Hard-Luck Aggies Battle No. 11 Longhorns in Austin
Feb 17, 2004 | Men's Basketball
February 17, 2004
GAME #22
Texas A&M Aggies
(7-14, 0-10 Big 12)
vs.
#11 Texas Longhorns
(17-4, 8-2 Big 12)
8 p.m. (CST)
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004
Erwin Center (16,469 cap.)
Austin, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 7:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
Fox Sports Southwest (Texas only)
Greg Lucas, play-by-play
Reid Gettys, commentary
Still looking for their first Big 12 win of the season, the Texas A&M Aggies
(7-14, 0-10 in Big 12) will battle the No. 11-ranked (AP, #12 by ESPN/USA
Today) Texas Longhorns (17-4, 8-2 in Big 12) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (CST) at
the Erwin Center (16,469 cap.) in Austin. The game will be televised
regionally by Fox Sports Southwest. The Aggies have had second-half leads in
seven of their 10 conference games and are coming off a disappointing 78-72
loss to Oklahoma at home on Saturday. Texas is coming off a 78-77 loss at
Iowa State on Saturday, which ended a five-game winning streak. The Aggies
are 2-7 in road games this season, while the Longhorns are 12-1 at home.
Quick Notes
*Senior center Andy Slocum has had eight double-doubles, tied for most in
the Big 12, and leads the league in rebounding in conference play (11.0).
For the season, Slocum's 9.8 average ranks second in the Big 12 and 20th
nationally.
*Senior forward Jesse King leads the team in scoring for the season (13.1)
and in conference play (13.1).
*Leandro Garcia-Morales has averaged 9.9 points and made 48 percent from the
field and 42 percent from three-point range in the last 12 games. He has
scored in double figures in eight of 10 Big 12 games.
*The Aggies rank third nationally in offensive rebounding (16.6), second
most in the Big 12. In league play, A&M leads the conference in offensive
boards (17.6). This prowess had led A&M to get an average of 6.6 more shots
per game than its opponents (8.7 in Big 12 play).
*The Aggies have posted a rebounding margin of +10.3 in the last 12 games.
The Aggies have outrebounded 18 of 21 opponents, including 13 straight, and
have outrebounded their opponents on the offensive boards in all but one
game.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in rebounding in conference play (+8.1), almost double
the margin of the No. 2-ranked team. A&M's season margin of +6.5 ranks
second in the Big 12 and 18th nationally.
*The Aggies rank third in the Big 12 in assists in league play (15.0), but
rank 12th in turnover margin (-3.9).
*A&M is 1-11 when it commits 15 or more turnovers and it is 2-11 when it
allows 14 or more points off turnovers.
*A&M is the only team in the Big 12 to have all of its conference games to
this point decided by 12 points or fewer. The Aggies have led in the second
half in seven league games and have been within four points in the final two
minutes of seven games.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (76.9) and in three-point
percentage defense (.399) and is 11th in field goal percentage defense
(.472).
About the Longhorns
The Longhorns return four starters and six lettermen from last year's team,
which finished 26-7 overall and placed second in the Big 12 with a 13-3
mark. Texas advanced to the NCAA Final Four, where they were eliminated by
eventual national champion Syracuse, 95-84. The Longhorns are in their sixth
season under head coach Rick Barnes. Three of Texas' losses have come at the
hands of top 25-ranked teams as it fell to No. 9 Arizona (91-83), No. 3 Duke
(89-61) and No. 24 Oklahoma State (72-67). The Longhorns also have beaten
four nationally-ranked teams in No. 25 Providence (79-77 in overtime), No. 4
Wake Forest (94-81), No. 13 Texas Tech (62-61 in overtime) and No. 22
Oklahoma (66-37). Texas is led by senior guard Brandon Mouton (6'4"), who is
averaging 12.4 points, while freshman forward P.J. Tucker (6'5") is adding
11.4 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds. Senior guard Royal Ivey (6'3") is
averaging 9.9 points and senior forward Brian Boddicker comes off the bench
to contribute 9.8 points per game. Texas leads the Big 12 in scoring (81.9)
and also leads the league in rebound margin (+9.5), offensive rebounds
(17.9) and three-point field goals per game (7.6).
