November 19, 2006
12th-ranked Texas A&M battles the undefeated Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. for the championship of the inaugural Shelby Metcalf Classic at Reed Arena. Game Notes:
GAME#4
#12 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-0, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic-10 Conference)
Sunday, Nov. 19
5:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Net {Texas and Missouri only})
College Station, Texas
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
TELEVISION
Fox Sports Net (Texas and Missouri only)
Play-by-Play: Greg Lucas
Analyst: Jim Haller
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
SERIES
Saint Louis leads, 1-0
In College Station: 0-0
at Reed Arena: 0-0
Last Meeting: Saint Louis 72, A&M 60 (2000-01 in Honolulu)
MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACTS
Saint Louis: Diana Koval, 314-369-6050 (cell)
Texas A&M: Colin Killian, 979-229-4706 (cell)
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 3-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 12th (AP), 11th (USA Today/ESPN)
Last Game: Beat Louisiana Tech, 75-59, on Saturday
Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State ?'83)
Record: 76-51 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 46-19 (3rd year)
vs. Lamar: 0-0
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. PPG RPG APG
1 Acie Law IV 6?™3? 195 Sr-1L 12.7 5.3 3.7
22 Dominique Kirk 6?™3? 180 Jr-2L 7.0 4.3 2.0
23 Josh Carter 6?™7? 195 So-1L 11.7 4.0 4.7
30 Joseph Jones 6?™9? 250 Jr-2L 18.0 5.3 2.0
44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6?™10? 250 Sr-1L 12.0 3.7 2.0
SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS
Record: 3-0 (0-0 Atlantic-10)
Ranking: RV (USA Today/ESPN)
Last Game: Beat Lamar, 82-69, on Saturday
Head Coach: Brad Soderberg (UW-Stevens Pt.?'85) Record 63-61 (5th year)
at Saint Louis: 194-134 (13th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED BILLIKEN STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG
00 Dwayne Polk G 5?™9? 165 Jr. 7.7 5.7 6.0
21 Kevin Lisch G 6?™2? 180 So. 19.0 3.3 3.7
25 Tommie Liddell G 6?™5? 200 So. 14.7 11.0 3.3
32 Luke Meyer F 6?™5? 200 Jr. 11.3 5.0 1.7
15 Ian Vouyoukas C 6?™10? 270 Sr. 14.0 8.3 2.5
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M SLU
Record 3-0 3-0
Conference 0-0 0-0
RPI (NCAA) n/a n/a
AP-USA Today/ESPN 12/12 UR/RV
Current Streak W3 W3
Field Goal Pct. .506 .500
Opponent FG Pct. .309 .362
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .316 .490
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .258 .359
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.0 8.3
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 19.0 17.0
Free Throw Pct. .794 .708
Opponent FT Pct. .637 .604
Rebound Avg. 36.7 41.0
Offensive Reb. Avg. 10.3 7.3
Rebounding Margin +0.4 +6.7
Turnovers Avg. 16.0 12.3
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 24.0 12.7
Assists Avg. 22.3 19.0
Blocks Avg. 3.3 7.7
Steals Avg. 9.7 4.3
Scoring Avg. 83.3 82.7
Opponent Scoring 56.0 63.0
Scoring Margin +27.3 +19.7
Key Game Notes
* A&M is playing host to the first in-season men?™s tournament in school history. A&M last played in an in-season tournament at the 2002 Cable Car Classic.
* A&M last won an in-season tournament title at the 1989 Golden Panthers Classic in Miami. That was in Shelby Metcalf?™s final season as head coach.
* A&M has won 10 straight regular-season games dating back to last year. The Aggies?™ last regular-season loss was to Texas in Austin on Feb. 4, 2006 (83-70).
* The Aggies have won 25 straight regular-season non-conference games at Reed Arena. The last loss was the A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003 (82-80).
* A&M is coming off a 75-59 win against Louisiana Tech on Saturday night.
* Saint Louis beat Lamar, 82-69, on Saturday.
* The Aggies are 36-5 at home under Billy Gillispie. A&M?™s 34 regular-season homecourt wins in the last three years are the second most in the nation in that span (New Mexico has won 35).
* A&M is 3-0 at home this season while Saint Louis is playing its first true road game.
About Saint Louis
* The Billikens are in their fifth season under Coach Brad Soderberg.
* Saint Louis went 16-13 last year and placed third in the Atlantic-10 Conference with a 10-6 mark.
* The Billikens were picked to finish third in the A-10 in a preseason poll of the league?™s coaches.
* Saint Louis is led by senior center Ian Vouyoukas, a preseason first-team all-conference pick. Sophomore guards Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch were second-team selections.
* Saint Louis set a school record with 12 blocked shots in Saturday?™s win against Lamar.
Sidebars
* Saint Louis leads the series, 1-0.
* The only meeting came at the 2000 Rainbow Blassic in Hawaii, where the Billikens held off the hard-charging Aggies, 72-60. A&M went on to win its next two games in the tournament.
Series Notes
* The series is tied, 2-2, with each team winning twice on its home court.
* The teams have not met since a 100-84 Louisiana Tech win in Ruston, La. in 1969-70..
* The teams last met in College Station in 1968-69, with the Aggies prevailing, 102-83.
Louisiana Tech Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Acie scored a season-high 21 points and Joseph Jones added 19 and seven rebounds for 12th-ranked Texas A&M in a 75-59 triumph over the Bulldogs in the Shelby Metcalf Classic. A 6-3 senior, Law made 8-of-10 shots, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. His shot from the arc with 46 seconds left in the first half gave the Aggies (3-0) a 36-28 advantage at intermission. Louisiana Tech cut the deficit to 38-36 just three minutes into the second half but it would get no closer as A&M responded with an impressive 18-3 burst capped by Bryan Davis?™ layup at the 9:35 mark that made it 56-39. Antanas Kavaliauskas found Law, who scored on an easy basket with 3:33 remaining as the Aggies pushed the lead to a 20-point edge and never looked back. Josh Carter had 12 points and six assists for Texas A&M, which shot a season-best 54 percent (27-of-50) and scored 34 points in the paint. Marcus Elliott scored 17 points and Chad McKenzie chipped in 12 for the Bulldogs (0-2), who shot 34 percent (17-of-49).