No. 6 Aggies Face Oklahoma in Nationally-Televised Big 12 Battle

January 26, 2007

The No. 6-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team looks to extend its 18-game home winning streak when it plays host to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN. A&M's game notes:

GAME INFO

Saturday, January 27, 1 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: SOLD OUT

RECORDS

Texas A&M: 16-3, 4-1 Big 12 Oklahoma: 11-7, 3-3 Big 12

RANKINGS

A&M is ranked 6th by both The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today.

TELEVISION

ESPN/ESPNHD (National) Bob Wischusen, play-by-play Stephen Bardo, commentary

LIVE VIDEO

None

RADIO

WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 152) Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary (broadcast time 12:30 p.m. CST)

INTERNET

Live Video: None Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com)

SERIES

OU leads, 25-1 Last Meeting: (2/1/06) Last at Reed: (1/14/06)

UP NEXT

A&M hosts Iowa State Wednesday, Jan. 31, 6:30 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station TV: FSN Southwest Tickets:

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

• Record: 16-3 (4-1 Big 12)
  
• Ranking: 6th (AP), 6th (USA Today/ESPN)
  
• Last Game: Lost at Texas Tech, 70-68, on Wednesday
  
• Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
  Record: 89-54 (5th year)
  at Texas A&M: 59-22 (3rd year)
  vs. Oklahoma: 0-4
  

PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS

 No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 16.5 2.8 4.8 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.8 3.5 3.2 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 11.7 3.3 .490 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.6 6.7 .571 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6''10" 250 Sr-1L 11.8 5.6 .594 FG 

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

• Record: 11-7 (3-3 Big 12)
  
• Ranking: UR
  
• Last Game: Lost at Oklahoma St., 66-61, on Monday
  
• Head Coach: Jeff Capel (Duke '97)
  Record: 90-48 (5th year)
  at Oklahoma: 11-7 (1st year)
  vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
  

PROJECTED SOONERS STARTERS

 No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 20 Austin Johnson G 6'3" 160 So-1L 8.7 1.9 3.3 2 Michael Neal G 6'3" 198 Sr-1L 10.7 3.3 2.1 5 Tony Crocker G 6'5" 187 Fr-Hs 9.9 4.3 1.9 24 Nate Carter F 6'6" 220 Sr-1L 9.1 4.3 0.6 32 Taylor Griffin F 6'7" 232 So-1L 7.4 6.6 1.6 

Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)

 A&M OU Record 16-3 11-7 Conference 4-1 3-3 RPI/Sagarin 17 / 6 81 / 65 AP / USA Today-ESPN 6 / 6 UR / UR Current Streak L1 L1 Field Goal Pct. .512 .459 Opponent FG Pct. .352 .380 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .401 .324 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .272 .328 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.4 6.4 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.0 19.7 Free Throw Pct. .747 .688 Opponent FT Pct. .691 .698 Rebound Avg. 35.3 37.4 Offensive Reb. Avg. 9.9 12.4 Rebounding Margin +5.7 +7.4 Turnovers Avg. 13.7 14.6 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 16.7 16.1 Assists Avg. 18.9 14.5 Blocks Avg. 3.2 4.5 Steals Avg. 7.4 7.4 Scoring Avg. 76.2 69.6 Opponent Scoring 54.2 57.4 Scoring Margin +22.0 +12.2 

Key Game Notes

• The Aggies are coming off a 70-68 loss at Texas Tech on Wednesday, which ended a 9-game win streak.
• Oklahoma is coming off a 66-61 loss at Oklahoma State on Monday, which ended a 2-game win streak.
• A&M has won 18 straight home games, the ninth longest streak in the country. The Aggies have won seven straight Big 12 home games. The last home loss was last season against Kansas (83-73).
• A&M is 13-0 at home this season while Oklahoma is 0-4 in true road games.
• A&M's 16-3 start is its best since a 16-3 start in 1959-60, when Billy Gillispie was a baby (born Nov. 7, 1959).
• A&M has held 30 straight opponents to under 50 percent accuracy from the field, the longest streak in the country. The Aggies have given up better than 50 percent shooting in just three halves this season.

About Oklahoma

• The Sooners are in their first season under Coach Jeff Capel, formerly of Virginia Commonwealth.
• Oklahoma went 20-9 last season and finished third in the Big 12 at 11-5. The Sooners advanced to the NCAA Tournament and were eliminated in the first round.
• The Sooners have a balanced scoring attack with eight players averaging at least 6.5 points. Junior center Longar Longar (6'11") leads the team with 11.3 points per game while senior guard Michael Neal (6'3") adds 10.7 points per contest.
• Senior forward Nate Carter (6'6") scored 23 points with 11 rebounds in the loss at Oklahoma State.
• The Sooners seven losses have been to Memphis, Purdue, Villanova, Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas and Oklahoma State.
• Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 57.4 points per game.

