Aggies Try to Maintain Winning Streak on Road Against Bears

February 17, 2006

Riding a modest two-game winning streak, the Texas A&M men's basketball team plays the Baylor Bears on Saturday at 12:47 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. Game notes:

Notable

GAME INFO

Saturday, Feb. 18, 12:47 p.m. (CST) Ferrell Center (10,284), Waco, Texas

RECORDS

Baylor: 2-9, 2-9 Big 12 (12th) Texas A&M: 15-7, 5-6 Big 12 (T-6th)

RANKINGS

Neither team is ranked.

RADIO

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

TELEVISION

Bill Doleman, play-by-play Reid Gettys, commentary

SATELLITE RADIO

Sirius Channel 145

INTERNET

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

SERIES

A&M leads, 121-71 In Waco: A&M leads, 47-42 At Ferrell Center: Baylor leads, 9-8 Last Meeting: (1/28/06)

UP NEXT

A&M at Missouri Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. (CST) Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Mo. TV: Mizzou Sports Network/ESPN Full Court

• A&M has won three straight against the Bears, the longest streak by either team in the series since A&M won three straight in 1989 and 1990...this is the 193rd meeting between the schools, making Baylor the Aggies' second-most common opponent (A&M has played Texas 207 times).

The Coaches

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

• Record: 66-49 (4th year)
  
• at Texas A&M: 36-17 (2nd year)
  
• vs. Baylor: 3-0
  BAYLOR: Scott Drew (Butler '93)
  
• Record: 39-60 (4th year)
  
• at Baylor: 19-49 (3rd year)
  
• vs. Texas A&M: 2-3
  

Key Game Notes

• A&M has won two straight and has been idle since a 46-44 home win against Oklahoma State last Saturday.
• Baylor has lost two straight and is coming off a 90-63 road loss to No. 6-ranked Texas on Tuesday.
• The Aggies are 1-5 on the road, including narrow losses to Pacific (63-56), Oklahoma State (79-77), Kansas State (58-54) and Oklahoma (71-63).
• Baylor is 2-3 at home and has won two straight with wins against Kansas State (72-70) and Missouri (90-64).
• A&M is 4-3 in the last seven games while Baylor is 2-3 in its last five games.
• The Aggies edged the Bears, 72-70, on Jan. 28 in College Station. A&M won last year in Waco, 84-76.
• A&M has won three straight against the Bears, the longest streak by either team in the series since A&M won three straight in 1989 and 1990.

About Baylor

• The Bears finished 9-19 last season and finished 12th in the Big 12 with a 1-15 mark.
• Baylor returns four starters and seven lettermen.
• The Bears are in their third year under Head Coach Scott Drew, who is 2-3 in his career against A&M.
• Baylor is one of the Big 12's youngest teams with nine freshmen and sophomores on its roster. The Bears have been led in scoring by underclassmen in 34 of their last 38 games.
• Due to NCAA sanctions, the Bears did not play a non-conference schedule this season.
• Baylor is led by sophomore guard Aaron Bruce (6'3"), who is averaging 11.2 points and 3.1 rebounds.
• Freshman guard Curtis Jerrells (6'1") has established himself as one of the Big 12's top freshmen, averaging 12.2 points per game.

Sidebars

• A&M coach Billy Gillispie served as an assistant at Baylor under Harry Miller from 1994-97, helping the Bears to an 18-12 record in 1997.
• The Baylor job was Gillispie's first college position after many years in the high school and junior college coaching ranks.
• Gillispie coached high school basketball in Central Texas for eight years, serving as a assistant at Killeen (1985-87) and head coach at Copperas Cove (1987-88), New Braunfels Canyon (1988-90) and Killeen Ellison (1990-93).
• A&M junior Marlon Pompey played one year (2001-02) at Heritage Christian Academy in Houston under Baylor assistant Jerome Tang.
• Baylor Director of Basketball Operations Paul Mills is a 1996 graduate of Texas A&M.
• Baylor's NCAA Faculty Representative Michael Rogers is the son of former Texas A&M head coach Bob Rogers (1958-63).

Projected A&M Starters

No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Class	PPG	RPG	APG
1	Acie Law IV	6-3	185	Jr-2L	16.3	2.8	3.6
22	Dominique Kirk	6-3	180	So-1L	6.9	3.3	2.7
10	Chris Walker	6-5	210	Sr-1L	3.4	2.1	1.3
42	Marlon Pompey	6-8	225	Jr-2L	5.8	3.2	0.8 blk
30	Joseph Jones	6-9	250	So-1L	16.4	7.0	.546 FG%

Projected Baylor Starters

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	PPG	RPG	APG
0	Curtis Jerrells	G	6-1	200	Fr-HS	12.2	3.2	3.5
14	Aaron Bruce	G	6-3	195	So-1L	11.2	3.1	2.9
20	Tim Bush	F	6-6	235	Jr-1L	3.9	2.5	1.2
32	Tommy Swanson	F	6-10	225	Sr-3L	4.6	4.0	0.5
15	Mamadou Diene	C	7-0	240	Fr-RS	2.9	5.7	0.5

Last Month in College Station

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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 Jan. 28. A&M struggled to stay on top after leading by as many as 12 points in the second half. The Bears were 16-of-30 from 3-point range for 53 percent, with Aaron Bruce making 6-of-11.

