January 28, 2005
The Texas A&M Aggies (13-4, 2-4 in Big 12) are looking for a school-record 13th home victory when they play the Baylor Bears (9-7, 1-4 in Big 12) on Saturday at 5:06 p.m. (Central) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station.
A&M is 12-1 at home this season, tying for its most home victories. The 1975-76 and 1979-80 teams each finished 12-0 at home.
The game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Southwest.
The Aggies are coming off a 77-67 loss at Nebraska on Wednesday, while the Bears have lost two straight and are coming off an 86-66 loss to Kansas at home on Tuesday. Baylor is 1-3 in road games.
A&M leads the series, 118-71, with a 69-27 edge in games played in College Station and a 4-2 mark at Reed Arena. The Bears have won four of the last five meetings and swept both games last season with a 72-64 win in Waco and a 67-61 overtime victory in College Station.
Game#18
Texas A&M AGGIES
(13-4 2-4 Big 12)
vs.
Baylor BEARS
(9-7, 1-4 Big 12)
5:06 p.m. (Central)
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 4:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
SIRIUS SATELLITE: Ch. 133 (A&M feed)
TELEVISION:
Fox Sports Net Southwest
Greg Lucas, play-by-play
Jim Haller, commentary
Kurt Diechert, producer
About Baylor
The Bears return three lettermen and one starter from last year's team that finished 8-21 overall and placed 11th in the Big 12 with a 3-13 record. Baylor is in its third year under head coach Scott Drew. The Bears' non-conference schedule was highlighted by a 73-72 win at Purdue. Their Big 12 win came against Colorado by a score of 67-59 on Jan. 19 in Waco. Baylor's conference losses have been at home to Oklahoma (65-61) and Kansas (86-66) and on the road at Oklahoma State (82-53). Baylor has four players averaging in double figures, led by freshman guard Aaron Bruce (6'3"), who is averaging 16.6 points, the most among Big 12 freshmen. Bruce leads the Big 12 in free throw accuracy at 88.9 percent. Sophomore forward Tim Bush (6'6") averages 15.1 points and 5.5 rebounds, while junior center Tommy Swanson (6'10") adds 13.7 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds. Bush ranks second in the league in free throw percentage (.860). Sophomore forward Patrick Fields (6'5") contributes 11.0 points per contest. Baylor ranks third in the Big 12 in free throw accuracy at 70.4 percent and ranks second in steals with an average of 8.9 per game.
Quick Notes
*Junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, has posted four double-doubles. He ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring (17.3) and is second in three-point percentage (.438)
*Freshman Joseph Jones has had five double-doubles, most by a league freshman, and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in rebounding (7.1). He's the only Big 12 freshman to average at least 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.
*Sophomore Acie Law ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (4.9) and has averaged 16.5 points in the last two games.
*Senior Bobby Leach ranks second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio for the season (2.90) and in conference play (3.33).
*A&M ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring defense (59.9) and in field goal percentage defense (.370), ranking among the national leaders in both categories.
*The Aggies are second in the Big 12 and 11th nationally in assists (17.5). A&M is second in the league in field goal percentage (.491). A&M has the best assist ratio in the Big 12 with 65.9 percent of its field goals being assisted.
*The Aggies have out-rebounded 13 of 17 opponents and rank second in the Big 12 in rebounding margin (+7.2).
*A&M is averaging just 13.2 turnovers in the last seven games.
*A&M is on pace to break its season attendance record for the season and in conference play. The Aggies already have set marks for single game (12,811 vs. Texas), non-conference game (11,200 vs. Houston) and opening night (6,929 vs. North Carolina A&T). The Aggies set a record for non-conference average attendance with 5,338.
*A&M is the only Big 12 team to start two freshmen in every game this season (Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk).
Who's Hot?
*Junior Antoine Wright has averaged 18.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in the last four games, including a season-high 24 points against Oklahoma. Wright made 4-of-5 three-pointers against Nebraska. His 1,079 career points rank 23rd in A&M history.
*Sophomore Acie Law has averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in the last two games while making 11-of-18 (.611) from the field, 5-of-9 (.556) from three-point range and 6-of-7 (.857) from the free throw line.
*Senior Bobby Leach has averaged 9.4 points and 3.4 assists while making 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range in the last five games. He has scored at least nine points in five straight games.
The Series
A&M leads the series, 118-71, including a 69-27 edge in games played in College Station and a 4-2 mark at Reed Arena. Baylor has won four of the last five games, including a sweep of last year's games. The Bears posted a 67-61 overtime win in College Station and a 72-64 victory in Waco. The teams are meeting for the 190th time, making Baylor A&M's second most common opponent behind Texas (205 games).
