season with a record 10 straight home games.
A&M is off to its 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 93-80 win against Houston on Wednesday, while the Nittany Lions are coming off an 80-56 win against Long Island on Wednesday in the consolation game of the Arizona State Classic.
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' 10-game winning streak is ties for the fourth longest in school history and is the best since 1959-60.
A&M won the only other game in the series with a 62-55 victory at the 1972 All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. The last time A&M played a basketball game in Pennsylvania was in 1957-58, when it lost to No. 10-ranked Temple, 60-44, in Philadelphia.
The Nittany Lions are 3-2 at home this season.
GAME #11
Texas A&M AGGIES
(10-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Penn State NITTANY LIONS
(6-6, 0-0 Big Ten)
1 p.m. (Eastern)/Noon (Central)
Sunday, Jan. 2, 2004
Bryce Jordan Center (15,261 cap.)
University Park, Pa.
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Tom Turbiville, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Airtime: 11:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
None
About Penn State
The Nittany Lions return six lettermen and two starters from last year's team that finished 9-19 overall and finished 10th in the Big Ten with a 3-13 record. Penn State is in its second year under head coach Ed DeChellis. The Nittany Lions lost two of its first three games before reeling off four straight wins, including an 83-80 victory at Rutgers. PSU then lost four straight, including a 66-53 loss to Georgetown and an 84-71 loss at home to Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions have four players averaging in double figures, led by junior forward Aaron Johnson's (6'9") 15.6 points and team-best 10.8 rebounds. Junior forward Travis Parker (6'5") adds 12.3 points, sophomore guard Marlon Smith (6'0") contributes 12.2 points and freshman guard Geary Claxton (6'5") averages 10.6 points and ranks second on the team with 6.2 rebounds.
The Series
A&M leads the series, 1-0, posting a 62-55 victory in the second round of the 1972 All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. A&M has played just two basketball games in Pennsylvania, falling to No. 10-ranked Temple (60-44) in Philadelphia in 1957-58 and losing to Duquesne (73-36) in Pittsburgh in 1950-51. A&M has a 7-16 record against Big Ten teams. A&M beat its last Big Ten opponent, downing Purdue (71-64) at the 2001 Las Vegas Classic.
TEXAS A&M vs. Penn State
(A&M leads, 1-0)
Year Winner Site
1972-73 A&M, 62-55 Oklahoma City
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
10-0 at A&M (1st year)
40-32 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Penn State
0-0 vs. Ed DeChellis
PENN STATE
Ed DeChellis (Penn State '82)
15-25 at PSU (2nd year)
120-118 overall (8th year)
0-0 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Sidebars
A&M's lone senior, Bobby Leach, is from Philadelphia, where he was an all-state and all-city pick as a senior at John Bartram High School in 2001...Leach scored an incredible 71 points in one high school game and averaged 23 points as a senior...A&M and Penn State each feature an assistant coach who is a former Division I head coach...A&M assistant coach Alvin Brooks was the head coach at Houston from 1993-98 and PSU assistant Kurt Kanaskie was the head coach at Drake from 1996-03...Billy Gillispie is 34-8 in his last 42 games as a head coach...baseball ties: Junior Luis Clemente is related to former Pittsburgh Pirates great Roberto Clemente (grandfather's cousin), while sophomore Acie Law is related to former Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks (mother's uncle).
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (10-0, 0-0)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 12.5 7.8 1.4 blk
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 4.8 2.8 75% FG
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 17.9 6.8 54% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 9.7 2.6 3.6 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 12.9 3.5 6.3 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 6.6 4.9 70% FG
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 5.4 2.2 3.4 ast
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 4.8 4.2 61% FG
11 Luis Clemente 6'8" Jr. 2.6 2.0 --
2 Marcus McIntosh 6'0" So. 2.6 0.8 --
5 Kenneth White 6'1" Fr. 2.4 0.8 --
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 2.0 0.5 --
24 Stephen Davenport 6'3" Fr. 0.4 0.4 --
3 Brian Blackburn 5'8" So. 0.0 0.0 --
25 Matt Koeneke 6'6" So. 0.0 0.0 --
Gillispie Quoteboard
"We're not ready to go on the road. We wish we could play them all at home. Our guys are totally inexperienced with all the aspects of going on the road. How is getting on a plane going to affect some of them? It has the potential to take away from the focus of what we're going there to try to accomplish. We'll have to see how mature we are and how well we can maintain our focus. Only time will tell. Some people player better on the road than they do at home, but I don't think this team will. Penn State has a very good coach in Ed DeChellis. He does a really good job of coaching, so it will be a difficult challenge for us."
