December 29, 2005
Unbeaten Texas A&M plays host to the gritty Northwestern State Demons on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Game #10
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (9-0)
vs.
NORTHWESTERN STATE DEMONS (7-4)
Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005
1 p.m. (Central)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
No Live TV
Postgame Highlights Feed
5:30-5:45 p.m. (Central)
Coordinates: SBS 6, TR 15 (KU-Band)
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 118
MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACTS
Northwestern State: Doug Ireland
318-288-6388 (cell)
Texas A&M: Colin Killian
979-229-4706 (cell)
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 9-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: Receiving Votes (both polls)
Last Game: Beat Texas Southern (81-56) on Tuesday
Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State ?'83)
Record: 60-42 (4th year)
at A&M: 30-10 (2nd year)
vs. Northwestern State: 0-0
Tentative Starters
No. Name Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
1 Acie Law IV 6-3 185 Jr. 15.0 2.8 3.3
12 Eddie Smith 6-2 185 Sr. 6.0 2.2 4.0
22 Dominique Kirk 6-3 180 Sr. 7.7 3.9 3.4
42 Marlon Pompey 6-8 225 Jr. 7.4 3.2 1.5blk
30 Joseph Jones 6-9 250 So. 16.4 6.6 .623FG
NORTHWESTERN STATE DEMONS
Record: 7-4 (0-0 Southland)
Ranking: Unranked
Last Game: Lost at Hawaii (80-76) on Dec. 23
Coach: Mike McConathy (Louisiana Tech ?'76)
Record: 94-98 (7th year)
at NSU: 94-98 (7th year)
vs. Texas A&M : 0-0
Tentative Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
3 Tyronn Mitchell G 6-1 185 Sr-3L 6.6 2.5 4.9
12 Luke Rogers G 6-1 198 Jr-Tr 10.1 4.4 2.8
23 Jermaine Wallace G 6-3 215 Sr-3L 9.9 3.4 0.5
30 Clifton Lee F 6-7 210 Sr-3L 14.7 6.8 1.9
2 Byron Allen F 6-7 255 Sr-3L 7.7 2.9 1.0
Game Notes
* Half-price tickets for all men?â„¢s and women?â„¢s home games through Jan. 4 are available.
* A&M has won 22 straight regular-season non-conference games and also has won 22 straight at home.
* A&M is 9-0 at home this season and is 26-3 at home in the last two seasons. Northwestern State is 3-3 on the road.
* In his last three years as a head coach, Billy Gillispie is 28-1 in games played before New Year?â„¢s Day, with a 27-0 mark in home games. The only loss was UTEP at Texas Tech in 2003 (70-57).
About Northwestern State
Location: Natchitoches, La.
Enrollment: 9,847
Affiliation: NCAA Division I
Conference: Southland
Colors: Purple and white with orange trim
Head Coach: Mike McConathy
Record at School: 94-96 (7th year)
Overall Record: 94-96 (7th year)
2004-05 Record (Conference): 21-12 (13-3, T1st)
2005 Postseason: none
* A&M assistant coach Buzz Williams served as an assistant coach at NSU in Mike McConathy?â„¢s first season in 1999-00. The Demons won 17 games that season, their most in 18 years.
* First-year A&M baseball coach Rob Childress and assistant Matt Deggs were assistant baseball coaches at NSU, Childress from 1995-97 and Deggs in 1996 and 1997.
* NSU returns all five starters and 13 lettermen from last year?â„¢s team that lost in the SLC Tournament finals.
* The Demons have one of the most experienced teams in college basketball with seven seniors, including six who have been in the program since their freshman seasons.
* NSU coach Mike McConathy was a standout player at Louisiana Tech in the mid-1970s, where he was teammates with former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Floyd and current Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge. Victor King, father of A&M?â„¢s all-time leading scorer Bernard King, also was a member of that squad.
* NSU is coming off an 80-76 loss at Hawaii on Dec. 23.
* The Tigers have posted impressive road wins at Mississippi State (76-75), Oklahoma State (68-64) and Oregon State (72-61), with narrow losses at Wichita State (57-55) and Iowa State (81-77).
* Iowa State was credited with a free throw it missed in the second half of its game against NSU at the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii and went on to win in double overtime.
* The Demons?â„¢ schedule to this point is rated as the ninth toughest nationally by the Sagarin Ratings.
* Senior forward Clifton Lee (6-7) leads the Demons in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (6.8).
* Junior guard Luke Rogers (6-1) adds 10.1 points and senior guard Jermaine Wallace (6-3) contributed 9.9 points and has made 25 three-pointers.
