January 05, 2007
The No. 11-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team rides a five-game winning streak into Saturday's Big 12 Conference opener against Kansas State. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game is being televised by ESPN Regional. A&M's game notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Saturday, January 6, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 12-2, 0-0 Big 12 Kansas State: 10-4, 0-0 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 11th by both ESPN/USA Today and The Associated Press. |
| TELEVISION |
| KBTX-TV 3 (Local) Mark Neely, play-by-play Reid Gettys, commentary |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| None |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 123) Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary (broadcast time 6:30 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video: None Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| KSU leads, 12-4 Last Meeting: (1/18/06) Last at Reed: (1/22/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Baylor Tuesday, Jan. 9, 7 p.m. (CST) Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas TV: FSN Southwest |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- Record: 12-2 (0-0 Big 12)
- Ranking: 11th (AP), 11th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Beat Winthrop, 71-51, at home on Tuesday
- Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 85-53 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 55-21 (3rd year)
vs. Kansas State: 1-2
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 15.1 2.6 5.8 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.5 3.7 3.7 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 13.0 2.9 .534 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.3 5.7 .613 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6''10" 250 Sr-1L 12.9 5.7 .629 FG
KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
- Record: 10-4 (0-0 Big 12)
- Ranking: Unranked
- Last Game: Lost at Xavier, 76-66, on Wednesday
- Head Coach: Bob Huggins (West Virginia '77)
Record: 577-203 (25th year)
at Kansas State: 10-4 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED WILDCATS STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 5 Clent Stewart G 6'4" 190 Jr-2L 4.3 2.0 2.4 34 Akeem Wright G 6'6" 210 Sr-1L 6.4 5.1 1.9 12 Bill Walker F 6'6" 220 Fr-HS 13.2 5.4 1.0 15 David Hoskins F 6'5" 230 Jr-1L 13.3 5.1 2.1 20 Cartier Martin F 6'7" 230 Sr-3L 15.3 3.7 1.5
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M KSU Record 12-2 10-4 Conference 0-0 0-0 Sagarin Rating 11 67 AP / USA Today-ESPN 11 / 11 UR / UR Current Streak W5 L1 Field Goal Pct. .525 .434 Opponent FG Pct. .338 .402 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .414 .300 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .254 .298 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 7.0 5.9 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.9 19.5 Free Throw Pct. .729 .665 Opponent FT Pct. .668 .708 Rebound Avg. 35.9 38.9 Offensive Reb. Avg. 10.4 14.4 Rebounding Margin +5.3 +4.3 Turnovers Avg. 13.4 15.1 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 17.7 17.3 Assists Avg. 21.6 16.2 Blocks Avg. 3.4 4.6 Steals Avg. 8.4 6.6 Scoring Avg. 78.3 73.0 Opponent Scoring 51.9 65.5 Scoring Margin +26.4 +7.5
Key Game Notes
- A&M is riding a five-game winning streak and is coming off a 71-51 win against Winthrop at home on Tuesday.
- Kansas State is coming off a 76-66 loss at Xavier on Wednesday. The loss ended a six-game winning streak.
- A&M is 11-0 at home this season, while Kansas State is 2-3 in true road games.
- A&M has won 16 straight home games (including 5 straight in Big 12 play), the 10th longest streak in the country and the second longest in the Big 12 (Texas has won 19 straight at home).
- A&M has won six straight regular-season Big 12 games since an 83-70 loss at Texas last season.
- A&M is ranked 11th in the Sagarin Ratings while Kansas State is rated No. 67.
- The Wildcats are in their first season under Coach Bob Huggins, who has posted 577 career victories. Huggins has never played Texas A&M.
- Kansas State finished 15-13 last season and placed seventh in the Big 12 with a 6-10 mark.
- Each of the Wildcats' four losses have been on the road -- New Mexico (78-54), California (78-48), Colorado State (84-83) and Xavier (76-66).
- Among Kansas State's 10 wins are victories against Rutgers (55-41), Southern California (68-55) and New Mexico (72-56).
- Four Wildcats average in double figures in scoring, led by senior forward Cartier Martin (6'7"), who averages 15.3 points. Also in double figures are junior guard David Hoskins (13.3), freshman forward Bill Walker (13.2), and senior guard Lance Harris (10.6).
- Kansas State is making 43.4 percent from the field while allowing only 40.2 percent and has posted an average scoring margin of +7.5.
- KSU leads the series, 12-4, and has won two straight. The Wildcats posted a 58-54 victory last season in Manhattan.