TEXAS A&M vs. Baylor
(A&M leads, 118-71)
Last 10 Games
Year Winner Site
1999-00 Baylor, 81-75 College Station
Baylor, 63-54 Waco
2000-01 A&M, 73-69 College Station
Baylor, 85-59 Waco
2001-02 A&M, 63-60 College Station
Baylor, 97-45 Waco
2002-03 Baylor, 69-77 Waco
A&M, 79-60 College Station
2003-04 Baylor 72-64 Waco
Baylor, 67-61 (OT) College Station
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
13-4 at A&M (1st year)
43-36 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Baylor
0-0 vs. Scott Drew
BAYLOR
Scott Drew (Butler '93)
17-28 at BU (2nd year)
37-39 overall (3rd year)
2-0 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Sidebars
A&M head coach Billy Gillispie served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Baylor under Harry Miller from 1994-97...Gillispie helped land the Bears' 1996 recruiting class, which was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally...A&M sophomore Marlon Pompey played at Houston's Heritage Christian Academy in 2001-02 under Jerome Tang, now an assistant at Baylor...Baylor's NCAA Faculty Representative, Michael Rogers, is the son of Bob Rogers, who served as A&M's head coach from 1957-63.
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (13-4, 2-4)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 11.6 7.1 1.3 blk
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 4.1 2.9 57% FG
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 17.3 5.9 49% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 8.2 2.4 2.6 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 13.4 4.2 4.9 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 6.1 2.3 3.4 ast
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 4.6 3.9 56% FG
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 4.2 3.6 0.7 blk
2 Marcus McIntosh 6'0" So. 2.6 0.8 --
11 Luis Clemente 6'8" Jr. 2.1 1.6 --
5 Kenneth White 6'1" Fr. 1.9 0.8 --
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 1.5 0.4 --
3 Brian Blackburn 5'8" So. 0.0 0.0 --
25 Matt Koeneke 6'6" So. 0.0 0.0 --
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M BU
Record 13-4 9-7
Conference 2-4 1-4
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 87 236
Sagarin Rating 40 195
Current Streak L1 L2
Field Goal Pct. .491 .452
Opponent FG Pct. .370 .450
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .389 .365
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .300 .343
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.0 7.3
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 15.4 19.9
Free Throw Pct. .650 .704
Opponent FT Pct. .662 .741
Rebound Avg. 38.5 30.6
Offensive Reb. Avg. 12.6 11.3
Rebounding Margin +7.2 -2.6
Turnovers Avg. 15.7 15.5
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 17.2 17.9
Assists Avg. 17.5 13.6
Blocks Avg. 3.6 2.3
Steals Avg. 7.2 8.9
Scoring Avg. 75.5 69.8
Opponent Scoring 59.9 66.8
Scoring Margin +15.6 +3.0
Nebraska Recap
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)- Jake Muhleisen scored a season high 25 points and Nebraska outscored Texas A&M by 18 from the free throw line, as the Huskers beat Texas A&M 77-67 on Wednesday. Nebraska entered the game ranked 308th out of 326 NCAA Division I teams in free throw percentage, hitting just 61.5 percent of its free throws. But the Huskers shot 10 percent better than their season average Wednesday, with A&M amassing 34 fouls. That put Nebraska at the free throw line 45 times and the Huskers made 32. Muhleisen made 10 of 11 free throws and hit six of his seven shots from the field. The Huskers, who never trailed in the game, made 10 of their first 11 tries on the way to opening up a 28-17 lead with 5:35 remaining in the first half. Texas A&M cut the Nebraska lead to five late in the first half. But Mulheisen's drove a left-handed, reverse layup at the buzzer to put the Huskers up by seven at intermission. The Aggies were able to cut the lead to single digits several times, coming to within seven on Antoine Wright's 3-point shot with 12:01 left. But Texas A&M never got closer than eight down the stretch. Wes Wilkinson added 12 points for Nebraska, hitting six of seven free throws. Wright led the Aggies with 17 points. Acie Law added 16 for Texas A&M.