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M PSU
Record 10-0 8-4
Conference 0-0 0-0
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 135 172
Sagarin Rating 46 208
Current Streak W10 L1
Field Goal Pct. .533 .431
Opponent FG Pct. .332 .421
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .381 .320
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .288 .345
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 5.6 6.5
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 14.7 20.1
Free Throw Pct. .639 .690
Opponent FT Pct. .622 .670
Rebound Avg. 42.8 37.5
Offensive Reb. Avg. 13.9 13.5
Rebounding Margin +12.8 +4.4
Turnovers Avg. 17.5 16.2
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 20.5 14.2
Assists Avg. 21.8 13.8
Blocks Avg. 4.2 2.3
Steals Avg. 8.6 6.2
Scoring Avg. 84.6 70.2
Opponent Scoring 56.3 67.2
Scoring Margin +28.3 +3.1
Houston Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Acie Law had 25 points and nine assists and Joseph Jones added 23 points and 10 rebounds as Texas A&M beat Houston 93-80 Wednesday night. A&M is off to a 10-0 start under new coach Billy Gillispie, the Aggies' best start since the 1959-60 team also won its first 10. The Aggies, who also got 19 points from Antoine Wright and 15 from Dominique Kirk, jumped to a 52-40 halftime lead on 59 percent shooting. They shot 50 percent for the game, led by Jones (8-of-10) and Law (6-of-11). But Houston (8-5) kept things fairly close thanks to Lanny Smith, who scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half. Smith hit 4-of-9 3-pointers as the Cougars shot 38 percent from behind the arc. Ramon Dyer and Dwight Jones II added 14 apiece for Houston. But the Cougars hit only 57 percent from the free throw line. A&M outrebounded Houston 47-29, led by Jones and Chris Walker's nine rebounds.
Who's Hot?
*Sophomore Acie Law has scored in double figures in five straight games, including a career-high 25 against Houston on Wednesday. Law has averaged 15.4 points and 6.4 assists in that span, making 62 percent from the field.
*Junior Antoine Wright has scored at least 19 points in four straight games, averaging 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in that span. He's made 81 percent from the free throw line in the last three games (17-of-21).
*Freshman Joseph Jones has scored in double figures in three straight games and had a career-high 23 points with 10 rebounds against Houston, his third double-double of the year. Jones has averaged 19.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in the last three games, making 73 percent from the field (24-of-30).
*Freshman Dominique Kirk scored 15 points against Houston, hix sixth game in double figures this season.
*Junior walk-on Chris Walker posted a career-high nine rebounds against Houston.
*Sophomore Marlon Pompey had a career-best eight rebounds against Houston.
Historic Debut
Billy Gillispie's 10-0 start is the second best by a first-year coach in A&M history. The record start by an A&M coach is 11-0 by Tubby Graves in 1915-16.
A&M's BEST COACHING DEBUTS
Coach Start
1. Tubby Graves (1915-16) 11-0
2. Billy Gillispie (2004-05) 10-0
3. Dana X. Bible (1920-21) 6-0
Quick Start
The Aggies' 10-0 start is their best since 1959-60, when the team started 10-0 and was ranked No. 8, the highest in school history. The last time A&M started 11-0 was in 1919-20, when it went on to finish 19-0. The 10-game winning streak is also A&M's longest since 1959-60. The last time A&M had an 11-game winning streak was in 1921-22.
A&M's BEST SEASON STARTS
Year Start
1. 1919-20 19-0
2. 1915-16 11-0
3. 2004-05 10-0
1918-19 10-0
1959-60 10-0
A&M WINNING STREAKS
Year (s) Wins
1. 1919-20/1920-21 25
2. 1914-15/1915-16 20
3. 1921-22 11
4. 2004-05 10
1918-19 10
1959-60 10
A&M HOME WINNING STREAKS
Year (s) Wins
1. 1959-63 30
2. 1974-77 18
3. 1963-65 17
4. 1978-81 16
5. 1919-21 15
6. 1972-74 13
7. 2004-05 10
1984-86 10
1964-66 10
Thanks, Brian
Senior walk-on Brian Gahan, who joined the team prior to the season and has been a valuable spark off the bench, has graduated and left the team. He will be married on Jan. 15 and plans to honeymoon in Mexico. Gahan (McKinney, Texas) played in seven games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds with a pair of treys.
