January 19, 2007
The 8th-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team plays host to the 12th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in a Big 12 Conference showdown on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game will be televised regionally by ESPN Regional. A&M's game notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Saturday, January 20, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: SOLD OUT |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 15-2, 3-0 Big 12 Oklahoma State: 16-2, 2-1 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 8th by both The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today. OSU is ranked 12th and 14th, respectively. |
| TELEVISION |
| KBTX-TV 3/CW-BCS (Local) Dave Armstrong, play-by-play Stacey King, commentary |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| None |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 110) 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 |
| OSU leads, 26-9 Last Meeting: (2/11/06) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Texas Tech Wednesday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. (CST) United Spirit Arena, Lubbock TV: Tech TV Network/ESPN Full Court |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- Record: 15-2 (3-0 Big 12)
- Ranking: 8th (AP), 8th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Won at Colorado, 87-69, last Saturday
- Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 88-53 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 58-21 (3rd year)
vs. Oklahoma State: 1-3
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 15.9 2.7 5.2 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.6 3.6 3.4 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 12.6 3.1 .540 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.8 6.8 .566 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6''10" 250 Sr-1L 12.2 5.6 .599 FG
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
- Record: 16-2 (2-1 Big 12)
- Ranking: 12th (AP), 14th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Beat Texas, 105-103, at home on Tuesday
- Head Coach: Sean Sutton (Oklahoma State '92)
Record: 16-2 (1st year)
at Oklahoma State: 16-2 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED COWBOYS STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 00 Byron Eaton G 5'11" 215 So-1L 6.4 2.6 3.6 24 JamesOn Curry G 6'3" 190 Jr-2L 19.1 3.1 4.6 1 Terrel Harris G 6'5" 190 So-1L 11.8 4.3 2.4 5 Marcus Dove F 6'9" 215 Jr-2L 5.9 4.9 1.3 4 Mario Boggan F 6'7" 240 Sr-1L 22.0 8.1 1.6
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M OSU Record 15-2 16-2 Conference 3-0 2-1 RPI/Sagarin 21 / 5 7 / 18 AP / USA Today-ESPN 8 / 8 12 / 14 Current Streak W8 W1 Field Goal Pct. .512 .500 Opponent FG Pct. .347 .424 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .410 .361 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .252 .311 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.7 6.5 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.4 18.0 Free Throw Pct. .744 .746 Opponent FT Pct. .679 .679 Rebound Avg. 36.1 38.0 Offensive Reb. Avg. 10.2 12.9 Rebounding Margin +5.6 +4.9 Turnovers Avg. 13.5 17.4 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 16.8 18.2 Assists Avg. 19.9 16.8 Blocks Avg. 3.2 4.3 Steals Avg. 7.7 8.6 Scoring Avg. 77.2 84.4 Opponent Scoring 53.6 71.2 Scoring Margin +23.6 +13.2
Key Game Notes
- A&M is riding an eight-game winning streak and has been idle since an 87-69 win at Colorado last Saturday.
- OSU has won five of its last six games and is coming off a 105-103 triple overtime win vs. Texas on Tuesday.
- A&M has won 10 straight regular-season Big 12 games since an 83-70 loss at Texas last season, including five straight conference road games.
- A&M is 12-0 at home this season, while Oklahoma State is 0-1 in true road games.
- A&M has won 17 straight home games, tied for the 10th longest active streak in the country.
- A&M's 15-2 start is its best since a 16-2 start in 1959-60, when Billy Gillispie was a baby (born Nov. 7, 1959).
- A&M is one of just three teams in the country that has not allowed an opponent to score more than 69 points.
About Oklahoma State
- The Cowboys are in their first season under Coach Sean Sutton, who previously served as an assistant under his legendary father, Eddie Sutton.
- OSU went 17-16 last year and advanced to the NIT. The Cowboys placed seventh in the Big 12 at 6-10.
- The Cowboys are led by senior forward Mario Boggan, who is averaging 22.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Boggan scored 37 points with 20 rebounds in the win against Texas on Tuesday.
- Two other Cowboys also average in double figures -- junior guard JamesOn Curry (19.1) and sophomore guard Terrel Harris (11.8). Harris leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.867).
- OSU leads the league in free throw accuracy (.746), ranks second in scoring offense (84.4) and is third in field goal percentage (.500) and steals (8.61).
- The Cowboys are allowing 71.2 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting by their opponents.
Series Notes
- Oklahoma State leads the series, 26-9, with an 11-6 advantage in College Station and a 6-2 mark at Reed Arena.
- The teams split two thrillers last year, with OSU posting a 79-77 win in Stillwater and A&M coming away with a 46-44 victory in College Station.
- A&M has not beaten OSU in consecutive seasons since 1923 and 1924.
Sidebars
- A&M assistant coach Alvin Brooks served as an assistant under James Dickey at Texas Tech in 1999-01. Dickey is now an assistant coach at OSU.