Last Year in College Station
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Feb. 25, 2004) -- Matt Sayman scored six of his 15 points in overtime to lead Baylor to a 67-61 victory over Texas A&M. A&M led 57-55 when Antoine Wright was fouled with 23 seconds remaining in regulation. Wright missed the front end of a one-and-one. Terrance Thomas threw up a wild shot in traffic for the Bears that bounced off both sides of the rim before dropping in. He also drew a foul, but missed the free throw. Wrght was fouled again for A&M with three seconds remaining but missed both free throws this time, sending the game into overtime. Baylor controlled overtime, going on a 10-2 run to start the extra period and holding the Aggies to just four points. Harvey Thomas led the Bears with 17 points and Thomas scored 12. Wright led Texas A&M with 18 points. A&M led by as many as eight points twice in the second half, but turnovers and poor defense allowed Baylor back into it each time.
Last Year in Waco
WACO (AP, Feb. 7, 2004) -- Harvey Thomas scored 20 points and blocked six shots and Matt Sayman had 20 points and five assists as Baylor beat Texas A&M, 72-64. Baylor led by as many as 15 before A&M pulled to within 60-56 on Jesse King's 3-pointer with 2:12 left. But A&M then committed its 22nd and 23rd turnovers and Baylor hit 12 of 16 free throws in the final two minutes. Baylor also got 14 points from Carl Marshall. R.T. Guinn's five points were the Bears' only points off the bench. He was 0-for-3 from the field but 5-of-6 from the foul line. Kevin Turner led the Aggies with 14 points and Nick Anderson added 11. Baylor held A&M's leading scorer, Antoine Wright who had been averaging 14 points per game, to only five points. Baylor led 30-26 at halftime but opened the second half on a 13-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Marshall. The Bears built a 56-41 lead with a little over six minutes left when A&M began its late run. Baylor has beaten Texas A&M five straight in Waco. A&M outrebounded Baylor 43-22.
Historic Start
Billy Gillispie's 13-4 start is the best by a first-year coach in A&M history. The previous record was 12-5 by A&M's first coach, F.D. Steger, in 1912-15. Gillispie already has posted the fourth most wins by a first-year Aggie coach and is chasing the record of 18 (18-7) by Shelby Metcalf in 1963-64. The Aggies' 11-0 start was the third best in A&M history and was was the best since the 1919-20 team went undefeated (19-0). The 1915-16 team also started 11-0. A&M's 13-4 record is its best after 17 games since the 1978-79 team also started 14-3. A&M began the season with an 11-game winning streak, the third longest in school history and the longest since A&M won a record 25 straight over two seasons from 1919-21. After beat No. 9-ranked Texas on Jan. 12, the Aggies received 37 votes in the next AP poll (28th), its most in more than 20 years.
MOST WINS BY A
FIRST-YEAR A&M COACH
Coach (Year) Record
1. Shelby Metcalf (1963-64) 18-7
2. John Floyd (1950-51) 17-12
3. D.X. Bible (1920-21) 16-6
4. Billy Gillispie (2004-05) 13-4
Basketball Jones
Freshman Joseph Jones has had an impressive start to his college career. Jones leads the Aggies in rebounding (7.1), ranking fourth in the Big 12, and is third in scoring (11.6). Jones has had five double-doubles, including two in Big 12 play, most by a Big 12 freshman this season. He leads all league freshmen in rebounding. Jones also leads the Aggies in three-point plays with eight. He scored 13 points with 10 boards in the Aggies upset of No. 9-ranked Texas and followed with 13 points and 11 boards at Texas Tech. After Jones scored a game-high 16 points against Kansas, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said, "Joseph Jones was the best player in the game tonight." Jones also had seven rebounds against KU, including five offensive boards, and had a trio of three-point plays. 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 11 games and added another 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 Big 12 freshman to average at least 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Law and Order
Sophomore Acie Law ranks third in the Big 12 in assists with 4.9 per game and is second on the team in scoring (13.4). Law also ranks sixth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at .534, second best by a guard.Law scored 24 points with six assists in the upset of No. 9 Texas, making 10-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 three-pointers, and scored 17 in the victory over Kansas State, making 3-of-4 three-pointers. He scored a career-high 25 points in the win against Houston while adding nine assists and making 12-of-12 free throws, the best free throw performance by an A&M player since 1987. He added 19 points (with a career-high eight rebounds) against Penn State, making the winning free throws with 11 seconds left. He scored 18 points with a career-high 11 assists against UTPB, his first career double-double. He has scored in double figures in 12 games. In the last two games, while nursing a sore ankle, Law has averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while making 61.1 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent from the free throw line.
