February 04, 2005
The Texas A&M Aggies (14-5, 3-5 in Big 12) play host to the Missouri Tigers (10-11, 2-6 in Big 12) on Saturday at 6:06 p.m. (Central) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net Southwest.
A victory would give A&M its 15th win of the season, its most since it finished 19-11 in 1993-94, a span of 11 years.
The Aggies are coming off a hard-fought 69-65 loss at No. 14-ranked Oklahoma on Wednesday, while the Tigers have lost three straight and are coming off a 73-61 loss at No. 3-ranked Kansas on Monday. Missouri has lost six of its last seven.
A&M is 13-1 at Reed Arena this season, the most home victories in school history. The Tigers are 0-7 away from home this season, including an 0-4 mark in true road games.
Missouri leads the series, 11-2, with a 3-2 edge in games played in College Station and a 2-1 record at Reed Arena. Missouri has won the last two meetings, posting a 74-68 victory in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament last March and an 82-77 win last year in Columbia. A&M upset the No. 21-ranked Tigers, 73-71, two years ago in College Station.
GAME #20
Texas A&M AGGIES
(14-5 3-5 Big 12)
vs.
Missouri TIGERS
(10-11, 2-6 Big 12)
6:06 p.m. (Central)
Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 5:45 p.m. (Central)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
SIRIUS SATELLITE: TBA (A&M feed)
TELEVISION:
Fox Sports Net Southwest
Greg Lucas, play-by-play
Jim Haller, commentary
Murphy Brown, producer
TICKETS:
Available
$12, $10, $6
PROMOTION:
First 1,500 fans get chance to win Billy Gillispie bobble head.
About Missouri
The Tigers return seven lettermen and two starters from last year's team that finished 16-14 overall, placed sixth in the Big 12 with a 9-7 record and advanced to the NIT. Missouri is in its sixth year under head coach Quin Snyder. The Tigers non-conference schedule was highlighted by a 63-61 upset of No. 17-ranked Gonzaga, while their Big 12 wins have been at home against Iowa State (62-59) and Nebraska (80-70). Missouri is lead by sophomore forward Linas Kleiza (6'8"), who is averaging 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jason Conley (6'5") is averaging 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds while sophomore guard Thomas Gardner (6'5") is adding 9.3 points. The Tigers are averaging 64.4 points per game while making 40.3 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three-point range. Their opponents are averaging 65.5 points while making 43.5 percent from the field an d 37.8 percent from three-point range.
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 (.432) 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 (.522), second best by a guard. A&M is 6-0 when Law leads the team in scoring.
*Senior Bobby Leach ranks third in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (2.31) 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 ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring defense (60.5) and ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.376).
*The Aggies are second in the league in field goal percentage (.489) and third in assists (17.1), ranking among the national leaders in both.
*The Aggies have out-rebounded 15 of 19 opponents and lead the Big 12 in rebounding margin (+7.9).
*A&M is averaging just 13.3 turnovers in the last nine 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.
Who's Hot?
*Junior Antoine Wright has has scored in double figures in six straight games, averaging 17.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in that span. He has made 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three-point range in the last five games.
*Sophomore Acie Law has averaged 15.8 points and 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the last four games while making 21-of-41 (.512) from the field, 7-of-15 (.467) from 3-point range and 14-of-16 (.875) from the free throw line.
*Freshman Joseph Jones has averaged 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the last two games, making 14-of-24 (.583) from the field, including his first career three-pointer against Oklahoma.
*Senior Bobby Leach has averaged 10.0 points in the last seven games. He has scored at least nine points in seven straight games, making 7-of-12 (.583) from three-point range in that span.
The Series
Missouri leads the series, 11-2, with a 3-2 edge in games played in College Station and a 2-1 record at Reed Arena. A&M is 2-2 in the last four home games against the Tigers, including a 73-71 upset of No. 21-ranked Missouri two years ago. The Tigers beat the Aggies twice last season, posting an 82-77 victory in Columbia and a 74-68 win in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas. The last three games were each decided by six points or fewer. The last four games in College Station were each decided by seven points or fewer.
