lonestar-web
Popular Searches
Men's Basketball

No. 8 Aggies Ready for Tuesday's "Battle of the Brazos"

es from 1982-86. The Aggies lead in games played in Waco, 48-42. The series is tied, 9-9, at the Ferrell Center. A&M has won two straight in Waco. The games last year were decided by 2 points (72-70 i

January 08, 2007

The No. 8-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team battles the Baylor Bears in a Big 12 Conference game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center in Waco. The game will be televised in parts of Texas by FOX Sports Net Southwest. A&M's game notes:


GAME INFO
Tuesday, January 9, 7 p.m. (CST)
Ferrell Center (10,284), Waco, Texas
RECORDS
Texas A&M: 13-2, 1-0 Big 12
Baylor: 10-4, 0-1 Big 12
RANKINGS
A&M is ranked 8th by The Associated Press and 9th by ESPN/USA Today.
TELEVISION

Bill Land, play-by-play
Jim Haller, commentary
LIVE VIDEO
None
RADIO
WTAW-AM 1620 (Local)

Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 153)
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
A&M leads, 122-71
Last Meeting: (2/18/06)
UP NEXT
A&M at Colorado
Saturday, Jan. 13, 6 p.m. (CST)
Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colo.
TV: FSN Southwest/Rocky Mtn


TEXAS A&M AGGIES


  • Record: 13-2 (1-0 Big 12)
  • Ranking: 8th (AP), 9th (USA Today/ESPN)
  • Last Game: Beat Kansas State, 69-65, at home on Saturday
  • Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
    Record: 86-53 (5th year)
    at Texas A&M: 56-21 (3rd year)
    vs. Baylor: 4-0

PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS


 No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 15.3 2.7 5.7 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.9 3.7 3.7 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 12.9 3.1 .525 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.5 5.9 .588 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6''10" 250 Sr-1L 12.2 5.7 .617 FG

BAYLOR BEARS


  • Record: 10-4 (0-1 Big 12)
  • Ranking: Unranked
  • Last Game: Lost at #12 Oklahoma St., 81-77, on Saturday
  • Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler '93)
    Record: 51-68 (5th year)
    at Baylor: 31-57 (4th year)
    vs. Texas A&M: 2-4

PROJECTED BEARS STARTERS


 No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 14 Aaron Bruce G 6'3" 190 Jr-2L 11.0 3.2 4.4 5 Henry Dugat G 6'0" 170 So-1L 12.5 4.8 2.6 00 Curtis Jerrells G 6'1" 195 So-1L 11.6 4.2 4.1 23 Kevin Rogers F 6'9" 235 So-1L 13.2 6.4 1.2 50 Josh Lomers C 7'0" 265 Fr-Hs 4.8 3.2 0.1

Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)


 A&M Baylor Record 13-2 10-4 Conference 2-0 0-1 RPI/Sagarin 32 / 10 128 / 78 AP / USA Today-ESPN 8 / 9 UR / UR Current Streak W6 L1 Field Goal Pct. .519 .496 Opponent FG Pct. .345 .421 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .410 .375 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .259 .338 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.9 8.5 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.7 22.6 Free Throw Pct. .740 .688 Opponent FT Pct. .672 .659 Rebound Avg. 35.9 37.2 Offensive Reb. Avg. 10.4 12.1 Rebounding Margin +5.7 +4.2 Turnovers Avg. 13.5 15.1 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 17.3 15.6 Assists Avg. 21.3 16.9 Blocks Avg. 3.4 5.0 Steals Avg. 8.1 6.9 Scoring Avg. 77.7 80.7 Opponent Scoring 52.7 68.4 Scoring Margin +24.9 +12.4

Key Game Notes


  • A&M is riding a six-game winning streak. The Aggies are coming off a 69-65 win against Kansas State at home on Saturday.
  • Baylor is coming off an 81-77 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday. The loss ended a four-game winning streak.
  • A&M is 1-2 on the road this season, while Baylor is 9-1 at home.
  • A&M's 13-2 start is its best since an identical start in 1978-79. A win would make the Aggies 14-2 for the first time since a 16-2 start in 1959-60.
  • A&M has won seven straight regular-season Big 12 games since an 83-70 loss at Texas last season, including three straight road games.
  • A&M is the only team in the country that has not allowed an opponent to score more than 65 points.

About Baylor


  • Baylor finished 4-13 against an abbreviated schedule last year and placed 12th in the Big 12 at 4-12.
  • The Bear's lone home loss was against South Carolina (64-59) on Dec. 9.
  • Baylor's other losses have been against Gonzaga (87-82), Syracuse (94-71) and Oklahoma State (81-77).
  • Five Bears average in double figures in scoring, led by sophomore forward Kevin Rogers, who averages 13.2 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds. Also in double figures are sophomore guard Henry Dugat (12.5), sophomore guard Curtis Jerrells (11.6), junior guard Aaron Bruce (11.0) and freshman guard Tweety Carter (10.4).
  • Forward Mamadou Diene leads the Big 12 in blocked shots with 2.4 per game.
  • Baylor ranks third in the leagie in scoring with 80.7 points per game and is making 49.6 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from three-point range.

