Texas A&M
NEBRASKA
Texas A&M 66, Nebraska 55
Feb 25, 2006 | Men's Basketball
February 25, 2006
Acie Law scored 19 points and Texas A&M picked up its fifth straight win, 66-55 over Nebraska on Saturday.
The Aggies are 15-2 at home this season and their five-game Big 12 Conference winning streak is their longest in league history.
The win gives Texas A&M (18-7, 8-6 Big 12) sole possession of fourth place in the conference and is a boost to its NCAA tournament chances. It also gives the Aggies momentum heading into Wednesday's home matchup with archrival No. 7 Texas.
Texas A&M led by as many as 14 in the second half, but let Nebraska (17-10, 7-7) cut the lead to 57-52 late in the game. The Cornhuskers employed a full court press at that point, but the Aggies made two quick baskets to stretch the lead to 61-52.
Poor shooting dogged Nebraska throughout and game and the team shot just 31 percent.
Texas A&M led 50-41 when two straight steals by the Aggies, paired with two layups and one free throw by Law, extended the lead to 55-41.
Nebraska got within 33-30 about midway through the second half on a dunk by Aleks Maric. But Joseph Jones answered with a big two-handed dunk of his own on the next possession and the Cornhuskers would get no closer.
Law hit a long jumper and then slid on the court to save the ball on the other end after a bad pass by Nebraska. He collected himself in time to dash to the other end and knock down a long 3-pointer that put Texas A&M ahead 40-31.
Texas A&M got 12 points from Chris Walker, who made three 3-pointers, and Jones added 11.
Nebraska was led by Jamel White, who had 16 points, and Jason Dourisseau added 14.
Nebraska coach Barry Collier, apparently upset with the lack of fouls called on the Aggies, got a technical with 14:53 left in the first half.
Jones sunk both free throws for the Aggies but then was quickly called for his second foul after battling with Maric under the basket. Jones sat for most of the rest of the half and had just six points before halftime.
The Cornhuskers had bigger problems than the officiating early in the game. They did not make a field goal until a shot by White 10 minutes into the first half that made the score 13-5.
Nebraska never managed to find its offense in the first half, shooting just 17 percent, but was able to keep it close by sinking 11-of-15 free throws. Texas A&M led 27-21 at halftime.
Texas A&M vs. Nebraska
February 25, 2006
Post Game Quotes & Notes
Nebraska Head Coach Barry Collier:
?Those guys (Texas A&M) were very, very aggressive out there today. It really took us out of our offense. Their crowd was very helpful with the way they play defense. Once they got going with their pressure, we had a tough time getting things to go for us. We had chances at different times, but we couldn?™t get it going today. They are very aggressive defensively and do a good job of overplaying the ball. We were not as prepared for that, obviously, and that is my responsibility. But I want to give them credit for their defense. Billy (Gillispie) really scouted us well. It was hard to find ways to attack their pressure. We have to handle ourselves better than we did today to win. Acie Law is a great player. It is helpful for a team to have a guy who can score like Acie can and also run the offense.?
Texas A&M guard Acie Law:
?It feels great to win. We always said in conference when things weren?™t going for us that we would not quit and that we would keep playing hard. We knew things would eventually start to go our way, and we are excited to have won five straight. With guys like Chris (Walker), Dominique (Kirk), and Antanas (Kavaliauskus) playing well it makes it easier on Joe (Jones) and myself. They have really stepped up for us the past few games hitting shots and making plays. Nebraska had a tough time getting shots to fall at the beginning. We weren?™t letting them breathe, and once we got going we just kept the pressure up. They are a great team though, and had a tough game shooting the ball. We will go into the Texas game like all the others. It is a rivalry game, but it is just a regular Big 12 Conference game. Every game down this stretch is big. We try not to think about the NCAA Tournament and those things. Yeah, it is our goal, but we just want to focus on the game before us and keep this streak going. Today we attacked their inside very well and got (Aleks) Maric in foul trouble and then just kept attacking. Joe and Antanas do a great job of getting position and we do a great job of getting them the ball.?