TEXAS A&M vs. Missouri
(MU leads, 11-2)
Year Winner Site
1969-70 Missouri, 81-79 El Paso
1991-92 Missouri, 77-47 Columbia
1992-93 Missouri, 81-55 College Station
1996-97 Texas A&M, 61-57 College Station
1997-98 Missouri, 73-60 Columbia
1998-99 Missouri, 96-91 College Station
1999-00 Missouri, 93-62 Columbia
2000-01 Missouri, 97-90 College Station
Missouri, 77-62 Kansas City
2001-02 Missouri, 74-50 Columbia
2002-03 Texas A&M, 73-71 College Station
2003-04 Missouri, 82-77 Columbia
Missouri, 74-68 Dallas
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
14-5 at A&M (1st year)
44-37 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Missouri
0-0 vs. Quin Snyder
MISSOURI
Quin Snyder (Duke '89)
110-74 at MU (6th year)
110-74 overall (6th year)
6-1 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Sidebars
Missouri associate head coach Melvin Watkins served as A&M's head coach from 1998-04...Watkins lead the Aggies to a 73-71 win against the No. 21-ranked Tigers two years ago at Reed Arena..Missouri junior guard guard Marcus Watkins is sitting out this season after transferring from A&M, where he played two seasons...Marcus Watkins was a first-team all-state pick in 2002 at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station...Missouri has a pair of Texas high school products on its roster -- freshmen Jason Horton (Dallas Cedar Hill HS) and Marshall Brown (Austin LBJ HS)...Gillispie is 39-13 in his last two seasons as a head coach.
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (14-5, 3-5)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 12.2 7.5 1.3 blk
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 4.1 2.9 74% FT
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 17.0 6.3 48% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 7.7 2.2 2.5 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 13.5 4.3 4.9 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 6.6 2.5 3.2 ast
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 4.4 3.7 56% FG
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 4.1 3.6 54% FG
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. 1.6 0.7 --
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 1.2 0.3 --
3 Brian Blackburn 5'8" So. 0.0 0.0 --
25 Matt Koeneke 6'6" So. 0.0 0.0 --
Gillispie Quoteboard
"Against Oklahoma, our guys played as hard as they could even though they made a lot of mistakes. They love playing with each other and they love to play hard. I thought we were doing all right in transition. We were really pushing the ball and getting easy opportunities early. We didn't have to set up our half court offense. Once we did set up our half court offense, we made some really bad decisions. We made bad passes and totally lost our composure. We had too many forced turnovers and Oklahoma was able to get some baskets that we could not defend. They were having a hard time scoring at the start and then they finished off the first half off well after we threw the ball away."
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M MU
Record 14-5 10-11
Conference 3-5 2-5
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) 81 110
Sagarin Rating 41 109
Current Streak L1 L3
Field Goal Pct. .489 .403
Opponent FG Pct. .376 .435
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .385 .304
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .304 .378
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 5.7 6.5
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 14.9 21.4
Free Throw Pct. .657 .673
Opponent FT Pct. .655 .703
Rebound Avg. 38.7 34.8
Offensive Reb. Avg. 13.0 12.6
Rebounding Margin +7.9 +0.5
Turnovers Avg. 15.5 14.3
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 16.6 14.5
Assists Avg. 17.1 12.3
Blocks Avg. 3.7 2.4
Steals Avg. 6.9 6.3
Scoring Avg. 74.9 64.4
Opponent Scoring 60.5 65.5
Scoring Margin +14.4 -1.1
Oklahoma Recap
NORMAN, Okla. (AP)- Antoine Wright and Texas A&M were on the verge of handing 14th-ranked Oklahoma its second straight loss in the Big 12 Conference. Then Taj Gray and Terrell Everett took over for Oklahoma. Gray scored 24 points and Everett added 20 as the Sooners rallied for a 69-65 victory over A&M. On Saturday, Oklahoma did not get off to a good start against A&M (14-5, 3-5 Big 12) in this one. Everett converted a three-point play just 19 seconds after the opening tip, but Wright answered with a 3-pointer just 13 seconds later to spark a 17-1 run by the Aggies over the next five-plus minutes. A&M shot 52 percent (13-of-25) and led by as many as 16 points in the first half before Oklahoma went on a 23-9 burst over the final eight-plus minutes. Gray and Everett combined for 14 points over that stretch as the Sooners trailed just 34-32 at the half. The teams traded baskets throughout the second half before Chris Walker's jumper gave A&M a 57-53 lead with 6:47 remaining. The Sooners outscored the Aggies, 16-8, over the final six-plus minutes. Jaison Williams started the spree with a layup and Drew Lavender buried a 3-pointer with 5:36 remaining to give the Sooners the lead for good, 58-57. Gray and Everett combined for seven of Oklahoma's final nine points. Everett's 3-pointer with 2:58 left gave the Sooners a 65-59 cushion. ray, who grabbed 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double, was 8-of-10 from the floor for the Sooners, who shot 47 percent (24-of-51).
