February 01, 2005
The Texas A&M Aggies (14-4, 3-4 in Big 12) will be searching for their first Big 12 road win when they visit the No. 14-ranked (AP/No. 16 by ESPN/USA Today) Oklahoma Sooners (16-3, 5-1 in Big 12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Central) at the Lloyd Noble Center (12,000 cap.) in Norman, Okla. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
The Aggies have won two of their last three and are coming off a 74-62 win against Baylor at home on Saturday. The Sooners are coming off a 74-66 loss at Iowa State on Saturday, ending a 10-game winning streak.
Oklahoma is 10-0 at home this season, while A&M is 1-3 in road games. The Sooners lead the series, 22-1, with a 10-0 mark in Norman. Oklahoma has won 11 straight against the Aggies, including a 70-54 win in College Station on Jan. 18. The Sooners won last year in Norman, 86-60.
Game #19
Texas A&M AGGIES
(14-4 3-4 Big 12)
vs.
#14 Oklahoma SOONERS
(16-3, 5-1 Big 12)
7 p.m. (Central)
Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005
Lloyd Noble Center (12,000 cap.)
Norman, Okla.
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Airtime: 6:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
ESPN2 (national)
Dave Pasch, play-by-play
Jimmy Dykes, commentary
About Oklahoma
The Sooners return seven lettermen and three starters from last year's team
that finished 20-11 overall and placed seventh in the Big 12 with an 8-8
record. Oklahoma advanced to the second round of the NIT. The Sooners are in their 11th year under head coach Kelvin Sampson. The Sooners were ranked No. 13 (AP) prior to their loss to Iowa State on Saturday. Their other two losses were at neutral sites to No. 11 Washington (96-91) and No. 2 Duke (78-67). Oklahoma has four players averaging in double figures, led by
junior forward Taj Gray (6'8"), who is averaging 15.1 points, 8.4 rebounds
and 2.1 blocks. Junior forward Kevin Bookout (6'8") averages 13.9 points and
7.3 rebounds, while junior guard Terrell Everett (6'4") adds 11.2 points,
4.5 rebounds and a team-best 5.1 assists. Everett ranks second in the league
in assists. Sophomore guard Lawrence McKenzie (6'2") contributes 10.2 points per contest and leads the Big 12 in three-point accuracy, making 46.5
percent. Sophomore guard Drew Lavender (5'8"), who scored 23 against A&M in College Station, averages 9.3 points. Oklahoma leads the conference in
three-point percentage defense (25.8) and steals (8.9) while ranking second
in scoring defense (60.2).
Who's Hot?
*Junior Antoine Wright has has scored in double figures in five straight
games, including a season-high 24 points against Oklahoma. Wright had 11
points and 11 rebounds against Baylor, his fifth double-double of the year.
*Sophomore Acie Law has averaged 18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in the last
three games while making 19-of-33 (.575) from the field, 7-of-14 (.500) from 3-point range and 10-of-12 (.833) from the line.
*Freshman Joseph Jones scored 21 points and matched his career high with 13 rebounds against Baylor, his sixth double-double of the year.
*Senior Bobby Leach has averaged 10.2 points in the last six games,
including a career-high 14 against Baylor. He has scored at least nine
points in six straight games, making 7-of-12 (.583) from three-point range
in that span.
Quick Notes
*A&M is 4-1 when junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, has a
double-double. Wright ranks second in the Big 12 three-point percentage
(.429) and has emerged as one of the league's premier defenders.
*Freshman Joseph Jones has had six double-doubles, most by a league
freshman, and is the only Big 12 freshman to average at least 10.0 points
and 6.0 rebounds. A&M is 6-1 when Jones has a double-double.
*Sophomore Acie Law ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (4.9) and is sixth
in field goal percentage (.534), second best by a guard. A&M is 6-0 when Law
leads the team in scoring.
*Senior Bobby Leach ranks second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio
(2.81) and has emerged as one of the league's top reserves and one of the
most improved players. A&M is 8-0 when Leach has four or more assists and is 4-0 when he scores in double figures.