The Wright Stuff
Junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick by the league's coaches and media, is having an all-conference season. He leads the team in scoring with an 17.3 average, ranking third in the Big 12. Wright earned Midseason First-Team All-Big 12 honors by the Rocky Mountain News in early January. He's the only Big 12 player to rank among the league's top 17 in scoring, rebounding (17th, 5.9, field goal percentage (9th, .486), three-point percentage (2nd, .438) and three-point field goals (6th, 2.06). Wright has had four double-doubles and missed two more by just a single rebound. After being held to one point in the first half at Kansas, Wright helped the Aggies pull off a near-upset with 13 second-half points, including a trio of three-pointers, one that tied the game in the final minute. He scored 18 points and tied his career-high with 12 rebounds at Texas Tech. 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 five of the last six games, including a season-high 23 points against Grambling. In the last 11 games, he's averaged 18.0 points. He has scored in double figures in all but two games this season. Wright also has emerged as one of the Big 12's top defensive players. 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 has scored 1,081 career points, ranking him 23rd on the A&M chart. 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 14 dunks. Wright had 11 dunks in 56 career games entering the season. Wright's 145 three-point field goals already rank third on A&M's career list with his 403 attempts ranking second.
THE WRIGHT WAY
STAT 2003-04 2004-05
PPG 13.5 17.3
RPG 4.1 5.9
FG Pct. .368 .486
3-Pt. FG Pct. .297 .438
FT Pct. .626 .671
Dunks 5 14
A&M CAREER SCORING
Player Years Points
1. Bernard King 1999-03 1,990
2. Vernon Smith 1977-81 1,778
3. John Beasley 1963-66 1,594
4. Winston Crite 1983-87 1,576
5. Rynn Wright 1977-81 1,495
6. Claude Riley 1979-83 1,383
7. Carroll Broussard 1959-62 1,382
8. Bennie Lenox 1961-64 1,344
9. Todd Holloway 1983-87 1,331
10. Rudy Woods 1978-82 1,272
Closing in:
24. Antoine Wright 2002-05 1,081
Pompey Pays Off
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, then followed with five points and six boards against Penn State. He scored eight points at Texas Tech. Pompey has scored at least five points in 10 games this season and has six games with five or more rebounds. He ranks fifth on the team in rebounds (3.6). He is second on the team in blocks (11).
Record Crowds
A crowd of 12,811 attended the Texas game, the largest crowd in school history, followed by the seventh largest crowd of 11,971 against Oklahoma. A&M has drawn four of the 11 largest crowds in A&M annals in the last four home games. The crowd of 11,200 that attended the Houston game on Dec. 29 was the eighth 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 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.
TEXAS A&M season
Attendance
Year (s) Avg.
1. 2002-03 6,466
2. 1980-81 6,141
3. 2003-04 6,100
Closing:
2004-05 6,758
(a 10.8% increase over last season)
TEXAS A&M CONFERENCE GAME Attendance
Year (s) Avg.
1. 2002-03 8,157
3. 2003-04 7,333
3. 1974-75 7,145
Closing:
2004-05 11,491
(a 56.7% increase over last year)
Stout Defense
A&M ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring defense (59.9) and field goal percentage defense (.370), ranking among the national leaders in both categories. The Aggies led the nation in field goal percentage defense before Oklahoma made a 53.2 percent on Jan. 18, the only time this season and opponent has shot better than 48 percent against A&M. The Aggies rank 13th nationally in scoring margin (+15.6). 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. Penn State made a whopping 64 percent in the first half, but just 26 percent in the second as A&M overcame a 17-point deficit to win, 62-60. Last season, A&M held just six opponents to under 40 percent field goal accuracy in 28 games. This year, 10 opponents have shot 40 percent or under. No. 9-ranked Texas shot a season-low 32.3 percent against the Aggies.
Taking the Lead
A&M has trailed by more than seven points in just four games this season, falling behind by 17 at Penn State before rallying to win, 62-60, trailing by 16 at Texas Tech (70-56 loss) and at home against No. 18 Oklahoma (a 70-54 loss), and falling behind by 14 at Nebraska (a 77-67 loss). In non-conference play, the Aggies faced just two second-half deficits, briefly trailing Alabama A&M, 47-46, at the 14:04 mark, and trailing Penn State, 45-28, at the 18:11 mark. A&M has led wire-to-wire in five games. The Aggies have led at halftime in 12 of 17 games, but has trailed at intermission in five of the last seven games. Of 34 halves played, the Aggies have been out-scored just 10 times.
Getting Offensive
The Aggies rank second in the Big 12 and 20th nationally in field goal percentage (.491). 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 games. A&M has scored 80 or more points in seven games, including four games with more than 90. 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 rank second in the Big 12 and are tied for 11th nationally in assists with an average of 17.5 per game. For the season, 297 of the Aggies' 451 field goals (.659) have been assisted, the best rate in the Big 12.