Series Notes


  • A&M leads the series, 122-71, and has won four straight in the series, the longest streak by either team since the Aggies beat the Bears nine straight times from 1982-86.
  • The Aggies lead in games played in Waco, 48-42. The series is tied, 9-9, at the Ferrell Center.
  • A&M has won two straight in Waco.
  • The games last year were decided by 2 points (72-70 in College Station) and 4 points (64-60 in Waco).

Sidebars


  • Billy Gillispie was an assistant coach at Baylor under Harry Miller from 1994-97. He also coached many years in the high school ranks in Central Texas, leading Killeen Ellison to the state tournament in 1993.
  • A&M senior Marlon Pompey played one season (2001-02) at Westbury Christian in Houston under Baylor assistant coach Jerome Tang.

Last Year in Waco


WACO, Texas (AP, Feb. 18, 2006) -- Acie Law IV scored 18 points and sank two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining, clinching Texas A&M's 64-60 win over Baylor. Josh Carter and Joseph Jones each added 14 points for A&M. Carter's layup with 8.9 seconds left put the Aggies ahead 62-58, but Tommy Swanson's tip-in cut the Baylor deficit to two. Law then sank the free throws after he was fouled by Aaron Bruce on the inbound pass. Curtis Jerrells and Bruce led Baylor with 14 points each. Swanson added 12 points and had a career-high 14 rebounds. A&M's Antanas Kavaliauskas added 10 points, going 5-for-5 from the field. Baylor missed an opportunity when, trailing 58-56 with 21.9 seconds left, Swanson couldn't corral the rebound on Josh Carter's missed free throw. A&M, which shot just 35 percent in the second half, led 28-17 late in the first half before Baylor stormed back. The Bears ended the half on a 14-0 run and took a 34-31 halftime lead.


Kansas State Recap


COLLEGE STATION (AP, Jan. 6, 2007) -- Acie Law IV hit a pair of free throws with 6.5 seconds to play to help No. 11 Texas A&M survive an upset bid by Kansas State with a 69-65 victory in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. In winning its sixth consecutive game, the Aggies improved to 12-0 on their home floor, but not without a major scare from the Wildcats. Law had a chance to wrap the game up, but missed a pair at the line with 22 seconds left and a 66-63 lead. After Akeem Wright scored on a driving layup to slice the deficit to a point with seven seconds left, he immediately fouled Law on the inbounds play. This time Law buried both foul shots, and a home run pass by the Wildcats was intercepted by Aggies center Joseph Jones. Law scored 18 points and Jones added 17 for the Aggies, who were 22-of-26 from the stripe. Josh Carter added 11 points, including a four-point momentum-changing play that tied it at 55 with just under 7 1/2 minutes to play. Wright scored a season-high 18 points for Kansas State.


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 leads the Big 12 and ranks 46th nationally in free throw percentage at 86.6 percent. He has made 35-of-37 (.946) in the last 10 games.
  • Law has averaged 17.2 points and 6.9 assists in the last seven games. He ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (5.8) and also ranks in the top 11 in scoring (15.3, 11th), field goal accuracy (.515, 8th) and assist/turnover ratio (2.1, 7th).
  • 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 7th nationally in three-point accuracy at 52.6 percent. Carter is averaging 17.0 points and making 60.5 percent (26-of-43) of his three-pointers in the last six games.
  • Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 20 points with a career-best 10 rebounds against Winthrop, his first career double-double. He ranks third in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally in field goal percentage (.617).
  • Junior Dominique Kirk scored 12 points against Kansas State, making 3-of-4 from three-point range. Kirk is making 40.0 percent of his three-pointers this season (22-55). His 105 career treys rank sixth in school history.

Angles & Storylines


  • A&M's 13-2 start is its best since the 1978-79 team also started 13-2. The last time an A&M team was 14-2 was in 1959-60, when the Aggies got out to a 16-2 start.
  • A&M is the only team in the country that has not allowed an opponent to score more than 65 points.
  • The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.345), rank third in three-point percentage defense (.259) and are third in scoring defense (52.7). A&M leads the Big 12 in all three categories.
  • A&M leads the nation in assists (21.3) and is third in field goal percentage (.519), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57) and second in scoring margin (+24.9). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in all four categories.
  • The Aggies also lead the country in assists percentage, with 74.7 percent of their field goals assisted.
  • A&M is the only team to rank among the top 15 nationally in both defensive and offensive field goal accuracy.
  • The Aggies are ranked No. 2 nationally (North Carolina is No. 1) in combined defensive and offensive efficiency (points allowed and scored per 100 possessions) by ESPN statistical guru Ken Pomeroy. A&M is second in defensive efficiency (80.6) and seventh in offensive efficiency (117.5).
  • A&M has not been out-scored in points in the paint this season, averaging 35.6 points per game.
  • A&M has out-rebounded its last seven opponents by an average margin of +10.4.
  • A&M is ranked 8th this week by the AP and is 9th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. The Aggies have been ranked a school-record 10 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 17 straight home games since an 83-73 loss to Kansas last season, the 10th longest active streak in the country.
  • A&M is the only team in the Big 12 that has started the same lineup in every game this season.
  • A&M is 45-5 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 61-6 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.