Aggies Ready to Battle No. 18-Ranked Sooners

January 31, 2006

The Texas A&M men's basketball team begins a tough two-game road swing when they play the No. 18-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday in Norman, Okla. The Aggies play at No. 7 Texas on Saturday. Game notes for Wednesday's contest:

The Coaches

GAME INFO

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 7:04 p.m. (CST) Lloyd Noble Center (12,000), Norman, Okla.

RECORDS

Oklahoma: 13-4, 4-2 Big 12 (4th) Texas A&M: 13-5, 3-4 Big 12 (T-7th)

RANKINGS

Oklahoma is ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and 19th in the Associated Press poll.

RADIO

(KAGG-FM 96.1 in Bryan/College Station) Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary

TELEVISION

Dave Armstrong, play-by-play Reid Gettys, commentary

SATELLITE RADIO

Sirius Channel 107

INTERNET

Live Stats: (soonersports.com) Live Audio: (aggieathletics.com-subscription service)

SERIES

OU leads, 24-1 in Norman: OU leads, 11-0 at Lloyd Noble Center: OU leads, 11-0 Last Meeting: (1/14/06)

UP NEXT

A&M at (#7) Texas Saturday, Feb. 4, 1 p.m. (CST) Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas TV: ESPN (National)

TEXAS A&M: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)

• Record: 64-47 (4th year)
  
• at Texas A&M: 34-15 (2nd year)
  
• vs. Oklahoma: 0-3
  OKLAHOMA: Kelvin Sampson (Pembroke State '78)
  
• Record: 448-252 (23rd year)
  
• at Oklahoma: 272-104 (12th year)
  
• vs. Texas A&M: 19-1
  

Key Game Notes

• Three of A&M's four Big 12 losses were by a combined seven points. The Aggies missed potential game-winners in the final 10 seconds of those three games.
• A&M is coming off a 72-70 win against Baylor at home on Saturday and has won two of its last three games.
• Oklahoma is coming off an 82-72 upset of No. 4-ranked Texas at home on Saturday and has won four straight after opening Big 12 play with an 0-2 mark.
• Oklahoma is 9-1 at home. The only loss was to Missouri (71-69) on Jan. 10.
• A&M is 1-3 in road games with a win at Iowa State (86-81) and losses to Kansas State (58-54), Oklahoma State (79-77) and Pacific (63-56).
• The Sooners edged the Aggies, 45-44, on Jan. 14 in College Station. Oklahoma won last year's game in Norman, 69-65.

About Oklahoma

• Oklahoma is ranked No. 18 in the coaches poll, No. 19 by The Associated Press.
• The Sooners finished 25-8 overall last season and tied for first in the Big 12 with a 12-4 mark.
• Oklahoma returns four starters and six lettermen.
• The Sooners are in their 12th year under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, who is 19-1 against A&M.
• Oklahoma was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally (CBSportsline.com) in the preseason.
• The Sooners shot a season-high 54.4 percent from the field against Texas on Saturday.
• In Big 12 play, Oklahoma leads the league in rebounding margin (+8.3) and is second in offensive rebounds (14.0). A&M is the only Big 12 team to out-rebound the Sooners this season (31-29).
• The Sooners feature one of the nation's top frontcourts in seniors Taj Gray (6'9") and Kevin Bookout (6'8"). Gray averages 15.2 points and 8.0 rebounds while Bookout adds 11.8 points and 7.3 boards.
• Senior guard Terrell Everett was named the Big 12 player of the week after scoring 25 points in the win against Texas. Everett leads the Big 12 in assists in league play with 6.5 per game.

Sidebars

• A&M head coach Billy Gillispie served as an assistant coach at Tulsa from 1997-00 under Bill Self, helping the Golden Hurricane to the Elite Eight in 2000.
• A&M assistant Buzz Williams is a 1994 graduate of Oklahoma City University.
• A&M video coordinator Albert Johnson is an Oklahoma City native, a 1998 grad of Langston University.
• Johnson is the former head coach of Athletes First (2000-02), a highly successful Oklahoma AAU program. His teams included Oklahoma's David Godbold as well as OU football player Quentin Chaney.

Projected A&M Starters

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class	PPG	RPG
1	Acie Law IV	6-3	185	Jr-2L	16.9	2.8	3.4 apg
22	Dominique Kirk	6-3	180	So-1L	6.2	3.2	2.9 apg
10	Chris Walker	6-5	210	Sr-1L	3.4	1.9	1.2 apg
42	Marlon Pompey	6-8	225	Jr-2L	6.3	3.3	1.0 blk
30	Joseph Jones	6-9	250	So-1L	16.3	7.3	.552 FG

Projected Oklahoma Starters

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	PPG	RPG	APG
3	Terrell Everett	G	6-4	188	Sr-1L	11.9	4.2	6.4
20	Austin Johnson	G	6-3	168	Fr-HS	3.8	2.2	1.7
15	David Godbold	G	6-5	217	So-1L	5.6	3.1	1.4
21	Taj Gray	F	6-9	238	Sr-1L	15.2	8.0	0.9
34	Kevin Bookout	F	6-8	270	Sr-3L	11.8	7.3	0.1

Last Month in College Station

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COLLEGE STATION (AP/1-14-06)- Terrell Everett hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left and No. 22 Oklahoma avoided an 0-3 start in the Big 12 with a 45-44 victory over Texas A&M on Jan. 14. Acie Law scored 14 points for the Aggies, who lost for the first time in 12 home games this season. The Aggies went 5 minutes without a field goal in the second half, but consecutive 3-pointers by Chris Walker gave them a 42-40 lead heading into the last 3 minutes. Everett scored on a pull-up jumper with 25 seconds left. Pompey missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 17 seconds to go and Everett coolly swished the go-ahead 3 from the wing. Joseph Jones drove the length of the floor at the end, but slipped in the lane as he attempted a layup at the buzzer.

