January 01, 2007
The 11th-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team closes its non-conference schedule on Tuesday when it plays host to Big South Conference power Winthrop at 8:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game is part of a doubleheader with the A&M women's team, which plays Western Illinois at 6 p.m. A&M's game notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Tuesday, January 2, 8:30 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 11-2 Winthrop: 10-3 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 11th by both ESPN/USA Today and The Associated Press. |
| TELEVISION |
| None |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| Aggies All-Access Free in Texas and South Carolina ONLY: PPV outside Texas/South Carolina: |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 123) Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary (broadcast time 8 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 |
| First Meeting |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts Kansas State Saturday, Jan. 6, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station TV: ESPN Plus/ESPN Full Court |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- Record: 11-2 (0-0 Big 12)
- Ranking: 11th (AP), 11th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Beat Grambling, 101-27, at home last Thursday
- Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 84-53 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 54-21 (3rd year)
vs. Winthrop: 0-0
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 14.6 2.8 5.6 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.8 3.9 3.5 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 12.8 2.9 .533 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 14.0 5.7 .627 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6'10" 250 Sr-1L 12.3 5.4 .611 FG
WINTHROP EAGLES
- Record: 10-3 (0-0 Big South)
- Ranking: Receiving votes (coaches' poll)
- Last Game: Won at Old Dominion, 71-65, on Friday
- Head Coach: Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon '85)
Record: 175-81 (9th year)
at Winthrop: 175-81 (9th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED EAGLES STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 10 Chris Gaynor G 5'10" 158 Junior 9.2 2.7 4.2 11 Michael Jenkins G 6'3" 181 Junior 15.2 3.3 3.1 12 Torrell Martin G 6'5" 195 Senior 16.0 6.1 2.0 33 Phillip Williams F 6'8" 215 Senior 9.2 5.8 1.0 5 Craig Bradshaw C 6'10" 242 Senior 10.2 5.6 1.1
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M Winthrop Record 11-2 10-3 Conference 0-0 0-0 Sagarin Rating 12 20 AP / USA Today-ESPN 11/12 UR/UR Current Streak W4 W4 Field Goal Pct. .524 .450 Opponent FG Pct. .331 .410 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .406 .359 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .251 .318 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.8 8.7 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.7 24.2 Free Throw Pct. .723 .642 Opponent FT Pct. .669 .632 Rebound Avg. 36.3 37.0 Offensive Reb. Avg. 10.6 13.8 Rebounding Margin +5.0 +5.5 Turnovers Avg. 13.6 12.8 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 18.2 17.3 Assists Avg. 21.5 15.5 Blocks Avg. 3.5 3.1 Steals Avg. 8.8 9.6 Scoring Avg. 78.8 73.6 Opponent Scoring 51.9 57.8 Scoring Margin +26.9 +15.8
Key Game Notes
- A&M and Winthrop are each riding four-game winning streaks. A&M is coming off a 101-27 win against Grambling at home on Thursday, while Winthrop is coming off a 71-65 road win against Old Dominion on Friday.
- A&M is 10-0 at home this season, while Winthrop is 4-2 in true road games.
- A&M has won 15 straight home games, tied for the 10th longest streak in the country and the second longest in the Big 12 (Texas has won 18 straight at home).
- A&M has won 32 straight regular-season non-conference home games.
- Tuesday's game closes A&M's non-conference schedule. A win would set a school record for most regular-season non-conference wins. The Aggies went 11-0 in their pre-conference schedule in 2004-05.
- A&M is ranked 12th in the Sagarin Ratings while Winthrop is rated No. 20.
About Winthrop
- The Eagles went 23-8 last year and captured the Big South title with a 13-3 mark.
- Located in Rock Hills, S.C., Winthrop has made the NCAA Tournament six times in the last eight years under Coach Gregg Marshall.
- The Eagles lost a narrow 63-61 decision to Tennessee in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
- Winthrop is ranked No. 6 in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major poll.
- The Eagles' three losses have all been to nationally ranked teams by an average of just 7.0 points. The Eagles lost to No. 2 North Carolina (73-66), No. 24 Maryland (71-60) and No. 11 Wisconsin (82-79 in OT).
- All five Winthrop starters average at least 9.2 points per game, led by senior forward Torrell Martin (6'5"), who is averaging 16.0 points and 6.1 rebounds.
- Junior guard Michael Jenkins (6'3") averages 15.2 points and has made a blazing 49.0 percent from three-point range (48-of-98).