- OSU has three Texas high school products who play key roles -- sophomore guards Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris are from Dallas and junior forward Tyler Hatch is from Fort Worth.
- A&M signee Derrek Lewis is a senior at Union High School in Tulsa.
Last Time vs. OSU
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Feb. 11, 2006) -- Joseph Jones sank a jumper with 1.1 seconds left to lift Texas A&M to a 46-44 win over Oklahoma State, which played without Coach Eddie Sutton, who was injured in a car accident. Jones scored 15 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Aggies (15-7, 5-6 Big 12), who shot 17 of 42. Texas A&M led by as many as seven points in the second half, but made only two field goals in the final 13 minutes to allow the Cowboys (13-11, 3-7) to come back. Mario Boggan's layup with 2:20 left tied the game at 44-44. The Cowboys had a chance to take only their second lead of the game with 20 seconds to go, but Jamaal Brown missed a layup. A&M point guard Acie Law then moved the ball up the court and set up Jones for his game-winning shot. JamesOn Curry scored 13 to lead Oklahoma State.
Colorado Recap
BOULDER, Colo. (AP)- Joseph Jones scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds as No. 8 Texas A&M beat Colorado 87-69 on Saturday night for its eighth straight victory. The Aggies are off to their best start since opening 16-2 in 1959-60. The last time Texas A&M started 3-0 in league play was 1993-94 when it was a member of the Southwest Conference. Acie Law, in foul trouble most of the game, had 21 points for the Aggies. Josh Carter scored 19 before fouling out late, and Antanas Kavaliauskas finished with 15. Colorado was led by Dominique Coleman with 17 points. He also had a career-best 13 rebounds. The Buffaloes became the first team to score more than 65 points against the Aggies, who came in allowing the third-fewest points per game in the country (52.7). Colorado was as close as 57-56 with less than 10 minutes remaining -- and had several chances to take the lead -- but couldn't capitalize. The Aggies put Colorado away with a 19-3 run as the Buffaloes went more than three minutes without a basket. Richard Roby scored 11 points, his 10th straight game in double figures. He came in averaging 25 points in Big 12 play.
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 has posted two straight double-doubles and narrowly missed a third (17 points/9 reb. vs. K-State). He is averaging 16.3 points and 12.0 rebounds in Big 12 play. Jones scored 18 points with a career-high 15 rebounds in the win at Colorado and scored 14 points with 12 boards at Baylor.
- Law has averaged 19.1 points and 5.7 assists in the last six games. He ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (5.2) and also ranks in the top 10 in scoring (15.9, 10th), field goal accuracy (.515, 6th) and assist/turnover ratio (2.0, 6th).
- Sophomore Josh Carter leads the Big 12 and ranks 2nd nationally in three-point accuracy at 54.0 percent. Carter is has made 61.5 percent (32-of-52) of his three-pointers in the last eight games. He already ranks as the most accurate career three-point shooter in Big 12 and A&M history (.454).
- Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 15 points with 5 rebounds in the win at Colorado. He ranks second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally in field goal percentage (.599).
- One of the nation's premier defensive players, Dominique Kirk has been the primary defender on the opponents' top offensive threat. In three Big 12 games, he's helped limit K-State's Cartier Martin (6 pts., 1-5 FG), Baylor's Aaron Bruce (2 pts., 0-3 FG) and Colorado's Richard Roby (11 pts., 4-15 FG) to a combined 5-of-23 (.217) shooting and an average of 6.3 points. The trio normally averages 14.6 points per game.
Angles & Storylines
- A&M's 15-2 start is its best since 1959-60, when the Aggies got out to a 16-2 start and Billy Gillispie was a newborn baby in Abilene, Texas (born Nov. 7, 1959).
- A&M is one of only three teams in the country that has not allowed an opponent to reach 70 points.
- The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.347) and three-point percentage defense (.252) while ranking second in scoring defense (53.6). A&M leads the Big 12 in all three categories.
- A&M ranks third nationally in assists (19.9) and is fifth in field goal percentage (.512), sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48) and second in scoring margin (+23.6). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in all four categories.
- The Aggies also rank third nationally in assists percentage, with 71.5 percent of their field goals assisted.
- A&M ranks second in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally in free throw accuracy, making 74.4 percent. In the last four games, the Aggies have connected on 79.6 percent (78-98) from the line.
- 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. 3 nationally in combined defensive and offensive efficiency (points allowed and scored per 100 possessions) by ESPN statistical guru Ken Pomeroy. A&M is first in defensive efficiency (81.3) and ninth in offensive efficiency (116.2).
- A&M has not been out-scored in points in the paint this season, averaging 35.1 points per game.
- A&M has out-rebounded eight of its last nine opponents by an average margin of +9.2.
- A&M is ranked 8th this week in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. The Aggies have been ranked a school-record 11 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, 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.