February 04, 2007
The Texas A&M men's basketball team plays its second game in three days on Monday when it battles the Texas Longhorns at 8 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN as part of the network's "Big Monday" package. A&M's game notes:
| GAME INFO |
| Monday, February 5, 8 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 19-3, 7-1 Big 12 Texas: 16-6, 6-2 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 6th by The Associated Press and 7th by ESPN/USA Today. Texas is ranked 25th by ESPN/USA Today and is receiving votes in the AP poll. |
| TELEVISION |
| ESPN/ESPNHD (National) Dan Shulman, play-by-play Dick Vitale, commentary Holly Rowe, sidelines |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| None |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 181) Dave South, play-by-play Al Pulliam, commentary (broadcast time 7:30 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video: None Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| Texas leads, 128-81 Last Meeting: (3/11/06) Last at Reed: (3/1/06) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Nebraska Saturday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m. (CST) Devaney Center, Lincoln TV: FSN Midwest/Southwest |
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- Record: 19-3 (7-1 Big 12)
- Ranking: 10th (AP), 8th (USA Today/ESPN)
- Last Game: Won at #6 Kansas, 69-66, on Saturday
- Head Coach: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83)
Record: 92-54 (5th year)
at Texas A&M: 62-22 (3rd year)
vs. Texas: 2-3
PROJECTED AGGIES STARTERS
No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 1 Acie Law IV 6'3" 195 Sr-1L 16.7 2.9 5.1 22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" 180 Jr-2L 6.7 3.5 3.2 23 Josh Carter 6'7" 195 So-1L 11.7 3.3 .509 3FG 30 Joseph Jones 6'9" 250 Jr-2L 13.5 6.5 .550 FG 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 6'10" 250 Sr-1L 12.0 5.5 .603 FG
TEXAS LONGHORNS
- Record: 16-6 (6-2 Big 12)
- Ranking: 23rd (USA Today/ESPN),22nd (AP)
- Last Game: Lost to K-State, 73-72, at home on Saturday
- Head Coach: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne '77)
Record: 409-216 (20th year)
at Texas: 207-82 (10th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 16-3
PROJECTED LONGHORNS STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG 14 D.J. Augustin G 5'11" 175 Fr-Hs 13.0 2.7 6.9 3 A.J. Abrams G 5'10" 155 So-1L 15.7 2.5 1.6 24 Justin Mason G 6'2" 185 Fr-Hs 9.5 3.8 2.1 5 Damion James F 6'7" 227 Fr-Hs 6.9 7.3 0.9 35 Kevin Durant F 6'9" 225 Fr-Hs 25.3 11.5 1.5
Tale of the Tape
(2006-07 stat comparison)
A&M Texas Record 19-3 16-6 Conference 7-1 6-2 RPI/Sagarin 9 / 6 55 / 39 AP / USA Today-ESPN 10 / 8 22 / 23 Current Streak W3 L1 Field Goal Pct. .503 .448 Opponent FG Pct. .353 .409 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .408 .391 Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .271 .348 3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.4 9.4 3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 15.6 24.1 Free Throw Pct. .749 .712 Opponent FT Pct. .701 .674 Rebound Avg. 35.0 42.5 Offensive Reb. Avg. 9.7 15.6 Rebounding Margin +4.4 +6.1 Turnovers Avg. 13.2 12.8 Opp. Turnovers Avg. 16.5 14.5 Assists Avg. 18.7 14.8 Blocks Avg. 3.3 5.9 Steals Avg. 7.5 7.8 Scoring Avg. 75.5 83.8 Opponent Scoring 54.8 71.3 Scoring Margin +20.6 +12.5
Key Game Notes
- The Aggies have won three straight and are coming off a 69-66 road win against No. 6-ranked Kansas on Saturday. A&M has won 12 of its last 13 games.
- Texas is coming off a 73-72 loss to Kansas State at home on Saturday, which ended a three-game winning streak.
- A&M has won 20 straight home games, tied for the eighth-longest streak in the country. The Aggies' last home loss was to Kansas (83-73) on Jan. 25, 2006.
- A&M is 15-0 at home this season while Texas is 3-2 in true road games.
- Texas has won three straight against top-10 ranked teams while A&M has won two straight against top-12 ranked opponents.
- A&M's 19-3 start is the best in school history after 22 games.
- A&M has held 33 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 Texas
- The Longhorns are in their 10th season under Coach Rick Barnes, who has 409 career wins.
- Texas went 307 last season and tied for first in the Big 12 with a 13-3 mark. The Longhorns were eliminated in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
- Texas' starting lineup features four true freshman and a sophomore.
- The Longhorns are led by freshman forward Kevin Durant, who leads the Big 12 in scoring (25.3) and rebounding (11.5). Sophomore guard A.J. Abrams adds 15.7 points and leads the Big 12 with an average of 3.7 three-pointers per game. Freshman guard D.J. Augustin (13.0) also averages in double figures in scoring.
Series Notes
- Texas leads the series, 128-81, but A&M has a 51-50 edge in games played in College Station. Monday's game will mark the 210th meeting.
- Texas is 6-2 at Reed Arena, but has lost two straight. A&M beat the No. 6-ranked Longhorns 46-43 last year in College Station and posted a 74-63 victory against the No. 9 Longhorns in 2005.