Last Year in Dallas
DALLAS (AP, March 11, 2004) -- Jason Conley hit consecutive 3-pointers during a 9-0 run late in the second half, sending Missouri past Texas A&M 74-68 in the first round of the Big 12 tournament and ending Melvin Watkins' six-year tenure as A&M's coach. Watkins' Aggies played hard to the end. A&M led by nine in the opening minutes, but trailed by five at halftime. Down seven early in the second half, the Aggies rallied to lead 54-53 with 7:42 left on a free throw by Antoine Wright, who scored 22 points. Then the Tigers snapped into action. A perfectly timed putback by Rickey Paulding put Missouri back ahead and Conley's 3-pointers stretched the lead. A free throw by Jimmy McKinney capped the run, leaving Mizzou up 62-54. A&M hurt itself with turnovers before each of Conley's baskets. The second miscue was Kevin Turner dribbling the ball out of bounds off his foot. Watkins took him out, stopping him on his way to the bench for a hug and some encouraging words. The Aggies were able to keep things interesting until the end, getting within 69-66 with 1:48 left. When it ended, Watkins bit him bottom lip, congratulated the nearest Missouri player, then hugged Tigers coach Quin Snyder and shook hands with the rival staff. Watkins leaves with a mark of 60-112, 21-76 in conference play. He lost his final 17, with his last win coming Jan. 6 against Long Island. McKinney led Missouri with 20 points, hitting 5-of-6 shots -- all 3-pointers. Arthur Johnson, coming off a 37-point game against the Jayhawks, added 14 points and Travon Bryant had 16 points and nine rebounds. Wright scored 14 of A&M's first 18 points, helping the Aggies lead 20-11. He made six of his first seven shots, then made only 2-of-8 the rest of the game. Acie Law IV scored 10 points and Nick Anderson had 14 rebounds.
Last Year in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP, Jan. 10, 2004) -- Arthur Johnson had 19 points, 12 rebounds and a key blocked shot to lead Missouri to an 82-77 win over Texas A&M. Rickey Paulding added 16 points for Missouri. A&M trailed 71-58 with 4:46 to go, when Travon Bryant hit two free throws for Missouri, but the Aggies made it close with a late run. Acie Law's 3-pointer got the Aggies within 76-71 with 1:04 left, and his basket with 14.6 seconds remaining cut the margin to 81-77. After Missouri called time, Antoine Wright fouled the Tigers' Jimmy McKinney on the inbounds play. McKinney, who finished with 12 points, hit the first of his two free throws with 14.1 seconds left and Johnson blocked Wright's layup attempt with 3.8 seconds to go. Kevin Turner led the Aggies with 14 points. Wright and Jesse King added 14 points each, Andy Slocum had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Leandro Garcia-Morales finished with 10 points. Texas A&M led 42-41 on Turner's 3-point shot with 16:12 left in the game, but Missouri responded with a 20-6 run for a 61-48 lead with 81?2 minutes remaining. Freshman Thomas Gardner started the Tigers' surge with a 3-point play and later added a 3-pointer that made it 54-44 with 12:24 to go. Another freshman, Linas Kleiza, capped the run with four straight points. Texas A&M missed six of its first seven shots in the game and trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but stayed close with five 3-pointers and a 19-17 rebounding edge before the break. Missouri led 27-17 on Paulding's 3-point play with just over five minutes left in the first half, but then didn't manage a field goal for the next 31?2 minutes. The Aggies hit three 3-pointers in a 13-1 run that put them up 30-28 with 1:45 left, but Johnson scored two inside baskets down the stretch to put the Tigers up 34-31 at the half.