*A&M leads the Big 12 in scoring defense (60.1) and ranks second in field
goal percentage defense (.371).
*The Aggies are second in the league in field goal percentage (.490) and
third in assists (17.3), ranking among the national leaders.
*The Aggies have out-rebounded 14 of 18 opponents and lead the Big 12 in
rebounding margin (+8.0).
*A&M is averaging just 13.3 turnovers in the last eight games.
*A&M has attracted five of the 12 largest home crowds in school history in
the last five games.
*A&M is the only Big 12 team to start two freshmen in every game this season
(Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk).
*A&M is 12-1 when its opponents score 68 or fewer points and is 12-0 when
its opponents make less than 41.0 percent from the field.
The Series
Oklahoma leads the series, 22-1, with a perfect 10-0 mark in Norman, all at
the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners have won 11 straight in the series,
including a 70-54 win in College Station on Jan. 18. A&M's last win came in
1999, when the Aggies posted a 74-72 victory in College Station.
TEXAS A&M vs. Oklahoma
(OU leads, 22-1)
Last 12 Games
Year Winner Site
1998-99 A&M, 74-72 College Station
1999-00 Oklahoma, 78-53 Norman
Oklahoma, 77-59 College Station
2000-01 Oklahoma, 78-65 Norman
Oklahoma, 72-63 College Station
2001-02 Oklahoma, 89-63 Norman
Oklahoma, 68-64 College Station
2002-03 Oklahoma, 75-68 Norman
Oklahoma, 69-64 College Station
2003-04 Oklahoma, 78-72 College Station
Oklahoma, 86-60 Norman
2004-05 Oklahoma, 70-54 College Station
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
14-4 at A&M (1st year)
44-36 overall (3rd year)
0-1 vs. Oklahoma
0-1 vs. Kelvin Sampson
OKLAHOMA
Kelvin Sampson (Pembroke State '78)
250-95 at OU (11th year)
426-243 overall (22nd year)
17-1 vs. Texas A&M
1-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Sidebars
The A&M coaching staff has many ties to the state of Oklahoma...head coach
Billy Gillispie served as an assistant at Tulsa under Bill Self from 1997-00...assistant coach Buzz Williams is a 1994 graduate of Oklahoma City University, where he served as a student assistant...video coordinator Albert
Johnson played college basketball at Langston University and before coming
to A&M was an assistant at Bartlesville High School (1993-94), Northeastern
Oklahoma (2002-03), John Marshall High School (2001-02) and Douglass High School (1998-99) in Oklahoma City...Johnson also served from 2000-02 as coach of Athletes First, a highly-successful AAU team in Oklahoma, where he coached the Sooners' David Godbold.
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (14-4, 3-4)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 12.1 7.4 1.3 blk
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 4.1 2.9 57% FG
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 16.9 6.2 48% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 7.8 2.3 2.6 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 13.8 4.2 4.9 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 6.5 2.4 3.3 ast
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 4.4 3.7 56% FG
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 3.9 3.4 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. 1.7 0.7 --
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 1.3 0.3 --
3 Brian Blackburn 5'8" So. 0.0 0.0 --
25 Matt Koeneke 6'6" So. 0.0 0.0 --
Gillispie Quoteboard
"Oklahoma is really good and has been playing great. We won't hold Taj Gray
scoreless again. More than our defense, that was the result of him getting
into foul trouble and not playing that many minutes. He's a great player and
will be considered for Big 12 newcomer of the year. He's helped their team
and continues to get better. He's fantastic. But when a player like him gets
into foul trouble and doesn't score as much, good teams like Oklahoma find
it somewhere else. They are totally balanced inside and out. You can draw up
anything you want to, but when you get into the game the bottom line is that
they've got some awfully good players."