Random Notes
No. 9-ranked Texas was only the third top 10 team A&M's ever beaten and the first since 1982 (No. 5 Texas in Austin, 71-69)...the only other top 10 team A&M's beaten was Bob Knight's No. 10 Indiana team, 54-49, at the 1978 Great Alaska Shootout...despite having a relatively small team, the Aggies have played well inside, averaging 34.8 points in the paint after averaging 25.6 last season. A&M also has done a good job converting turnovers, averaging 20.3 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 12.7 this season.
IMPROVED AGGIES
(Stat comparison through 17 games)
STAT 2003-04 2004-05
Overall Record 7-10 13-4
Big 12 Record 0-6 2-4
Scoring Offense 76.7 75.5
Scoring Defense 75.9 59.9
Scoring Margin +0.8 +15.6
FG Percentage .430 .491
FG Pct. Defense .464 .370
3-Pt. FG Pct. .342 .389
3-Pt. FG Pct. Defense .384 .300
Rebounding Margin +5.2 +7.1
Blocked Shots 1.5 3.7
Turnovers Down
The Aggies are committing an average of 15.7 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12. However, the Aggies have averaged just 13.2 turnovers in the last seven games. A&M ranks fifth in the league in turnover margin (+1.53) and is also fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.11).
A Foul Figure
The Aggies average a whopping 22.4 personal fouls per game. The Aggies have committed at least 18 personal fouls in 15 games, including a season-high 34 in the loss at Nebraska. That number has been off-set somewhat by A&M's opponents averaging 21.2 fouls per contest. Consequently, the Aggies are averaging 25.4 free throw attempts per game, the most in the Big 12. A&M is averaging 2.1 more attempts per game than its 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 8.2 per game and is second with 18 three-point field goals, making 35.3 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.
Leach's Reach
The Aggies' only senior, Bobby Leach ranks second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (2.90) for the full season and in league play (3.33). Leach is second on the team in assists (3.4) and leads the Aggies in league play (3.3). Leach has made 13-of-27 (.481) from three-point range after making just 5-of-16 (.313) all of last season. Leach has handed out at least three assists in eight of the last 11 games, including a season high of six in wins against No. 9-ranked Texas and Kansas State. He's scored in all but two games this season and had a career-high 10 points against, Texas, Kansas State and Chicago State. He had nine points against Texas Tech, Nebraska and Oklahoma and is averaging 9.3 points in the last five games, while making 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range.
Board Stiff
The Aggies have out-rebounded 13 of 17 opponents this season and rank second in the Big 12 in rebounding margin at +7.2, ranking among the leaders nationally. The Aggies have had a double-figure rebounding margin in six games. The only teams to out-board the Aggies have been Penn State (39-35), Texas (39-33), Oklahoma (31-25) and Nebraska (38-27). Kansas State out-boarded the Aggies, 20-12, in the first half, but A&M posted a dominating 24-9 margin in the second half.
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 sixth on the team in scoring (4.6) and is fourth in rebounding (3.9) while making 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the field. Green had six rebounds in just eight minutes at Kansas, including four offensive boards. As a senior at Spring High School in 2002, Green ranked second in rebounding in the Greater Houston area, just behind Emeka Okafor (formerly of Connecticut) and just ahead of Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State). 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 17 games and started in the last 12. Walker has made 57.1 percent (20-of-35) from the field and nailed 3-of-8 three-pointers, including one to open the game at Kansas, where he finished with seven points. He leads the team in free throw percentage at 71.1 percent (27-of-38). Walker has made 10-of-12 free throws (.833) in Big 12 play, including all six in the win against Texas. 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 and is an academic All-America candidate. 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 has been inconsistent from the free throw line. The Aggies made 76.0 percent from the line in the first three games, but made just 56.0 percent (94-of-168) in the next six games. The Aggies have made 69.1 percent in Big 12 play. A&M ranks ninth in the Big 12 in free throw shooting (.650), off-set somewhat by averaging a league-best 25.4 attempts per game.
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, 12 of the 17 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. 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. 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.
On the Block
The Aggies already have posted 63 blocked shots this season after having just 35 all of last year. The Aggies had 10 blocks against Grambling, tying for third most in school history. A&M added nine against UT-Permian Basin, 10th most in school annals.
Steady Lineup
The Aggies used five different starting lineups in the first eight games, but have started the same group in the last 10 contests (Acie Law, Dominique Kirk, Antoine Wright, Chris Walker and Joseph Jones). A&M is the only Big 12 team to have started two true freshmen in every game (Jones and Kirk).