Last Year in Waco

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WACO, Texas (AP/3-5-05)- Bobby Leach scored a career-high 25 points to lead Texas A&M to an 84-76 win over Baylor on March 5, 2005. Antoine Wright had 16 points and Acie Law 15 as the Aggies won their first game in six visits to Ferrell Center. Leach's three-pointer put A&M ahead 53-42 with just over 13 minutes remaining. The Aggies scored only one field goal in the game's final four minutes but connected on 15-of-18 free throws to clinch the win. Baylor never got closer than nine points on several occasions, the last coming at 73-64 with 2:08 left to play. Aaron Bruce had 28 points, while Tommy Swanson added 17 points for the Bears. A&M led 38-29 at the half with Wright and Leach pacing the way with 10 points each.

Oklahoma State Recap

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COLLEGE STATION (AP/2-11-06)- Joseph Jones sank a jumper with 1.1 seconds left Saturday to lift Texas A&M to a 46-44 win over Oklahoma State last Saturday at Reed Arena. Jones scored 15 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Aggies, who shot 17 of 42. A&M led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but made only two field goals in the final 13 minutes to allow the Cowboys to come back. Mario Boggan's layup with 2:20 left tied the game at 44-44. The Cowboys had a chance to take only their second lead of the game with 20 seconds to go, but Jamaal Brown missed a layup. A&M point guard Acie Law then moved the ball up the court and set up Jones for his game-winning shot. JamesOn Curry scored 13 to lead Oklahoma State.

Who's Hot?

• Junior Acie Law has scored in double figures in all but two games. Law ranks fifth in the Big 12 in scoring in league play with 18.5 per game and is eighth overall (16.3). He is the only Big 12 player to average at least 18 points and 4 assists in league play while making better than 45 percent from the field.
• Plagued by early foul trouble in some games, sophomore Joseph Jones is averaging 20.2 points and 8.1 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 scored 11 points, a career-high for a Big 12 game, against Colorado, making 3-of-5 three-pointers. Walker is making 45.8 percent of his three-pointers (11-of-24) in conference play.
• Dominique Kirk has averaged 9.2 points and made 13-of-24 treys (.542) in the last six games. He's scored in double figures in 3 of the last 4 games, averaging 10.7 points and making 8-of-12 (.667) treys.

Talking Points

• In three of A&M's six Big 12 losses (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Kansas State), the Aggies missed potential game-winning shots in the final five seconds. Seven of A&M's 11 league games have been decided by four points or less or in overtime. The Aggies are 4-3 in those games.
• A&M has trailed by double digits in seven games. The Aggies rallied to beat Tech (from 14 points down), Iowa State (10 points) and Colorado (10 points), and came back to tie K-State (from 14 points down) in the final minute. A&M trimmed 14-point deficits to 4 against Kansas and Oklahoma and came within six of Texas after falling 18 points behind with 12 minutes left.
• A&M made 10-of-15 three-pointers (.667) against Oklahoma, setting a school record for accuracy. In the last seven games, A&M has made 40.0 percent of its treys (46-115).
• A&M is forcing an average of 19.7 turnovers per game, most in the Big 12. The Aggies rank second nationally in defensive turnover percentage (turnovers per 100 possessions) at 29.2 percent and are averaging 21.0 points off turnovers per game. The Aggies lead the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (1.22) and are second in turnover margin (+5.86). A&M is second in league play in turnover margin (+3.64) and is third in assist/turnover ratio (1.18).
• A&M is 23rd nationally (third in the Big 12) in defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) at 91.4. Texas (85.5) and Kansas (85.7) and ranked first and second nationally.
• A&M has scored 24.1 percent of its points from the FT line, most in the Big 12 and 20th nationally. The Aggies rank sixth in the nation in free throw rate (free throws made divided by field goal attempts) at 32.5 percent. A&M leads the Big 12 in free throws attempted (25.1) and made (17.0) per game.
• A&M averages 22.4 personal fouls per game, most in the Big 12 and fifth most nationally. Opponents have scored 28.1 percent of their points from the line, the third-highest rate in the nation.
• The foursome of Law, Jones, Kirk and Chris have started 27 straight Big 12 games together.
• Acie Law and Marlon Pompey are the only players who were on the roster two years ago.
• A&M's largest margin of defeat this year has been 13 (83-70) at Texas, which equaled the Longhorns' smallest winning margin in Big 12 play this year. The only other team in the Big 12 with no loss of greater than 13 points this season is Kansas, whose largest defeat was by 12 (61-49) to Arizona.
• A&M leads the conference in fewest opponents field goals made (19.4) and attempted (45.2) per game, ranking fourth nationally in fewest field goals allowed and third in fewest attempts. In the last two games, opponents have combined to average 51.0 points, 15.5 field goals, 42.0 field goals attempted and .369 field goal percentage.