SERIES:
Texas leads the series, 124-79, with a 70-26 lead in games played in Austin
and a 19-8 record at the Erwin Center. Texas has won four straight in the
series since an 80-74 A&M win in Austin two years ago. The Longhorns won
last year in Austin, 89-61. Texas won earlier this season in College
Station, 69-59. The last two games have been decided by 10 points or fewer.
Wednesday's game will be the 204th meeting between the schools, making the
Longhorns A&M's most frequent opponent.
TEXAS A&M vs. Texas
(UT leads, 124-79)
Last 10 Games
Year Winner Site
1998-99 UT, 63-54 College Station
1999-00 UT, 78-51 College Station
UT, 85-58 Austin
2000-01 UT, 76-58 College Station
UT, 81-61 Austin
2001-02 A&M, 80-74 Austin
UT, 66-52 College Station
2002-03 UT, 89-61 Austin
UT, 95-87 College Station
2003-04 UT, 69-59 College Station
COACHES:
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte OE77)
60-105 at A&M (6th year)
102-125 overall (8th year)
1-10 vs. Texas
1-10 vs. Rick Barnes
Texas
Rick Barnes (Lenoir Rhyne OE77)
133-54 at Texas (6th year)
335-188 overall (17th year)
12-1 vs. Texas A&M
10-1 vs. Melvin Watkins
SIDEBARS
Texas Associate Head Coach Frank Haith served as associate head coach under
Tony Barone at A&M in 1996-97 and was an assistant at A&M under Barone from
1992-95...A&M sophomore forward Luis Clemente and Texas sophomore guard
Kenton Paulino were teammates at Maine Central Institute in 2001-02...A&M's
Leandro Garcia-Morales and Texas' Brandon Mouton squared off at last
summer's Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic...Mouton's U.S. team
edged Garcia-Morales's Uruguay squad, 74-72...Rick Barnes twice coached
Clemson to wins against the Aggies, including a 66-41 win at Clemson in
1994-95 and a hard-fought 76-64 victory for the No. 8-ranked Tigers at G.
Rollie White Coliseum in 1996-97...the last time A&M beat a ranked team on
the road was two years ago when the Aggies beat the No. 24 Longhorns,
80-74...before that, the last ranked team A&M had beaten on the road was the
No. 5 Longhorns, 71-69 (OT), in 1981-82.
TENTATIVE STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (7-14, 0-10)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 9.1 9.8
3 Jesse King F 6-7 Sr. 13.1 5.7
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 13.0 4.1
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 7.7 2.6
1 Acie Law G 6-3 Fr. 7.4 4.1a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 6.8 1.6
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 6.2 4.3
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.4 1.3
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 3.7 3.4a
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 3.2 1.9
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 2.9 2.1
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.9 1.0
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 0.8 0.2
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.5 0.3
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"The kids are still playing hard, and that is obviously something positive.
We had the lead going into the stretch against Oklahoma, but our decisions
on a couple of plays in those closing minutes hurt us. We only have six
conference games left, but we want to get on a roll and win all six. That
is the way we look at it < that="" we="" can="" beat="" any="" team="" in="" this="" conference.="">
feel like we can win each time we step on the floor. We are right there and
I don't know if we can do much more in terms of coaching and teaching.
Sometimes it just has to happen for you. We have definitely been the most
competitive since I have been here. Finding the way to win is obviously the
most important goal and sometime that is something you just have to grow
into. Even in the games we have been down some, it has been more what we
didn't do as opposed to the other team being able to dominate us. Since I
have been here, we have had games that we were just over matched and were
not competitive. That is not the case this season."