- Texas beat the Aggies twice last season, posting a 74-70 win in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas and an 83-70 victory in Austin.
Sidebars
- A&M Coach Billy Gillispie and Texas assistant coach Rodney Terry were assistants on Harry Miller's staff at Baylor from 1995-97.
- Of the combined 32 players on the teams' rosters, 26 are from the state of Texas.
Last Year at Reed
COLLEGE STATION (AP, March 1, 2006)-- Acie Law made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Texas A&M a 46-43 victory over No. 6 Texas. The Longhorns intentionally fouled Law and after a timeout, he got the inbounds pass and pulled up for a long 3 which swished as the buzzer sounded, sending A&M fans onto the court. It was the second straight year the Aggies beat the Longhorns at home.Joseph Jones scored 14 points for the Aggies and Law had eight. P.J. Tucker had 11 points to lead the Longhorns and Kenton Paulino added eight. The Longhorns were held to their fewest points of the season, scoring far less than their previous low of 58 against Villanova. It was a defensive battle throughout with both teams going without a basket for about 5 minutes early in the second half. Texas was 5-of-16 from the field in the second half and the Aggies were 8-of-26. The first half started the physical tone of the game and featured several spills on the court, 18 fouls and 21 free throws.
Kansas Recap
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Acie Law scored 23 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 21 seconds left, and No. 10 Texas A&M took over first place in the Big 12 with a 69-66 victory Saturday night over No. 6 Kansas. The Jayhawks went up 62-52 with 6:33 to play on Sasha Kaun's baseline hook shot. But then Law led the Aggies on a 12-2 spurt, capped by a three-point play by Antanas Kavaliauskas that made it 64-all with 1 minute to play. Julian Wright worked inside for a bank shot with 45 seconds left that put Kansas back on top 66-64. After a time out by the Aggies, Law drilled a guarded 3-pointer over Brandon Rush and A&M went up 67-66 with 20 seconds to go, their first lead since it was 26-24 in the first half. After Mario Chalmers missed for Kansas, Law was fouled grabbing the rebound and hit two free throws that gave the Aggies a 69-66 lead with 5.2 seconds to go. Josh Carter had 11 points for Texas A&M and Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk each had 10. Kansas, got 18 points from Sherron Collins, 11 from Wright and 10 from Rush.
Who's Hot?
- Senior Acie Law IV is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard and is among the top 30 midseason candidates for the Wooden Award. Law has averaged 19.8 points in the last nine games, including a game-high 23 on Saturday at Kansas.
- In the last five minutes of conference games, Law has averaged 7.4 points while A&M's opponents have averaged a total of 7.3 points. Law has made 68.2 percent from the field, 75.0 percent from three-point range and 83.9 percent from the free throw line in the final five minutes in league play.
- Junior Joseph Jones is averaging 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in Big 12 play and ranks fourth in the league in free throw percentage (.821). He scored 21 points with 5 steals last week against Iowa State.
- Sophomore Josh Carter leads the Big 12 and ranks 4th nationally in three-point accuracy at 50.9 percent. He has made 8-of-12 three-pointers (.667) in the last three games. Carter is most accurate career three-point shooter in A&M history and ranks second in Big 12 annals (.448).
- Senior Antanas Kavaliauskas scored a team-high 20 points with 6 rebounds against Oklahoma and ranks second in the Big 12 and 25th nationally in field goal accuracy (.598).
- 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 28.8 percent shooting (23-of-80).
Angles & Storylines
- A&M will be featured in part-two of the ABC series "Free Ticket: Inside College Basketball" next Saturday at 2 p.m. The 30-minute show is a behind-the scenes look at the Aggie basketball program. The first part of the series about A&M will be rebroadcast on ESPN at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
- In the final five minutes of conference games, A&M has held its opponents to an average of just 7.3 points on 27.5 percent field goal accuracy, including 10.5 percent from three-point range.
- A&M's 19-3 start is the best in school history after 22 games.
- Saturday's 69-66 win against No.-6 ranked Kansas was A&M's first on the road against a top-10 team since 1982, when the Aggies defeated No. 5 Texas in Austin, 71-69. A&M has now beaten a top-10 team in three straight seasons under Billy Gillispie. Before Gillispie's arrival, A&M had not beaten a top 10 team since the 1982 win against Texas.
- The Aggies lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage (.353) and three-point percentage defense (.271) and are second in scoring defense (54.8). A&M leads the Big 12 in all three categories.
- The Aggies have held 33 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 44 halves played.
- A&M ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.503) and in assists (18.7). The Aggies also are fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.42) and third in scoring margin (+20.6). The Aggies lead the Big 12 in all four categories.
- The Aggies rank third nationally in assists percentage, with 69.7 percent of their field goals assisted.
- A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks 22nd nationally in free throw accuracy, making 74.9 percent.
- 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 (84.0) and 10th in offensive efficiency (119.2).
- 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 20 straight home games, the 8th longest active streak in the country. The Aggies have won nine 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 48-5 at Reed Arena under Billy Gillispie, with a 16-4 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 63-6 in home games in his last four seasons as a head coach.