Basketball Jones
Freshman Joseph Jones has had an impressive start to his college career. Jones leads the Aggies in rebounding (7.8), ranking fifth in the Big 12, and is third in scoring (12.5). He had an impressive college debut against North Carolina A&T, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds, only the second time in A&M history that a freshman posted a double-double in his first game. The other was Winston Crite, who had a 24-point, 15-rebound performance against Texas Lutheran in 1983-84. Jones has scored in double figures in eight games and added his third double-double against Houston, scoring a career-high 23 points with 10 rebounds. He also had a double-double against UT-Permian Basin, scoring 12 points with 13 rebounds. Jones is the only freshman in the Big 12 to average at least 10.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. He played a season-low 12 minutes against Louisiana-Monroe because an injury, scoring just two points with one rebound, but in the three games since has averaged 19.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and made 73.3 percent from the field (22-of-30).
Law Breaker
Sophomore Acie Law ranks second in the Big 12 in assists with 6.3 per game (21st nationally) and is second on the team in scoring (12.9). Law is ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.42). Law scored a career-high 25 points in the win against Houston while adding nine assists and making 12-of-12 free throws, the best by an A&M player since 1987. Law scored 18 points with a career-high 11 assists against UTPB, his first career double-double. He has scored in double figures in eight games, including five straight. In the last five games, he's averaged 15.4 points and 6.4 assists while making 62 percent from the field. Law is related to former Chicago Cubs' great Ernie Banks, who is his mother's uncle.
The Wright Stuff
Junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick by the league's coaches and media, is off to a spectacular start. He leads the team in scoring with a 17.9 average, ranking second in the Big 12. He's the team's second-leading rebounder at 6.8, and ranks fifth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 53.8 percent. Wright is one of only three players in the league to rank in the top 15 in all three categories. Wright has had three double-doubles, fourth most in the Big 12, and missed two more by just a single rebound. Wright scored 21 points with nine rebounds against Trinity and followed with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort against UT-Permian Basin. He then added another double-double with identical numbers against Oakland. After an eight-point outing against Alabama A&M, he has scored at least 19 points in four straight games, including a season-high 23 points against Grambling. In the last four games, he's averaged 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and made 51.7 percent from the field. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. Wright also has come up big defensively. In last season's loss to Houston, Wright allowed the Cougars' Andre Owens to score 41 points -- the most against the Aggies since 1977. This year, Wright held Owens to just four points in an impressive 93-80 victory. After earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors and being named third-team All-Big 12 in 2002-03, Wright was named honorable mention All-Big 12 last season. If he were named All-Big 12 this year, he would become only the 10th player in school history to earn an all-conference designation three times. Wright is on pace to become only the third A&M player to earn all-conference honors four times, joining Bernard King (1999-03) and Vernon Smith (1977-81), who are the top two scorers in school history. Wright needs 36 points to become the 26th A&M player to reach 1,000 in his career. In addition to his obvious statistical improvements, Wright has been taking the ball to the basket more aggressively this season, reflected in part by his team-high 11 dunks. Wright had 11 career dunks in 56 games entering the season.
THE WRIGHT WAY
STAT 2003-04 2004-05
PPG 13.5 17.9
RPG 4.1 6.8
Steals 0.9 1.2
Assists 2.3 2.3
Blocks 0.3 0.7
FG Pct. .368 .538
3-Pt. FG Pct. .297 .405
FT Pct. .626 .739
Dunks 5 11
Pompey Pays
Sophomore Marlon Pompey played sparingly last year as a freshman because of a nagging leg injury, but he still managed to make 9-of-11 (.818) shots from the field. Against North Carolina A&T in the opener, he scored a career-high 12 points with five boards while making 6-of-6 from the field. He scored six points and posted a career-high eight rebounds in the win against Houston. Pompey has scored at least five points in all but three games this season and ranks fourth on the team in rebounds (4.2) and is second in blocks (0.8).
Record Crowds
The crowd of 11,200 that attended the Houston game on Dec. 29 was the fourth largest in school history and the largest for a non-conference opponent. It also was a school record for a game played during the Christmas break. The last time A&M had a bigger crowd was when a record 12,633 attended the Texas game in 2003. The North Carolina A&T game attracted an attendance of 6,929, the best for a home opener in school history. The previous best was 6,511 against North Texas in the first game played at Reed Arena in 1998-99. The crowd also was the third best for a non-conference home game in school annals behind the record of 7,192 against LSU in 1981-82 (G. Rollie White Coliseum) and 7,075 against Long Beach State in 2001-02 (Reed Arena). A&M averaged 5,338 for the 10 non-conference home games, a school record for non-conference attendance. Last year under Billy Gillispie, UTEP enjoyed the largest attendance increase in college basketball, averaging 10,282 per game. The fans didn't wait until the team started winning big, either. Coming off a 6-24 season, the Miners attracted at least 7,000 for each of their first four home games, despite playing lesser-known opponents. After a 5-1 start, UTEP sold out (12,000) its Dec. 17 game against New Mexico State and went on to seven more sellouts, including four straight to end the season.
