January 23, 2007
The No. 6-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team puts its nine-game winning streak on the line when it plays Texas Tech on Wednesday in Lubbock. Game time is 7 p.m. A&M's game notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Wednesday, January 24, 7 p.m. (CST) United Spirit Arena (), Lubbock, Texas |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 16-2, 4-0 Big 12 Texas Tech: 14-5, 3-1 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 6th by The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today. Texas Tech is receiving votes in the AP poll. |
| TELEVISION |
| Texas Tech Television Network (west Texas, DFW, Houston) Dave Shore, play-by-play John Harris, commentary |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| None |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 130) 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: (texastech.com) |
| SERIES |
| Tech leads, 60-53 Last Meeting: (3/4/06) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts Oklahoma Saturday, Jan. 27, 1 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station TV: ESPN/ESPNHD Tickets: SOLD OUT |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- Record: 16-2 (4-0 Big 12)
- Ranking: 6th (AP), 6th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Beat Oklahoma State, 67-49, on Saturday
- Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 89-53 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 59-21 (3rd year)
vs. Texas Tech: 3-3
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 15.9 2.8 5.0 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.6 3.6 3.4 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 12.4 3.3 .505 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.8 6.7 .567 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6''10" 250 Sr-1L 12.3 5.6 .600 FG
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
- Record: 14-5 (3-1 Big 12)
- Ranking: RV (AP)
- Last Game: Beat Kansas, 69-64, at home on Saturday
- Head Coach: Bob Knight (Ohio State '62)
Record: 883-355 (41st year)
at Texas Tech: 119-66 (6th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 10-5
PROJECTED RED RAIDERS STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 42 Charlie Burgess G 6'1" 190 Jr-Tr 9.9 4.2 2.3 22 Jarrius Jackson G 6'2" 185 Sr-3L 20.5 3.7 1.6 3 Martin Zeno F 6'5" 208 Jr-2L 16.3 4.9 3.5 32 Jon Plefka F 6'8" 245 Sr-1L 4.6 2.3 0.5 41 Damir Suljagic F 6'8" 245 S0-1L 1.8 1.8 0.4
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M Tech Record 16-2 14-5 Conference 4-0 3-1 RPI/Sagarin 15 / 3 14 / 45 AP / USA Today-ESPN 6 / 6 RV / UR Current Streak W9 W1 Field Goal Pct. .511 .472 Opponent FG Pct. .346 .435 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .401 .438 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .257 .320 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.5 5.8 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.2 13.2 Free Throw Pct. .755 .714 Opponent FT Pct. .685 .670 Rebound Avg. 35.7 32.5 Offensive Reb. Avg. 9.9 10.0 Rebounding Margin +5.6 -3.0 Turnovers Avg. 13.6 12.2 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 17.0 16.5 Assists Avg. 19.6 14.2 Blocks Avg. 3.2 2.1 Steals Avg. 7.6 7.9 Scoring Avg. 76.7 73.8 Opponent Scoring 53.3 66.5 Scoring Margin +23.3 +7.4
Key Game Notes
- A&M is riding an nine-game winning streak, the third longest in the nation behind Wisconsin (15) and Florida (10). The Aggies are coming off a 67-49 win against No. 12 Oklahoma State at home on Saturday.
- Texas Tech has won four of its last five games and is coming off a 69-64 win against No. 5 Kansas at home on Saturday.
- A&M has won 11 straight regular-season Big 12 games, the longest conference winning streak in the country. The last loss was at Texas (83-70) last season. A&M also has won five straight conference road games.
- A&M is 3-1 in true road games this season, while Texas Tech is 9-1 at home.
- A&M's 16-2 start is its best since a 16-2 start in 1959-60, when Billy Gillispie was a baby (born Nov. 7, 1959). A win against Tech would hand the Aggies their best start since the 1919-20 team finished 19-0.
- A&M is one of just three teams in the country that has not allowed an opponent to score more than 69 points.
- A&M has held 29 straight opponents to under 50 percent accuracy from the field, the longest streak in the country.
About Texas Tech
- The Red Raiders are in their sixth season under Coach Bob Knight, the winningest coach in NCAA history with 883 victories.
- Tech went 15-17 last year and placed seventh in the Big 12 with a 6-10 record.
- The Red Raiders are led by senior guard Jarrius Jackson, who is averaging 20.5 points per game and is making 50.0 percent from three-point range. Junior forward Martin Zeno adds 16.3 points per contest.
- Tech leads the Big 12 in three-point accuracy (.438) and is second in turnover margin (+4.37).
Series Notes
- Tech leads the series, 60-53, with an 34-15 record in Lubbock and a 4-3 mark at United Spirit Arena.
