January 30, 2007
The No. 8-ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team goes for its 20th straight win at Reed Arena on Wednesday when the Aggies play host to the Iowa State Cyclones. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. A&M's game notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Wednesday, January 31, 6:30 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 17-3, 5-1 Big 12 Iowa State: 11-9, 2-4 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 8th by ESPN/USA Today and 10th by The Associated Press. |
| TELEVISION |
| Greg Lucas, play-by-play Jim Haller, commentary |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| None |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio - none Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary (broadcast time 6 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video: None Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| Iowa State leads, 7-4 Last Meeting: (1/21/06) Last at Reed: (2/22/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at (#6) Kansas Saturday, Feb. 3, 8 p.m. (CST) Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kan. TV: ESPN/ESPNHD |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- Record: 17-3 (5-1 Big 12)
- Ranking: 10th (AP), 8th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Beat Oklahoma, 70-61, on Saturday
- Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 90-54 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 60-22 (3rd year)
vs. Iowa State: 2-0
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 16.6 3.0 4.9 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.8 3.5 3.3 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 11.8 3.4 .500 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.3 6.8 .565 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6''10" 250 Sr-1L 12.3 5.6 .606 FG
IOWA STATE CYCLONES
- Record: 11-9 (2-4 Big 12)
- Ranking: UR
- Last Game: Lost at Oklahoma St., 62-50, on Saturday
- Head Coach: Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa '88)
Record: 232-135 (13th year)
at Iowa State: 11-9 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED CYCLONES STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 3 Corey McIntosh G 6'0" 160 Jr-Tr 4.0 1.8 2.4 24 Mike Taylor G 6'2" 165 Jr-Tr 16.6 4.0 4.2 13 Rahshon Clark F 6'6" 200 Jr-2L 7.9 7.0 1.2 4 Wesley Johnson F 6'7" 195 Fr-Hs 12.1 9.2 1.1 33 Jiri Hubalek C 6'11" 225 Jr-1L 10.3 6.9 0.6
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M ISU Record 17-3 11-9 Conference 5-1 4-2 RPI/Sagarin 20 / 9 146 / 140 AP / USA Today-ESPN 10 / 8 UR / UR Current Streak W1 L4 Field Goal Pct. .510 .414 Opponent FG Pct. .351 .419 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .403 .337 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .271 .352 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.3 6.9 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 15.5 20.5 Free Throw Pct. .749 .678 Opponent FT Pct. .702 .712 Rebound Avg. 35.2 37.9 Offensive Reb. Avg. 9.8 13.8 Rebounding Margin +5.6 +4.2 Turnovers Avg. 13.4 14.5 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 16.3 13.4 Assists Avg. 18.9 12.0 Blocks Avg. 3.2 4.0 Steals Avg. 7.3 5.0 Scoring Avg. 75.9 66.2 Opponent Scoring 54.5 64.5 Scoring Margin +21.4 +1.7
Key Game Notes
- The Aggies are coming off a 70-61 win against Oklahoma at home on Saturday and have won nine of their last 10 games.
- Iowa State has lost four straight games and is coming off a 62-50 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday.
- A&M has won 19 straight home games, the ninth longest streak in the country. The Aggies have won eight straight Big 12 home games. The last home loss was last season against Kansas (83-73).
- A&M is 14-0 at home this season while Iowa State is 2-5 in true road games.
- A&M's 17-3 start equals the best in school history after 20 games. The Aggies also started 17-3 in 1959-60, when Billy Gillispie was two months old.
- A win against ISU would make A&M 18-3 for the first time in school annals.
- A&M has held 31 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 Iowa State
- The Cyclones are in their first season under Coach Greg McDermott, formerly of Northern Iowa.
- Iowa State went 16-14 last season and tied for seventh in the Big 12 at 6-10.
- The Cyclones are led by junior guard Mike Taylor (6'2"), who is averaging 16.6 points and 4.2 assists per game. Freshman forward Wesley Johnson (6'7") adds 12.1 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds while junior center (6'11") Jiri Hubalek averages 10.3 points and 6.9 boards.
- Iowa State opened Big 12 play with a road win at Missouri (66-65) and a home victory against Nebraska (71-62).
Series Notes
- Iowa State leads the series, 7-4, but A&M has won two straight and four of the last six.
- The Cyclones have a 3-2 lead in games played in College Station with a 2-2 mark at Reed Arena. A&M has won the last two games at Reed Arena.