Texas A&M forward Chris Walker:
?In the locker room at the beginning of conference coach highlighted that some teams were shooting like 50% against us. We take things like that personal and we decided to man up a little bit. We have just picked it up and it has been working for us. Me hitting shots really helps out Acie and Joe. The defense has to respect me and come out a little bit getting more room for them to work. It is great for me to help ease their burden a little bit.?
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Gillispie:
?It was a great win for us against a really good team. This was as well-coached a team as
you will play. They have a great post presence and great shooters. Nebraska is without a question an NCAA Tournament team, so this was a great win for us. If we win enough then we will get in the tournament. If we get in, if they let us in the tournament, we will play well. We are good enough to be in there, but we will see if they let us in. We, all along, knew we were going to play 16 games and all my teams are focused on fundamentals and defense. We are designed to gain steam for the tournaments (conference and post-season). We have confidence because we play together defensively. We are as tough a team as you can be. We are playing our best right now, but we still are not good enough for our upcoming challenges. Our conference doesn?™t get respect. We are worthy of playing in the tournament, but I am not politicking. We have to do more to get that chance though. Our next game against Texas will not change anything. We have great respect for every team in this conference. We get ready for every game the same; one at a time. Our players have bought into what we have been doing and know we have to play 16 games the best we can and that we will add them up in the end. Our players have believed all along in our coaches, and the coaches have believed in our players. We have stuck with it since our start. It is not easy to win in this league, but we don?™t worry about what people are saying about us. We worry about each other and have a great mindset in how we approach practices and games. I knew we would fight every game and if you do that it usually works out in the end. I will tell you one thing. There is probably not a 7-6 conference team in the country with the fan support we got tonight. They have been great for us all year and that is just a testament to the progress of our program. I am glad to see that our fans are taking it one game at a time with us.?
A&M Notes:
*The Aggies are 8-6 in the Big 12, tying for its most Big 12 wins in a season (8-8 last year).
*A&M has won five straight conference games, its longest league winning streak since it started the 1994 Southwest Conference season with a 7-0 mark.
*The Aggies posted a season-high 10 blocks, tying for the third most in school history. It was an A&M record for a Big 12 game.
*The Aggies 11-point margin of victory was its largest in Big 12 play this season.
*Nebraska had 13 assists and 15 turnovers. Only two A&M opponents have had a positive assist/turnover ratio this season (Iowa State and Kansas State).
*Nebraska made just .314 from the field, the second lowest by an A&M opponent this season (.308 by Oklahoma State). A&M has limited three of its last four opponents to less than 36 percent.
*Chris Walker tied his career high with 12 points (last year vs. UTPB) and had a season-high 8 rebounds (career high is 9 last year vs. Houston).
*Dominique Kirk handed out a season-high 7 assists (6 vs. Mississippi Valley). Kirk added 9 points, making 3-of-7 three-pointers. The Aggies are 12-3 when Kirk scores at least 7 points and are 10-3 when he makes two or more three-pointers.
*Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 13 points, his third best of the year, while his six rebounds were one shy of his season high (7 vs. Texas Southern).
*Kavaliauskas has made 3-of-3 three points in Big 12 play and 4 of his last 5 this season.
*The Aggies are 9-0 when Kavaliauskas scored 7 or more points.
*A&M is 15-2 at home this season and 32-5 at home under Billy Gillispie.
*The Aggies are 18-3 when its opponents make under 50 percent from the field and are 9-0 when their opponents make under 40 percent.
*A&M is 8-0 when it has at least 19 assists and is 4-1 in Big 12 play when it has at least 18 assists.
*The Aggies are 16-3 when they make at least 40 percent from the field, including an 8-2 mark in Big 12 play.
*A&M is 15-2 when it has at least 15 points off turnovers.
*The Aggies are 14-2 when they have at least 21 points in the paint.
*A&M had 16 fast break points today, its third most of the season and its most in league play.
*Acie Law scored a came-high 19 points with 6 assists and 3 steals. The Aggies are 8-1 when Law has at least 5 assists, including a 5-1 mark in Big 12 play.