- A&M has won three straight against the Red Raiders, including a 75-59 win last year in Lubbock.
- A&M has never won four straight against Tech and has won three straight just twice before (1989-90 and 1971-72) the current streak.
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.
- A&M's Joseph Jones and Tech's Darryl Dora were AAU teammates with Houston Select in 2002 and 2003.
- A&M coach Billy Gillispie was an assistant coach at South Plains Junior College in Levelland in 1993-94.
Last Time vs. Tech
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP, March 4, 2006)- Marlon Pompey scored a career-high 17 points to lead Texas A&M to a 75-59 win over Texas Tech. A&M led by double digits throughout the second half, building a 23-point margin after Pompey hit three straight baskets and a free throw in less than a minute with 7:22 remaining. The Aggies were aided by poor shooting by the Red Raiders, who hit on only 11-of-26 in the second half. Tech got only three field goals in final 8 minutes, two of those coming in the final 60 seconds. Pompey was 8-of-10 from the field and sank his one free throw attempt. The Aggies finished with five players in double figures. Joseph Jones and Acie Law scored 14 each and Dominique Kirk and Antanas Kavaliauskas got 11 each. Jarrius Jackson scored 22 points and Martin Zeno added 12 for the Red Raiders. The Aggies led for most of the first half and closed the half on a 19-4 run to lead 41-27. The spurt included back-to-back 3s by Josh Carter.
Oklahoma State Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Acie Law had 16 points, Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 14 despite having to twice sit down with injuries, and No. 8 Texas A&M beat Oklahoma State 67-49 on Saturday night. The Aggies, who never trailed, also got their 18th straight home win in front of a school-record crowd of 13,187. It was their 11th Big 12 win in a row, also an A&M record. A&M led by as many as 15 in the first half and 10 at halftime but Oklahoma State went on a 9-2 run to open the second half and cut the lead to 40-37. But the Aggies tightened their stifling defense and added eight points while holding the Cowboys to just 2. They ended that run and regained their comfortable lead on a monster dunk by Joseph Jones that made it 48-39 with about 9 minutes left. Jones finished with 13 points. A&M went on a 10-0 run late in the game to stretch the lead 64-46. A&M's defense often left the Cowboys frustrated and they shot just 33 percent. JamesOn Curry had 20 points and Mario Boggan added 11 for the Cowboys.Law scored 11 of his points in the second half after playing just 8 minutes in the first half after getting two early fouls.
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 is averaging 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in Big 12 play, ranking third in the league in rebounding. He 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 19.4 points in the last five games. He ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (5.0) and also ranks in the top 10 in scoring (15.9, 10th), field goal accuracy (.519, 5th) and assist/turnover ratio (2.00, 6th).
- Sophomore Josh Carter leads the Big 12 and ranks 6th nationally in three-point accuracy at 50.5 percent. Carter has made 55.2 percent (32-of-58) of his three-pointers in the last nine games, despite an 0-of-6 night against Oklahoma State. He is most accurate career three-point shooter in A&M history (.443).
- Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas has averaged 14.5 points in the last two games. He ranks second in the Big 12 and 25th nationally in field goal percentage (.600).
- One of the nation's premier defensive players, Dominique Kirk has been the primary defender on the opponents' top offensive threat. In Big 12 play, he's helped hold his man to 30.3 percent shooting (10-of-33).
Angles & Storylines
- A&M has won nine straight games, the third longest streak in the country. The Aggies also have won 11 straight Big 12 games, the longest conference winning streak in the nation.
- A&M's 16-2 start is its best since 1959-60, when the Aggies also got out to a 16-2 start and Billy Gillispie was a newborn baby in Abilene, Texas (born Nov. 7, 1959). A win against Texas Tech would hand A&M its best start since it finished 19-0 in 1919-20.
- 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 (.346) and three-point percentage defense (.257) while ranking second in scoring defense (53.3). A&M leads the Big 12 in all three categories.
- A&M ranks third nationally in assists (19.6) and is fourth in field goal percentage (.511), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44) and second in scoring margin (+23.3). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in all four categories.
- The Aggies also rank second nationally in assists percentage, with 71.6 percent of their field goals assisted.
- A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks 15th nationally in free throw accuracy, making 75.5 percent. In the last five games, the Aggies have connected on 81.6 percent (102-125) 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 (81.1) and ninth in offensive efficiency (115.6).
- A&M has not been out-scored in points in the paint this season, averaging 34.6 points per game.
- A&M has out-rebounded nine of its last 10 opponents by an average margin of +8.9.
- A&M is ranked 6th this week in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' polls, matching the school record set in early December. The Aggies have been ranked a school-record 12 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.
- 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 18 straight home games, the 9th 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 46-5 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). Gillispie is 62-6 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.