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M UT
Record 7-14 15-5
Conference 0-10 5-4
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 229 14
Streak L10 W1
Field Goal Pct. .425 .448
Opponent FG Pct. .472 .396
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .337 .381
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .399 .311
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.5 7.6
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.4 19.9
Free Throw Pct. .692 .684
Opponent FT Pct. .699 .734
Rebound Avg. 40.1 43.6
Offensive Reb. Avg. 16.6 17.9
Rebounding Margin +6.5 +9.6
Turnovers Avg. 14.8 12.3
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 13.7 15.7
Assists Avg. 16.6 14.3
Blocks Avg. 1.6 4.0
Steals Avg. 6.2 7.8
Scoring Avg. 76.0 81.9
Opponent Scoring 76.9 67.2
Scoring Margin -0.9 +14.7
Oklahoma Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- 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 Saturday. With 1:50 remaining in the game and the Sooners
trailing by three, 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, who drained
a 3-pointer to give Oklahoma a 72-70 lead. Oklahoma has won six of its last
seven games, following its four game losing streak in early January. 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. A&M
took a 70-67 lead on a short jumper by Turner and after a defensive stop had
a chance to extend the lead with less than two minutes left. But OU's
Johnny Gilbert blocked Law's driving layup attempt and Lavender scored on
the other end and was fouled. He missed the free shot, but the Sooners got
the ball back and Lavender regained the lead for good with the
three-pointer. The Sooners were out-rebounded 40-27, but in the final two
minutes the Sooners controlled the boards with a 7-1 advantage.
Last Month vs. Texas at Reed Arena
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Texas didn't allow a field goal in the final 12:41
and beat Texas A&M on the road for the 10th straight time, 69-59. The
16th-ranked Longhorns shot just 28.2 percent from the floor in the first
half, but were able to overcome it thanks to their late defensive
performance. Brian Boddicker and Kenton Paulino led Texas with 11 points
each. Nick Anderson had 14 points and six rebounds for A&M. Andy Slocum led
all players with a career-high 18 rebounds. Marcus Watkins hit a jumper with
12:41 left to give the Aggies a 46-43 lead. Texas then went on a 16-0 run to
take a 59-43 lead with 8:11 to play. Texas hit 48.1 percent of its field
goals in the second half, while A&M managed just 29.2 percent after missing
its last 13 shots. A&M had a 47-45 rebounding edge. Texas entered the game
ranked second nationally in rebounding margin. A&M made just 6-of-21
three-pointers. The Longhorns also forced 17 turnovers, while committing
only six. Texas outscored A&M on points off turnovers, 22-5.
Last Year vs. Texas in Austin
AUSTIN (AP, Jan. 18, 2003) -- T.J. Ford scored a career-high 25 points to
lead No. 4-ranked Texas to an 89-61 win over Texas A&M. The Longhorns broke
a 2-point game open early with a 16-1 run inside a 3-minute span of the
first half. Ford scored seven consecutive points, followed by a Brandon
Mouton jumper, to put Texas up by 17 with six minutes to go before halftime.
A&M, which committed 15 first-half turnovers, shot just 35 percent in half
but took a bit of momentum into the locker room when Bernard King sank a
half-court shot at the buzzer to make the score 43-28. King scored the
Aggies' first seven points in the second half to cut the UT lead to nine
with 17 minutes to go. Texas responded with a 15-4 run capped by a Royal
Ivey layup to go up 59-39 with 11:20 left. The Longhorns led by as much as
32 on the night. A&M was paced by King's 16 points while Antoine Wright
added 11 points and 6 boards. Jason Klotz was the only other Longhorn in
double figures with a career-best 15 points. James Thomas tied a season high
with 16 rebounds while scoring 9 points, while Brad Buckman scored 8 points
and grabbed 12 boards. A&M shot a season-low 30.2 percent on the night and
was outscored in the paint 34 to 16.