Stout Defense
A&M leads the nation in scoring margin (+28.3) and field goal percentage defense (.332), while ranking ninth in scoring defense (56.3). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in the first two categories and rank second in the third. A&M ranks third in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.288) and has forced a conference-best 20.5 turnovers per game. UTPB scored just 36 points, the fewest by an opponent since the Aggies beat Texas, 73-29, in 1958-59. UTPB also made just 20.8 percent from the field, the lowest by an opponent in A&M history. Prairie View scored just 15 second-half points, making just 4-of-26 (.154) from the field as A&M broke away from a six-point halftime lead to a 42-point win, allowing just 40 points. The Aggies matched their season-best by allowing 36 points against Louisiana-Monroe, the third lowest total in that school's history. Last season, A&M held just six opponents to under 40 percent field goal accuracy in 28 games. This year, eight of 10 opponents have shot under 40 percent.
Taking the Lead
A&M has trailed by no more than seven points in any game this season (17-10 to Chicago State). The Aggies have faced just one second-half deficit, briefly trailing Alabama A&M, 47-46, at the 14:04 mark. A&M has led wire-to-wire in five games, including the last two. The Aggies have not trailed in the last 100:05 of play since Brian Gahan's three-pointer with five seconds left in the first half against Chicago State handed them a 33-32 lead. The Aggies have led at halftime in every game this season. Of 20 halves played, the Aggies have been out-scored just once. Alabama A&M out-scored A&M, 33-30, in the second half.
Getting Offensive
The Aggies rank second nationally in field goal percentage (.533), best in the Big 12. A&M ranks ninth nationally (second in the Big 12) in scoring (84.6). Last year, A&M shot better than 50 percent from the field just three times. This season, A&M has shot better than 50 percent in eight of 10 games. A&M has scored 80 or more points in seven games, including four games with more than 90. The Aggies have averaged 93.3 points in the last three games. Last season, Billy Gillispie's UTEP team scored at least 80 points in 15 of its 32 games. A&M scored 80 or more points in just eight games in each of the previous two years. The Miners ranked among the national leaders in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. Meanwhile, A&M ranked last in the Big 12 in field goal percentage and three-point percentage and was near the bottom in scoring offense and scoring margin.
Unselfish Aggies
The Aggies lead the nation in assists with an average of 21.8 per game. In the last seven games, 166 of A&M's 214 field goals have been assisted (.776). For the season, 218 of the Aggies' 301 field goals (.724) have been assisted, the best rate in the Big 12.
Breaking Away
Despite having a relatively small team, the Aggies have dominated inside, averaging 43.6 points in the paint after averaging 25.6 last season. A&M also has done a good job converting turnovers, averaging 25.5 points off turnovers after averaging just 15.3 last year. And after averaging just 7.8 fast break points a year ago, the Aggies are averaging 19.2 this season.
Turnovers Down
Despite forcing a league-best 20.5 turnovers per game, the Aggies are committing an average of 17.5 turnovers of their own, most in the Big 12. However, the Aggies had a season-low nine turnovers against Chicago State and have averaged just 15.3 turnovers in the last three games. A&M ranks fifth in the league in turnover margin (+3.0) and is fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.2).
A Foul Figure
The Aggies average 22.4 personal fouls per game to rank 311th nationally. The Aggies have committed at least 19 personal fouls in all 10 games. That number has been off-set by A&M's opponents averaging 22.9 fouls per contest. Consequently, the Aggies are averaging a whopping 29.4 free throw attempts per game, 6.9 more than their opponents.
Captain Kirk
After scoring just three points in the opener, freshman Dominique Kirk has scored in double figures in six games. For the season, Kirk is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.7 per game and is second with 12 three-point field goals, making 40.0 percent. Against Alabama A&M, Kirk scored a career-high 18 points and also posted personal bests in rebounds (7) and steals (4). Kirk handed out a career-high 8 assists against Chicago State, and added 15 points in the win against Houston. Kirk and Joseph Jones -- both true freshmen -- are the only Aggies to start in every game.
