November 30, 2007
No. 9-ranked and unbeaten Texas A&M goes on the road to battle the Arizona Wildcats in a Big 12 / Pac 10 Hardwood Series game on Sunday at 5 p.m. (CST) at the McKale Center.
Game #8
#9 Texas A&M Aggies (7-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Arizona Wildcats (4-2, 0-0 Pac 10)
Big 12 / Pac 10 Hardwood Series
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007
4:02 p.m. (MST)/5:02 p.m. (CST)
McKale Center (14,545 cap.)
Tucson, Ariz.
TELEVISION
Fox Sports Net (national)
Available in HD
Play-by-Play: Barry Tompkins
Analyst: Dan Belluomini
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 107
SERIES
Arizona leads, 5-0
In Tucson: Arizona leads, 2-0
At McKale Center: Arizona leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Arizona 88, A&M 44 (Dec. 28, 1995 in Tucson, Ariz.)
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 7-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 9th (USA Today/ESPN), 9th (AP)
Last Game: Beat Alabama, 76-63, on Wednesday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 160-119 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 7-0 (1st year)
vs. Arizona: 0-0
ARIZONA WILDCATS
Record: 4-2 (0-0 Pac 10 Conference)
Ranking: Receiving votes in both polls
Last Game: Beat Cal State Fullerton, 91-65, on Wednesday
Head Coach: Lute Olson (Augsburg ?'56) Record 589-187 (25th year)
at Arizona: 780-280 (35th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 1-0
Key Game Notes
*The Arizona game is part of the Big 12 / Pac 10 Hardwood Series. The Wildcats will make a return trip to College Station next season.
*The Aggies are 7-0 for the fourth straight year. Prior to that span, A&M had not been 7-0 since 1980-81.
*A&M is coming off a 76-63 victory against Alabama at home on Wednesday, while Arizona is coming off a home win against Cal State Fullerton (91-65) on Wednesday.
*A&M is playing its first true road game this season. Arizona is 4-1 at home.
*A&M was ranked No. 1 nationally on Friday in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI ratings, which also rated the Aggies schedule as the fifth toughest in the country.
About Arizona
*The Wildcats went 20-11 last season in their 24th year under Hall of Fame Head Coach Lute Olson. Arizona advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in the first round to Purdue (72-63).
*Olson has taken a leave of absence from the team since Nov. 4. He has 780 career victories to his credit.
*The Wildcats?â„¢ losses have been on the road to Kansas (76-72 in OT) and at home to Virginia (75-72).
*Arizona is led by sophomore forward Chase Budinger (6-7), an All-America candidate who is averaging 18.3 points per game. Freshman guard Jerryd Bayless (6-3) leads the team in scoring with an 18.8 average.
Series Notes
*Arizona leads the series, 5-0, with three games played at Neutral sites and two in Tucson.
*The teams last met in 1995-96, with the No. 9-ranked Wildcats posting an impressive 88-44 victory in the first round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson.
*The 1995-96 game was the only time that Lute Olson has faced the Aggies.
*A&M is 3-20 all-time against Pac 10 teams, but the Aggies defeated Washington, 77-63, on Nov. 21 in the preseason NIT semifinals in New York City. Arizona is 62-66 against teams from the Big 12.
Sidebars
*A&M senior Beau Muhlbach played in eight games as a freshman at Arizona in 2003-04. He scored 4 points against Oregon State and 3 against Northern Arizona as a member of the Wildcats.
*Muhlbach and Arizona center Kirk Walters were roommates as freshmen at Arizona. Walters is the only Wildcat remaining from the 2003-04 team.
*The Wildcats have three players from the Houston area -- senior starter Jawann McClellan , junior Fendi Onobun and sophomore Nic Wise. The trio had played many times in AAU basketball against A&M?â„¢s DeAndre Jordan, B.J. Holmes, Nathan Walkup and Chinemelu Elonu.
Looking Ahead
*After the Arizona game, the Aggies take a six-day hiatus before beginning an eight-game homestand against Texas State next Saturday. A&M does not venture onto the road against until they face Texas Tech on Jan. 16 in Lubbock.
Who?â„¢s Hot?
*A preseason All-America candidate, senior forward Joseph Jones was named MVP of the Dick?â„¢s Sporting Goods NIT Season-Tip-Off on Nov. 23 in New York. Jones is listed among the top 50 candidates for the Wooden Award and is a consensus preseason first-team All-Big 12 pick. Jones ranks among the school?â„¢s career top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, field goal percentage, free throws and free throw attempts. Jones made his 102nd career start against Alabama.
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with a 77-26 (.748) record in 103 starts. A defensive All-American last year, Kirk has been named the Big 12?â„¢s top defender for the second straight preseason by The Sporting News. He scored a 14 points and made 3-of-4 treys against Alabama.
*Junior Josh Carter broke out of a mild slump with 13 points against Alabama, making 2-of-3 treys.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.3) and leads the team in blocks (10). He came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points with 6 rebounds against Ouachita Baptist. Davis scored 8 points with 6 rebounds and tied his career-high with 3 blocks against Alabama.
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, was named to the preseason NIT all-tournament team. He made an A&M and Big 12 record 17 straight field goal attempts early this season. He has made 30-of-35 (.857) from the field to lead the nation in field goal percentage. Of his made field goals, 16 have been dunks.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in two of the last three games. He scored a career-high 18 points with 5 rebounds in the win against Washington. Sloan scored 15 points with a career-high 8 assists and a career-best 6 rebounds against Alabama.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland scored a career-high 15 points against Ohio State, making 3-of-4 three-pointers. He added 6 points and a career-best 7 rebounds against Alabama.
Aggie Angles
*A&M is ranked No. 9 in both the USA Today/ESPN and the AP polls this week. The Aggies have been ranked in both polls a school record 24 straight weeks. The Aggies are ranked No.1 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI, which ranks the Aggies schedule to date as the fifth toughest in the nation.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 32.0.3 points in the paint and lead the Big 12 in rebounding margin at +12.4. A&M has out-rebounded all seven opponents this season and is averaging 14.3 offensive rebounds and 14.6 second-chance points per game.
*A&M is averaging 24.6 bench points per game, one third of its total offensive output.
*A&M?â„¢s opponents have averaged just 15.1 free throw attempts per game after averaging 20.2 last season. The Aggies have averaged 26.4 attempts. A&M has outscored their opponents by an average of 16.9 points per game, despite making just 60.0 percent from the line.
*With six players listed at 6?â„¢9? or taller, the 2007-08 Aggies are the tallest in school history and among the biggest in college basketball. At 7?â„¢0?, freshman DeAndre Jordan is the fourth 7-footer to play at A&M, joining Andy Slocum (1999-04), Steve Niles (1968-71) and Lewis Qualls (1960-63).
*The Aggies have held five of their six opponents to under 40 percent field goal accuracy, including just 24.6 percent by Ohio State.
*Dating back to last season, the Aggies have held 11 straight opponents to less than 70 points.
*A&M has made at least 43 percent of its shots in all seven contests.
*The Aggies have committed more or equal turnovers than their opponents in six straight games.
*A&M is 55-6 when leading at halftime over the last four seasons, including a 44-4 mark at home.
*Like Mark Turgeon?â„¢s teams at Wichita State, the Aggies are among the most balanced in college basketball. Eight different players have scored in double figures this season and seven are averaging between 7-13 points. Turgeon?â„¢s teams at WSU always had at least six players averaging between 5-15 points.