Series Notes
* The series is tied, 2-2, with all four games played in College Station. The teams have never met at Reed Arena.
* The teams last met in 1987-88, with the Aggies posting a 63-61 victory at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
* A&M is 109-36 against teams from the Southland Conference and has won four straight. The last SLC team to beat the Aggies was UT-San Antonio in 2002 (80-75).
Coach Gillispie Comments
?Northwestern State has a bunch of seniors who came in as freshman together and they really know each other. They know how to play offensively and defensively, they maximize their opportunities and they don?â„¢t give the ball up. They are a difficult team to play because they won?â„¢t beat themselves. If you get a shot at the basket every time and you protect your basket, then you have a chance to be pretty good. They?â„¢ve won at Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State, played well against Wichita State and Hawaii, and played Iowa State to double overtime. We?â„¢ll have to play by far our best game of the year to have a chance to do any good. They are a very impressive team.?
Texas Southern Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP)- Joseph Jones had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Acie Law also scored 15 in Texas A&M?â„¢s 81-56 victory against Texas Southern on Tuesday night. The Aggies (9-0) made seven of their first nine shots to take a 16-6 lead and used their size advantage to score 26 of their 44 first-half points inside. The Tigers (2-10) were led by Justin Wilson?â„¢s 15 points. Sean Walker scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. A&M?â„¢s Antanas Kavaliauskas came off the bench with 13 points, 11 in the first half, and seven rebounds. Law added four assists and four steals for the Aggies, who scored 29 points off 26 Texas Southern turnovers.
Who?â„¢s Hot?
Who?â„¢s Hot?
* Since missing the Savannah State game with a concussion, junior Acie Law has averaged 17.0 points in the last two games.
* After missing the Savannah State game with a sprained ankle, sophomore Joseph Jones has averaged 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the last two games. Jones is one of only three players in the country who are making at least 60 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.
* Junior Antanas Kavaliauskas is averaging 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the last four games.
Talking Points
* A&M ranks fourth nationally and leads the Big 12 in scoring margin at +22.3.
* A&M is one of just 10 remaining unbeaten teams in college basketball.
* A&M has led at halftime in all nine games this year and has not trailed in the second half. A&M is 24-2 under Billy Gillispie when leading at halftime.
* A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks 14th nationally in scoring defense at 56.3 points per game.
* In 40 games under Billy Gillispie, only one opponent has shot better than 48 percent against A&M.
* A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally in assists with 19.7 per game. A&M also leads the Big 12 in turnover margin (+8.8) and assists/turnovers ratio (1.37). The Aggies are sixth nationally in ratio.
* A&M is forcing an average of 23.1 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12.
* A&M has won 22 straight regular-season non-conference games.
* A&M is 26-3 at home under Billy Gillispie.
* A&M and Texas are the only Big 12 teams who are making at least .475 from the field while allowing under 40.0 percent.
* A&M is one of just four teams to rank among the top 16 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions).
* A&M has scored 26.7 percent of its points from the free throw line, the most in the Big 12 and 10th most nationally.
* The Aggies lead the nation in free throw rate (free throws made divided by field goal attempts) at 39.5 percent.
* A&M current crop of first-year players was ranked as the ninth best nationally by HoopScoop and that was before the late addition of 6-10 freshman Chinemelu Elonu. The early 2006 class also is ranked ninth nationally and includes four of the top 10 players in Texas.
* A&M has 16 Texas high school products on its 19-man roster, the most in school history. The season before Billy Gillispie?â„¢s arrival, the Aggies had just four Texas players, including two walk-ons.
* Acie Law and Marlon Pompey are the only players who were on the A&M roster two years ago. Of the 19 players listed, 90 percent are first or second-year players.
Looking Ahead
* After playing 10 straight home games to open the season, the Aggies play their final non-conference game against Pacific on Tuesday in Stockton, Calif.
* Pacific went 27-4 last year and has won first-round NCAA Tournament games the last two seasons.
* A&M opens Big 12 play on Jan. 7 against Texas Tech at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
Streaking Aggies
* The Aggies have opened the season with an 9-0 record, matching the sixth-best start in school history.
* Last year, A&M started 11-0, its best start since 1919-20.
* The nine-game winning streak ties for the seventh longest in school history and is the second longest (behing last year?â„¢s 11-game streak) since the 1979-80 Aggies also won nine straight.
* Prior to last season, the last time A&M won 10 straight games or started 10-0 was in 1959-60.