- The Aggies have a 4-1 edge in games played in College Station, with a 3-1 mark at Reed Arena. A&M has won the last two meetings at Reed Arena, posting a 79-66 win in 2003 and a 65-51 victory in 2005.
- Billy Gillispie and Bob Huggins have been on opposing benches just once before. Gillispie was an assistant under Bill Self at Tulsa when the Golden Hurricane eliminated Huggins' Cincinnati team in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament (69-61). Tulsa went on to the Elite Eight.
- Texas A&M junior Joseph Jones and Kansas State senior Cartier Martin were AAU teammates in 2002 and 2003 with Houston Select.
- A&M assistant coach Jeremy Cox served as head coach at Garden City (Kan.) Community College from 1998-02, where he had a 93-36 record.
Last Year's Game
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP, Jan. 18, 2006) -- Cartier Martin scored 17 points and forced a critical held ball with 4.2 seconds left, and Kansas State held off Texas A&M's second-half comeback to win 58-54 on Wednesday night. Lance Harris hit three clutch free throws and added 11 points for Kansas State. A&M lost for the fourth time in five games despite 28 points from Acie Law. The Aggies have lost three straight games by a total of seven points. Law scored 22 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer that tied it at 53-53 with 1:03 to go. But he missed one of two free throws with 29 seconds left and Kansas State up 55-53 -- and then missed two 3-point tries in the closing seconds after Harris hit one free throw with 19.4 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 56-54 lead. Joseph Jones went up for a follow shot after Law's last miss, but Martin tied him up and the ball went to Kansas State on the alternate possession.
Winthrop Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Jan. 2, 2007) -- Acie Law had 22 points and eight assists to lead No. 11 Texas A&M to a 71-51 victory over Winthrop on Tuesday night. Antanas Kavaliauskas had 20 points and Josh Carter added 15 points, all on 3-pointers, for the Aggies (12-2). Michael Jenkins led the Eagles (10-4) with 13 points and Taj McCullough had 12. Winthrop hit two 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the game, but the Aggies went on a 17-2 run over the next 6 minutes to take a 21-8 lead. Winthrop took advantage of A&M overplaying the passing lanes with consecutive backdoor baskets as part of a 14-6 run. But Law went on a run of his own over the final 1:20 of the half, hitting a 3-pointer and making three free throws after being fouled with one second left on the shot clock to give Texas A&M a 33-22 halftime lead. The Eagles hit two straight layups to cut the lead to seven in the second half, but the Aggies went on a 22-9 run over the last 11 minutes. They did not allow consecutive baskets by Winthrop in that run.
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. 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 60 percent from the field while shooting 85 percent from the free throw line.
- Law scored 22 points with 8 assists against Winthrop and tied his career-high with 14 assists against Grambling. Law has averaged 18.6 points and 8.7 assists in the last three games.
- Sophomore Josh Carter has twice tied the school record with 8 three-pointers in a game this season (Idaho State and Grambling), one of only two players in the country to make at least eight treys in two games. Carter ranks second in the Big 12 and 10th nationally in three-point accuracy at 53.4 percent. Carter is averaging 18.2 points and making 63.2 percent (24-of-38) of his three-pointers in the last five games.
- Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 20 points with a career-best 10 rebounds against Winthrop, his first career double-double. He is averaging 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in the last nine games, making 64.1 percent from the field. Kavaliauskas ranks second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.629).
- Senior Marlon Pompey has averaged 7.8 points in the last 4 games while making 72.7 percent (8-11) from the field.
- Freshman Donald Sloan has averaged 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the last four games.
- The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.338) and are third in scoring defense (51.9). A&M and Michigan State are the only teams in the nation not allowing any opponent to score more than 65 points. A&M leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense, scoring defense and three-point percentage defense (.254).
- A&M leads the nation in assists (21.6) and is third in field goal percentage (.525), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62) and second in scoring margin (+26.4). 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 not been out-scored in the paint this season, averaging 36.6 points per game and posting an average margin of +19.1 over its opponents.
- A&M has out-rebounded its last six opponents by an average margin of +10.3.
- Joseph Jones is one of just 13 A&M players who have scored 1,000 career points with 500 rebounds.
- 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 16 straight home games since an 83-73 loss to Kansas last season, the 10th longest active streak in the country.
- A&M has won 33 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 44-5 at Reed Arena under Billy Gillispie, with a 30-1 mark against non-conference foes (including a 1-1 record in the 2005 postseason NIT). Gillipsie is 60-6 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.