- A&M rallied from a 10-point deficit for an 86-81 overtime win last year in Ames and posted a 75-59 victory two years ago in College Station
Sidebars
- Iowa State has three Texas players on its roster -- freshman Wesley Johnson (Corsicana), senior Chris Ceaser (Humble) and senior Jeff Bergstrom (Kingwood).
Last Year vs. Iowa State
AMES, Iowa (AP, Jan. 21, 2006) -- Joseph Jones and Acie Law each scored 17 points and Kenneth White hit two key 3-pointers to lead Texas A&M past Iowa State 86-81 in overtime, snapping the Aggies' three-game losing streak. A&M outscored Iowa State 11-2 down the stretch, as White and Josh Carter hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Aggies an 82-79 lead with 54 seconds left. Curtis Stinson turned the ball over on Iowa State's next possession, and A&M iced the game by hitting four free throws in the final 43 seconds. Iowa State led by as much as 10 late in the first half before the Aggies rallied. With 34.6 seconds left in regulation, Rahshon Clark missed the back end of a one-and-one, and White buried his first shot of the day -- a 23-footer with 17.7 seconds left -- to tie the game at 73 and send it into overtime. Stinson led Iowa State with 27 points, and Jiri Hubalek added 16. Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 15 for A&M and Carter chipped in 11.
Oklahoma Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP)- Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 20 points and Acie Law added 19, including 12 in the last four minutes, as No. 6 Texas A&M beat Oklahoma 70-61 on Saturday to snap a 14-game losing streak to the Sooners. The win was A&M's 19th straight at home. Oklahoma cut the lead to two twice in the second half. The second time, a pair of free throws by Nate Carter made it 53-51 with about five minutes left, but A&M answered with a quick jumper by Dominique Kirk. Then Law took over. He made three free throws and a basket before dazzling the crowd with an off-balance layup that drew a foul. He hit that free throw and added two more to stretch the lead to 65-53. Law added a pair of free throws with 52 seconds remaining. The Aggies were down by one at halftime but outscored Oklahoma 7-2 in the opening minutes of the second half to take a 35-31 lead and never trailed again.The Sooners shot just 34 percent, but stayed in the game by making 19 of 21 free throws. Carter led Oklahoma with 19 points and made all 13 of his free throws. Josh Carter added 13 points for A&M, making both of his 3s and all five free throws.
Who's Hot?
- Senior Acie Law IV is among the top 30 midseason candidates for the Wooden Award and also is a candidate for the Naismith Award, which consist of the top 50 players in the country. In addition, he has been nominated for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.
- Law has averaged 20.3 points in the last seven 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.
- Junior Joseph Jones is averaging 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds in Big 12 play, ranking fifth 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.
- Sophomore Josh Carter leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally in three-point accuracy at 50.0 percent, despite going 0-of-9 against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. He is most accurate career three-point shooter in A&M history and ranks second in Big 12 annals (.442).
- Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas scored a team-high 20 points with 6 rebounds against Oklahoma and ranks second in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally in field goal percentage (.606). Kavaliauskas has posted at least five rebounds in seven 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 29.1 percent shooting (16-of-55). Kirk scored 12 points at Texas Tech, making 3-of-7 three-pointers.
Angles & Storylines
- A&M's 17-3 start matches the best in school history after 20 games (1959-60). A win against Iowa State would hand A&M its best-ever record after 21 games.
- The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.351) and is second in three-point percentage defense (.271) and scoring defense (54.5).
- The Aggies have held 31 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 40 halves played.
- A&M ranks fourth nationally in field goal percentage (.510) and is sixth in assists (18.9). The Aggies also are fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.42) and third in scoring margin (+21.4). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in all four categories.
- The Aggies rank third nationally in assists percentage, with 69.9 percent of their field goals assisted.
- A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally in free throw accuracy, making 74.9 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 (83.7) and eighth in offensive efficiency (119.5).
- A&M has not been out-scored in points in the paint this season, averaging 34.3 points per game.
- A&M has out-rebounded 11 of its last 12 opponents by an average margin of +8.5.
- A&M is ranked 8th this week in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll and is 10th by the AP. The Aggies have been ranked a school-record 13 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 has twice reached a No. 6 ranking this season, 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 19 straight home games, the 9th longest active streak in the country. The Aggies have won eight 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 47-5 at Reed Arena under Billy Gillispie, with a 15-4 mark in Big 12 play and a 32-1 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.
- A&M will be featured on the ABC series "Free Ticket: Inside College Basketball" this Saturday at 2 p.m. The 30-minute show is a behind-the scenes look at the Aggie basketball program. A second 30-minute program will be aired on ABC the following Saturday.