November 24, 2006
The 10th-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team plays host to the Idaho State Bengals on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Reed Arena. Game Notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Saturday, Nov. 25, 2 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 4-0 Idaho State: 1-3 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 10th by ESPN/USA Today and 11th by The Associated Press. |
| TELEVISION |
| None |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| Aggies All-Access Free in Texas and Idaho ONLY: PPV outside Texas/Idaho: |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary (broadcast time 1:30 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video (Free*): (Aggies All-Access) Live Video (PPV*): (Aggies All-Access) Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| A&M leads, 1-0 |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts Arkansas-Little Rock Monday, Nov. 27, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 2-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 10th (USA Today/ESPN), 11th (AP)
Last Game: Beat Saint Louis, 69-33, on Sunday
Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 77-51 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 47-19 (3rd year)
vs. Idaho State: 0-0
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. PPG RPG APG
1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 15.3 3.0 3.5
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 5.8 4.0 2.8
23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 10.5 4.5 4.3
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 16.3 5.5 2.3
44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6'10" 250 Sr-1L 11.0 5.0 1.8
IDAHO STATE BENGALS
Record: 1-3 (0-0 Big Sky)
Ranking: None
Last Game: Lost at Washington State, 66-60, on Tuesday
Head Coach: Joe O'Brien (Monmouth '77)
Record: 314-120 (14th year)
at Idaho State: 1-3 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED BENGALS STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
3 Akbar Abdul-Ahad G 6'0" 175 Sr-1L 17.3 3.0 3.8
30 David Schroeder G 6'2" 205 Sr-2L 15.0 7.0 0.8
31 Matt Stucki G 6'6" 205 So-1L 7.8 4.0 1.8
4 Logan Kinghorn F 6'5" 215 Jr-2L 6.8 4.8 0.8
42 John Ofoegbu C 6'9" 245 Sr-Tr 9.5 3.8 0.8
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M ISU
Record 4-0 1-3
Conference 0-0 0-0
RPI (NCAA) n/a n/a
AP-USA Today/ESPN 11/10 UR/UR
Current Streak W4 L2
Field Goal Pct. .513 .447
Opponent FG Pct. .283 .375
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .319 .411
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .240 .315
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 5.8 9.3
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 18.0 22.5
Free Throw Pct. .744 .685
Opponent FT Pct. .644 .674
Rebound Avg. 37.8 33.0
Offensive Reb. Avg. 9.8 8.5
Rebounding Margin +2.3 -4.2
Turnovers Avg. 15.0 17.3
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 22.0 13.0
Assists Avg. 22.3 9.8
Blocks Avg. 4.5 2.3
Steals Avg. 9.0 7.8
Scoring Avg. 79.8 65.0
Opponent Scoring 50.2 66.5
Scoring Margin +29.6 -1.5
Key Game Notes
* A&M is coming off a three-game victory at the inaugural Shelby Metcalf Classic, its first in-season tournament crown since the 1989 Golden Panthers Classic in Miami, which was in Shelby Metcalf's final season as head coach.
* A&M has won 11 straight regular-season games dating back to last year, the fifth-longest streak in the nation. The Aggies' last regular-season loss was to Texas in Austin on Feb. 4, 2006 (83-70).
* The Aggies have won 26 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 an impressive 69-33 win against Saint Louis on Saturday night, the fewest points A&M has allowed in a game since 1958-59.
* Saint Louis, considered a possible NCAA Tournament team, made just 20.8 percent from the field, the lowest by an NCAA opponent in A&M history.
* The Aggies are 37-5 at home under Billy Gillispie. A&M's 36 regular-season homecourt wins in the last three years are the second most in the nation in that span (New Mexico has won 37).
* A&M is 4-0 at home this season while Idaho State is 0-3 on the road..
About Idaho State
* The Bengals are in their first season under Coach Joe O'Brien.
* Idaho State went 13-14 last year and placed seventh in the Big Sky Conference with a 6-10 mark.
* The Bengals again were picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky in the coaches' preseason poll.
* Idaho State is led by senior guard Akbar Abdul-Ahad, who is averaging 17.3 points and is making 42.2 percent from three-point range. Senior guard David Schroeder is adding 15.0 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds.
* Idaho State's three losses have been on the road at Marquette (59-56 in overtime), Brigham Young (84-78 in overtime) and Washington State (66-60).
Series Notes
* Texas A&M leads the series, 1-0.
* The only meeting came at the 1989 Jowers Jamboree in San Marcos, Texas, where the Aggies beat the Bengals, 84-69, in the consolation game.