- The Eagles are allowing just 57.8 points per game on 41.0 percent field goal accuracy.
Series Notes
- A&M and Winthrop are meeting for the first time.
- The Aggies are 0-1 all-time against teams from the Big South, losing to Birmingham Southern (74-54) in 2000-01.
- The Eagles are 1-4 all-time against teams from the Big 12, including a win at Missouri (51-46) in 1999-00.
Grambling Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Dec. 28, 2006) -- Josh Carter scored 24 points and Joseph Jones added 20 as No. 11 Texas A&M pulverized Grambling with a 101-27 victory. Acie Law IV had 13 points and Donald Sloan added 12 for the Aggies, who have averaged 100.5 points in all four series victories vs. the Tigers. Carter, who scored 21 first-half points, made 8-of-13 3-point field goals. He missed just one other shot from the field for Texas A&M (11-2), which outrebounded Grambling, 48-34, and forced 30 turnovers. Jones was 8-of-8 from the field for the Aggies, who led, 65-13, at halftime, holding the Tigers to just four field goals. Texas A&M shot 52 percent (37-of-71) while Grambling finished 10-of-51 (20 percent). Kendric Baker and Anthony Williams each scored six points for the Tigers (2-5), who did not have another player make more than one field goal the entire contest.
Looking Ahead
- The Aggies open Big 12 play against Bob Huggins' Kansas State squad on Saturday in College Station.
- A&M then embarks on a two-game road swing to play Baylor (Jan. 9) and Colorado (Jan. 13) next week.
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 the Shelby Metcalf Classic.
- Jones scored 20 points (8-of-8 FG) with 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks against Grambling and has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games. He tied his career-high with 13 rebounds against top-ranked UCLA and added 11 points for his first double-double of the year. He is the only player in the country making at least 62 percent from the field while shooting 84 percent from the free throw line.
- Law tied his career-high with 14 assists and added 13 points against Grambling. Law has averaged 16.2 points and 7.0 assists in the last five games.
- Sophomore Josh Carter has twice tied the school record with 8 three-pointers in a game this season (Idaho State and Grambling) and leads the Big 12 in three-point accuracy at 53.3 percent. Carter is averaging 19.0 points and making 65.5 percent (19-of-29) of his three-pointers in the last four games.
- Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas is averaging 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in the last seven games, making 61.5 percent from the field. He ranks fourth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.611).
- Senior Marlon Pompey has averaged 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in the last three games while making 77.8 percent (7-9) from the field and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the free throw line.
- Freshman Donald Sloan scored a career-high 12 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals against Grambling. In the last three games, Sloan has averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists while making 68.4 percent from the field.
Angles & Storylines
- The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.331) and are third in scoring defense (51.9). No opponent this season has scored more than 65 points. A&M leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense, scoring defense and three-point percentage defense (.257).
- A&M leads the nation in assists (21.5) and is third in field goal percentage (.524), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58) and second in scoring margin (+26.9). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in scoring margin, field goal percentage, assists, and assist/turnover ratio.
- A&M is the only team to rank among the top 15 nationally in both defensive and offensive field goal accuracy.
- A&M has out-scored all 13 opponents in points in the paint, averaging 37.2 points per game and posting an average margin of +20.5 over its opponents.
- A&M has out-rebounded its last five opponents by an average margin of +10.6.
- Joseph Jones needs 6 rebounds to become the 19th Aggie to reach 500 in a career. Only 13 players have scored 1,000 points with 500 boards.
- A&M is ranked 11th this week in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' polls. The Aggies have been ranked a school-record nine straight weeks, breaking the previous mark of eight weeks set in 1959-60 and matched in 1978-79. Before this year, A&M's last previous top-10 ranking was on Jan. 3, 1979, when it was ranked 10th by The AP. A&M was ranked No. 6 in early December, the highest in school history.
- Prior to this season, A&M's last ranking by the AP came on Dec. 30, 1980, when the Aggies were 11th.
- A&M has won 15 straight home games since an 83-73 loss to Kansas last season, tying for the 10th longest active streak in the country.
- A&M has won 32 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 43-5 at Reed Arena under Billy Gillispie, with a 29-1 mark against non-conference foes (including a 1-1 record in the 2005 postseason NIT). Gillipsie is 59-6 in home games in his last four seasons as a head coach.
- Acie Law and Marlon Pompey are the only remaining players who were on the roster before Billy Gillispie arrived.
- 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.