Series Notes

• Oklahoma leads the series, 25-1, and has won 14 straight, including seven straight at Reed Arena.
• The Sooners have a 10-1 lead in games played in College Station with a 7-1 mark at Reed Arena.
• A&M's lone victory in the series came in the first meeting at Reed Arena in 1998, when the Aggies came away with a 74-72 win.
• Four of the last five games in College Station have been decided by six points or fewer.
• Oklahoma won last year in College Station, 45-44, and posted a 71-63 victory in Norman.

Sidebars

• A&M assistant coach Al Johnson is from Oklahoma City and is a former standout at Langston University. He's a former coach of Athletes First, a highly successful Oklahoma AAU team that included the Sooners' Keith Clark and David Godbold. Johnson has been sidelined much of the season with an undetermined illness.

Last Time vs. OU

NORMAN, Okla. (AP, Feb. 1, 2006)- Michael Neal led No. 19 Oklahoma with 16 points in a 71-63 victory over Texas A&M. It was the fifth straight victory for the Sooners. A&M stayed in the game by shooting 10-for-15 from behind the arc. Neal went 4-of-9 from 3-point range. His fourth 3-pointer, with 6:17 left, gave Oklahoma its biggest lead at 64-50. The Aggies scored the next 11 points and pulled within 64-61 with 3:09 left on a 3-pointer by Dominique Kirk, but managed only a pair of free throws after that. Terrell Everett, who scored 15 points and added six assists, hit a 3-pointer with 2:31 left to extend Oklahoma's lead to 67-61, and he clinched the win with a steal and a dunk with 54 seconds left. Kirk went 4-for-5 from 3-point range and scored 12 points for the Aggies. Center Joseph Jones led A&M with 14 points. Acie Law scored 13 and had six assists. After a first half that included 12 lead changes, Oklahoma led 40-33 at the break. The Sooners closed the half on an 11-4 run.

Texas Tech Recap

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)- Martin Zeno sank a free throw with 24.9 seconds remaining to lift Texas Tech over No. 6 Texas A&M 70-68 on Wednesday night, giving the Red Raiders their second straight win over a Top 10 team. Tech beat then-No. 5 Kansas 69-64 Saturday. The Aggies had a chance with 9.3 seconds remaining, but Zeno stole the inbounds pass and was fouled. He sank both free throws to seal the win. He finished 13-of-14 from the line. Tech hit only one field goal in the final 10:11 of the game, but made 13-of-18 free throws. Darryl Dora hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining to put Tech up 67-66, but Joseph Jones made a free throw to tie it at 67. Zeno scored 22 points and John Plefka added 17 to lead Tech. Acie Law scored 26 points and Kirk had 12 to lead the Aggies. There were six ties and eight lead changes. Tech made only seven buckets in the second half, but five of those were from 3-point range. They hit eight of their first 10 shots and went up by 26-17 on a jumper by Zeno at the 8:14 mark. But Tech didn't score another field goal for nearly 6 minutes, allowing the Aggies to tie it at halftime, 34-34.

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 14.6 points and 9.6 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 20.5 points in the last six games, including a season-high 26 at Texas Tech. He is the only Big 12 player averaging at least 16.0 points with 4.5 or more assists. Law has led A&M in scoring in six straight games.
• Sophomore Josh Carter ranks third in the Big 12 and 16th nationally in three-point accuracy at 49.0 percent, despite going 0-of-9 in the last two games. He is most accurate career three-point shooter in A&M history and ranks second in Big 12 annals (.437).
• Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas ranks second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally in field goal percentage (.594). Kavaliauskas has posted at least five rebounds in six straight games.
• 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 30.2 percent shooting (13-of-43). Kirk scored 12 points at Texas Tech, making 3-of-7 three-pointers.

Angles & Storylines

• A&M's 16-3 start is its best since 1959-60, when the Aggies also got out to a 16-3 start and Billy Gillispie was a newborn baby in Abilene, Texas (born Nov. 7, 1959).
• The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.352) and three-point percentage defense (.272) while ranking second in scoring defense (54.2). A&M leads the Big 12 in all three categories.
• The Aggies have held 30 straight opponents to under 50 percent field goal accuracy, the longest streak in the nation. A&M's opponents this season have shot better than 50 percent in just 3 of 38 halves played.
• A&M ranks fourth nationally in field goal percentage (.512) and is fifth in assists (18.9). The Aggies also are seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.38) and second in scoring margin (+22.0). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in all four categories.
• The Aggies also rank fourth nationally in assists percentage, with 69.5 percent of their field goals assisted.
• A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks 21st nationally in free throw accuracy, making 74.7 percent.
• A&M is the only team to rank among the top 10 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 (82.9) and ninth in offensive efficiency (115.2).
• 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 10 of its last 11 opponents by an average margin of +8.8.
• 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. The Aggies have won seven straight Big 12 home games.
• 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. They endured an 0-16 Big 12 record as true freshmen.
• 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.