Saint Louis Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Acie Law scored 23 points to help No. 12 Texas A&M defeat Saint Louis 69-33 in the championship of the inaugural Shelby Metcalf Classic on Sunday. Law hit six of his first eight shots as the Aggies (4-0) jumped out to an early lead. Joseph Jones added 11 points and had six rebounds for Texas A&M. Texas A&M's defense held Saint Louis (3-1) to 21 percent shooting for the game. Tommie Liddell led the Billikens with 12 points. Jones gave A&M a 23-11 lead with 6:20 left in the first half on a twisting layup and a foul shot that came in the middle of an 18-2 run. A&M held Saint Louis scoreless on 15 straight possessions until Liddell hit a fast break layup with 30 seconds left in the first half. A&M led 34-13 at the half. Saint Louis' 13 first-half points tied the record for the fewest points allowed by A&M. Texas Tech scored 13 against the Aggies in the first half in 1986.
Who's Hot?
* Junior Joseph Jones and senior Acie Law IV are on the preseason Wooden and Naismith award watch lists, which each consist of the top 50 players in the country. Law also has been nominated for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.
* Law and Jones were co-MVPs of last week's Shelby Metcalf Classic. Jones scored 19 in each of the first two games, while Law had consecutive 20-point efforts (21, 23) to close out the tournament.
* Jones has averaged 16.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, while making 63.6 percent from the field, in the first 4 games.
* Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas scored a career-high 16 points against Prairie View and is averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, making 63.3 percent from the field and 100 percent (6-6) from the line. Kavaliauskas was named to the Shelby Metcalf Classic all-tournament team.
* Sophomore Josh Carter is averaging 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Carter leads the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio.
* Junior Dominique Kirk made 4-of-5 three-pointers against Lamar, finishing with 12 points and 5 rebounds. Kirk has started in all 66 games in his A&M career.
Aggie Angles & Storylines
* The Aggies rank third nationally in defensive efficiency (points allowed per possession) at .696 and are second in effective defensive field goal percentage (which gives 50% more weight to made 3-Pt. FGs) at .327.
* A&M has won 26 straight regular-season non-conference home games. The last loss was against A&M-Corpus Christi (82-80) early in the 2003-04 season
* A&M is 37-5 at Reed Arena under Billy Gillispie, including a 23-1 mark against non-conference foes (including a 1-1 record in the 2005 postseason NIT). Gillipsie is 53-6 in home games in his last four seasons as a head coach.
* A&M has won 11 straight regular-season games since an 83-70 loss at Texas last season.
* A&M has won nine straight home games since an 83-73 loss to Kansas last season.
* A&M was picked to finish second in the Big 12 this season in a preseason poll of league coaches. The highest previous preseason poll position for the Aggies was seventh last year.
* A&M was ranked 13th in both the AP and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' preseason polls. The last time A&M was ranked in the preseason was in 1980-81, when the Aggies were 15th in the AP and 12th in the UPI Coaches' poll. The only other time A&M was ranked in the preseason was in 1979-80, when it was 14th (AP) and 11th (coaches).
* Prior to this season, A&M's last ranking by the AP came on Dec. 30, 1980, when the Aggies were 11th.
* A&M climbed to 10th in USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll this week (11th by the AP), its third straight week in the polls. The school record for consecutive weeks in the national polls is eight, first set in 1959-60 and tied in 1978-79. A&M's last top-10 ranking was on Jan. 3, 1979, when it was 10th by The AP.
* Acie Law and Marlon Pompey are the only remaining players who were on the roster before Billy Gillispie arrived.
* Of the 21 players on the A&M roster, 19 are from the state of Texas (including 11-of-13 scholarship players), a school record. The year before Gillispie arrived, A&M had only four Texas players, including a pair of walk-ons. Gillispie's first A&M team had 10 Texans while last year's squad had 15.
* A&M plays a record 19 regular-season home games this season.
* A&M broke ground on Nov. 17 on a $16 million, 60,000-square-foot addition to Reed Arena that will include two new practice gyms, locker rooms, film and meeting rooms, a weight room, training and medical facilities, and offices. The project is scheduled to be completed by January 2008.
* A&M returns its top six scorers, four starters and 12 lettermen from last year's team that finished 22-9 overall and placed fourth in the Big 12 with a 10-6 mark. The Aggies made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987 and beat Syracuse in the first round, A&M's first NCAA win since 1980. LSU eliminated the Aggies in the second round, making a long-range three-pointer with three seconds remaining for a 58-57 victory.
* Acie Law IV and Joseph Jones may be the nation's top inside-out combination. They are the only returning inside-out combo in the country who each averaged at least 15.0 points per game last season.
* The crowd of 10,722 that saw the Prairie View A&M game on Nov. 10 was a record for an Aggie season opener. The old mark was 6,929 against North Carolina A&T in 2004-05, Billy Gillispie's first game as A&M's head coach.