Steady Leach
The Aggies' only scholarship senior, Bobby Leach (a Philadelphia native) leads the team in three-point percentage, making 7-of-14 (.500). He made just 5-of-16 (.313) all of last season. Leach is third on the team in assists with 3.4 per game and leads the team in steals (1.6), ranking 15th in the Big 12. He ranks fourth in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (2.62), handing out 34 assists with only 13 turnovers.
Board Stiff
The Aggies have out-rebounded all 10 opponents this season and rank among the top five nationally (first in the Big 12) in rebounding margin at a whopping +12.8 per game. The Aggies have had a double-figure rebounding margin in six games.
Green Machine
Junior Edjuan Green scored a career-high 17 points with nine rebounds against Prairie View A&M, and scored 14 points and added a career-high 11 rebounds against Grambling for his first career double-double. He ranks fifth on the team in scoring (6.6) and is third in rebounding (4.9) while making 69.7 percent (23-of-33) from the field. As a senior at Spring High School in 2002, Green ranked second in rebounding in the Greater Houston area, just behind Emeka Okafor and just ahead of Lawrence Roberts. Green ranked second nationally in rebounding in the JUCO ranks last season at Temple College, averaging 14.2 per game.
Walker, Texas Ranger
Junior Chris Walker, a walk-on from Dallas, has played in all 10 games and started in the last five. After going scoreless in the first two games, Walker has averaged 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the last eight games while making 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the field and nailing his only three-point attempt. He scored 12 points against UTPB and added nine points and a team-high four assists against Alabama A&M. He posted a career-high nine rebounds against Houston. Prior to this season, Walker had not played organized basketball since 2001-02, when he earned freshman All-America honors at UT-Dallas, an NCAA Div. III school. Walker transferred to A&M for academic reasons. His high school coach, Darryn Shearmire, is an old friend of Billy Gillispie's and contacted the new coach about Walker during the summer.
On the Line
A&M made 76.0 percent from the free throw line in the first three games, but made just 56.0 percent (94-of-168) in the next six games. The Aggies made 72.3 percent against Houston, making 34-of-47, the fourth most makes and attempts in school history. A&M ranks 10th in the Big 12 in free throw shooting (.639), which is off-set somewhat by the Aggies averaging a league-best 29.4 attempts per game.
Marginal, at Best
The Aggies' 62-point margin of victory against UTPB (98-36) was the largest in school history. The 42-point margin against Prairie View was the 10th largest in school annals. The 33-point margin of victory against North Carolina A&T was the best by the Aggies in a season opener since 1981-82, when A&M beat St. Edwards, 104-57.
On the Block
The Aggies had 10 blocked shots against Grambling, tying for the third most in school history. Earlier this season, A&M posted nine blocks against UTPB. The last time A&M had at least nine in a game was in 1997-98, when it had a school-record 11 against Maryland-Eastern Shore in 1997-98.
Lone Star Roster
When he began looking for a head basketball coach last March, Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne said he wanted someone with Texas ties to help the Aggies attract some of the state's homegrown talent. Last year, only four players on the roster were from Texas, including a pair of non-scholarship players. This season, 13 of the 18 players on Billy Gillispie's roster are products of Texas High Schools, the most in school history. Only twice in the previous 26 seasons has A&M had as many as 11 Texas players - in 1996-97 under Tony Barone, and in 1978-79 under Shelby Metcalf.
More Texas Ties
Billy Gillipsie is the first native Texan (Graford) to serve as A&M's head basketball coach since J.B. Reid (1929-35), not including John Thornton (San Antonio), who was interim head coach for just 12 games in 1989-90. Reid was from Woodville. In addition, Gillispie hired two Texas natives as assistant coaches - Alvin Brooks (Houston) and Buzz Williams (Van Alystyne). The last Texan to be an assistant at A&M was Thornton (1981-90). The last time A&M has two full-time assistant coaches from Texas was in 1981-82, when Thornton joined Barry Davis (Galveston) on Shelby Metcalf's staff. Thornton is now the senior associate athletic director at A&M.
What Positions?
Billy Gillispie has chosen not to list player positions on the roster. "Our players play so many positions that it's really not accurate to designate someone as a guard or forward anymore, so we decided not to do it," Gillispie said.
Travel Light
The Aggies will play a school-record 18 home games this season, including a record 10 straight to open the season. The previous record was 15 home games at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 1991-92.