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M OU
Record 14-4 16-3
Conference 3-4 5-1
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 84 14
Sagarin Rating 41 9
Current Streak W1 L1
Field Goal Pct. .490 .482
Opponent FG Pct. .371 .417
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .387 .368
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .309 .258
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 5.9 6.7
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 15.2 18.3
Free Throw Pct. .658 .676
Opponent FT Pct. .659 .679
Rebound Avg. 38.8 35.9
Offensive Reb. Avg. 12.9 12.8
Rebounding Margin +7.9 +4.3
Turnovers Avg. 15.6 14.0
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 16.9 17.0
Assists Avg. 17.3 16.9
Blocks Avg. 3.7 4.3
Steals Avg. 7.1 8.9
Scoring Avg. 75.4 75.6
Opponent Scoring 60.1 60.2
Scoring Margin +15.4 +15.4
Baylor Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP)- Acie Law scored 22 points, including 11 in the last
61/2 minutes, and freshman Joseph Jones added 21 as Texas A&M held off
Baylor for a 74-62 win on Saturday. The win gives the Aggies a school-record
13 home wins this season. A&M led 53-51 with 6:53 remaining before going on a 10-0 run, which began with a layup by Law and was highlighted by Jones' one-handed put-back dunk with just more than five minutes left. The shot gave A&M a 59-51 lead and brought the raucous crowd of 10,818 to its feet. Jones was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line and also had 13
rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Law added nine points in
the final 3:50 and also tallied two rebounds and a steal in that period. He
finished with five steals and two 3-pointers for the Aggies. Baylor was led
by Aaron Bruce who scored 27 points, including four 3-pointers. Baylor has
now lost three straight and four of its last five games. A&M led by one at
halftime and opened the second half with an 8-0 run to extend its lead to
44-35. Baylor cut the lead to 46-43 about midway through the second half
thanks to sharp shooting from the 3-point line. The Bears hit 11 shots from
beyond the arc, with Kevis Shipman joining Bruce with four 3-pointers. Texas
A&M increased its lead to 51-46 when the Bears threatened again. The Aggies led early, outscoring the Bears 7-0 in the games' first two minutes. Baylor did not lead until Patrick Fields hit a free throw with 2:52 left in the
first half to give the Bears a 30-29 edge. Bobby Leach added a career-high
14 and Antoine Wright had 11 points and added 11 rebounds for Texas A&M.
The First Time They Met This Season
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Drew Lavender scored a season-high 23 points and Oklahoma snapped Texas A&M's 11-game home winning streak with a 70-54 victory on Jan. 18. Lawrence McKenzie sparked Oklahoma's game-closing 13-1 run with consecutive 3s and Lavender finished it by scoring seven straight points to help seal the victory. A game after scoring a then-season high 20 at Baylor, the generously listed 5-foot-7 Lavender again powered Oklahoma's bruising offensive attack with floaters in the lane and timely 3s from all around the arc. The Sooners' lightning-quick point guard was virtually unstoppable, forcing the Aggies to guard him with a group of defenders ranging from point guard Acie Law to 6-foot-7 forward Antoine Wright. McKenzie, Terrell Everett and Kevin Bookout each scored 12 points for the Sooners. Wright led the Aggies with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and was the only A&M player to score in double figures.
Last Year in Norman
NORMAN, Okla. (AP, March 3, 2004) -- De'Angelo Alexander scored 17 points and freshman Drew Lavender had 14 points and eight assists to help Oklahoma break its four-game losing streak with an 86-60 victory over Texas A&M. Jaison Williams, Jason Detrick and Johnnie Gilbert each had 12 points for the Sooners, who opened the game with a 21-2 run. The Aggies missed 10 of their first 11 shots and committed seven turnovers in the first 9 minutes, falling behind by 19 points. Oklahoma led 35-20 at halftime, holding the Aggies to 5-for-29 shooting (17 percent) with 13 turnovers. A&M's starters combined for four points in the first half. The Aggies never got any closer than 13 points in the second half, and trailed by as many as 30. Jesse King led A&M with 13 points and Antoine Wright added 12. The Sooners managed to shoot a season-best 59 percent from the field.