Last Year in Norman

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NORMAN, Okla. (AP/2-2-05)- 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 on Feb. 2, 2005. 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 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. 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.

Baylor Recap

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COLLEGE STATION (AP/1-28-06)- Joseph Jones scored 29 points and had 10 rebounds to help Texas A&M fight off a scrappy Baylor team for a 72-70 win on Saturday. A&M struggled to stay on top after leading by as many as 12 points in the second half. The Aggies outlasted the Bears after Aaron Bruce made three 3-pointers in the last 1:30, including one at the buzzer. A&M made four free throws in the last 40 seconds to secure the win. The Aggies used an 11-0 run to open the second half, turning a 1-point halftime edge into a commanding 43-31 lead. The Bears didn't score until Henry Dugat's 3-pointer more than four minutes into the half. Dugat single-handedly kept the game from getting out of hand in the next few minutes, scoring the Bears' first 13 points of the half, including two more 3's. The Bears were 16-of-30 from 3-point range for 53 percent, with Bruce making 6-of-11 and Curtis Jerrells and Dugat hitting four each. Baylor got 18 points apiece from Jerrells, Dugat and Bruce. Acie Law scored 16 points and Josh Carter added nine for the Aggies. Jones had 15 first-half points after shooting 5-of-5 to start the game. The Aggies lead 32-31 at halftime.

Looking Ahead

• A&M continues its two-game road swing at No. 7-ranked Texas on Saturday (1 p.m./ESPN). The Aggies play a pair of home games next week against Colorado (Wednesday at 6 p.m.) and Oklahoma State (Saturday at 2:30 p.m.).

Who's Hot?

• After missing the Savannah State game with a concussion, junior Acie Law has scored in double figures in 11 straight games, averaging 18.4 points in that span. Law ranks fifth in the Big 12 in scoring in league play with 21.1 per game.
• Plagued by foul trouble in some games, sophomore Joseph Jones is averaging 20.6 points and 8.8 rebounds in games in which he plays at least 25 minutes. He's the only Big 12 player to rank in the league's top 10 in both scoring and rebounding while averaging fewer than 30 minutes.
• Senior Chris Walker has averaged 28.1 minutes in Big 12 play, third most on the team, and has been a defensive force inside. He's made 47.1 percent of his three-pointers (8-17) in Big 12 play.
• Freshman Josh Carter has averaged 11.7 points per game in the last three games.
• Dominique Kirk has averaged 8.0 points and made 4-of-7 treys (.571) in the last two games.

Talking Points

• In three of A&M's four Big 12 losses (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Kansas State), the Aggies missed potential game-winning shots in the final 10 seconds.
• A&M is the only Big 12 team (and one of only two teams this season) to out-rebound Oklahoma, posting a 31-29 edge last month in College Station.
• A&M has trailed by double digits just four times (14 to Texas Tech, Kansas and Kansas State, 10 to Iowa State). The Aggies came back to beat Tech and Iowa State, rallied to tie K-State in the final minute and came within four of Kansas. The Aggies lost to Oklahoma State after leading by as many as eight in the second half and lost to Oklahoma after losing a seven-point second-half advantage.
• In 49 games under Billy Gillispie, only three opponents have shot better than 48 percent against A&M -- OU last year in College Station (.532), Oklahoma State this season in Stillwater (.560) and Kansas this year in College Station (.548).
• A&M is forcing an average of 20.1 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12. The Aggies rank second nationally in defensive turnover percentage (turnovers per 100 possessions) at 29.4 percent and are averaging 22.1 points off turnovers per game.
• A&M ranks 13th nationally in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) at 89.5.
• A&M has scored 24.3 percent of its points from the FT line, most in the Big 12 and 16th nationally.
• The Aggies rank third in the nation in free throw rate (free throws made divided by field goal attempts) at 33.1 percent. A&M leads the Big 12 in free throws attempted (25.9) and made (17.6) per game.
• A&M averages 22.7 personal fouls per game, most in the Big 12 and sixth most nationally. However, A&M had a season-low 13 fouls against Baylor. Opponents have scored 28.6 percent of their points from the line, the second-highest rate in the nation.
• The foursome of Acie Law, Joseph Jones, Dominique Kirk and Chris Walker have started all 23 Big 12 games together in the last two seasons.
• Acie Law and Marlon Pompey are the only players who were on the roster two years ago. Of the 19 players listed, 90 percent are first or second-year players.
• A&M is the only Big 12 team to have all of its conference games decided by 10 points or fewer. The Aggies' averaging losing margin has been just 4.8 points, the ninth smallest margin in the country.
• The Aggies have averaged 26.7 points in the paint in the last three games and are 2-1 in than span.
• A&M leads the conference in opponents field goals made (19.3) and attempted (45.2) per game.
• The Aggies lead the Big 12 in turnover margin (+6.06) and are second in assist/turnover ratio (1.24).
• The Aggies are 7-0 with 19 or more assists and are 10-1 when they make 42% or better from the field.