December 14, 2007
The No. 12-ranked Texas A&M Aggies continue their homestand on Sunday when they play the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #10
#12/14 Texas A&M Aggies
(8-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions
(4-5, 0-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Sunday, Dec. 16
1:05 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
Fox Sports Net (Texas only)
Play-by-Play: Greg Lucas
Analyst: Jim Haller
Check local listings
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: Ch. 155
TICKETS
Half-Price Holiday Hoops
Available tickets are $12 (mezzanine), $10 (loge) and $5 (general admission)
Toys For Tots
Fans who donate a toy will receive half-price admission
SANTA CLAUS
Santa will be available for photos at noon in the concourse near the main entrance
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record 8-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 12th (USA Today/ESPN), 14th (AP)
RPI (CBSportsline): 3
Last Game: Beat Texas State (109-73) on Dec. 8
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 161-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 8-1 (1st year)
vs. UAPB: 0-0
TENTATIVE TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
22 Dominique Kirk G 6-4 185 Sr-3L 8.3 2.9 3.9
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 9.2 4.4 2.5
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.3 4.7 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.6 5.2 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 9.6 7.2 --
UAPB GOLDEN LIONS
Record 4-5 (0-0 Southwestern Athletic)
Ranking: n/a
RPI (CBSportsline): 279
Last Game: Beat Louisiana Tech (61-49) on Tuesday
Head Coach: Van Holt (AM&N ?'65)
Record: 41-111(6th year)
at UAPB: 41-111(6th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-1
TENTATIVE UAPB STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
14 Terrance Calvin G 6-2 175 Soph. 7.1 3.3 2.2
24 Marcelle Goins G 6-2 200 Senior 9.8 2.6 1.9
35 Larry Williams G 6-3 175 Senior 9.7 3.7 --
23 William Byrd F 6-7 180 Senior 13.2 6.3 --
21 Jarvis Gunter F 6-10 210 Senior 5.8 9.3 --
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies have had a strong start through 9 games in each of the last four seasons -- 9-0 in 2004, 9-0 in 2005, 7-2 in 2006 and 8-1 this season. Prior to that stretch, the last time A&M was 8-1 was in 1978-79.
*A&M has been idle since a 109-73 win against Texas State at home on Dec. 8. It was the most points scored by the Aggies since 1989.
*UAPB has won three straight and is coming off a 61-49 road win at Louisiana Tech on Tuesday.
*The Aggies are 6-0 at home this season while UAPB is 2-5 in road games.
*A&M has won 40 straight regular-season non-conference home games since an 82-80 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
*The Aggies have won 29 of their last 30 home games overall, including eight straight since last season.
About UAPB
*The Golden Lions finished 12-19 last season and went 9-9 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
*UAPB is in its sixth season under Coach Van Holt.
*The Golden Lions have twice beaten Louisiana Tech this season and Wichita State to a close game on Nov. 13 (a 61-56 loss in Wichita).
*UAPB is led by senior forward William Byrd (6-7), who is averaging 13.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Series Notes
*A&M leads the series, 1-0. The only meeting was an 82-53 A&M victory at Reed Arena in 2003-04.
*A&M is 29-1 all-time against teams from the SWAC and has won 15 straight.
Sidebars
*UAPB has two native Texans on its roster -- senior forward Tim Hamilton (Arlington) and freshman forward Jamarcus Williams (Marshall).
Looking Ahead
*The UAPB game is the second game in an eight-game homestand for the Aggies. A&M does not venture onto the road again until it faces 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 104th career start against Arizona. He graduated on Friday (agricultural leadership).
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with a 78-27 (.743) record in 105 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 ranks second in career three-point accuracy in Big 12 history at 44.7 percent.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team in blocks (13), is second in steals (8) and is third in rebounding (4.8). Davis handed out a career-high 7 assists against Texas State and has averaged 6.0 in the last two games.
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, was named to the preseason NIT all-tournament team. Jordan scored a career-high 18 points with 9 rebounds against Texas State. He made an A&M and Big 12 record 17 straight field goal attempts in November. Jordan has made 37-of-46 (.804) from the field to lead the nation in field goal percentage. Of his made field goals, 22 have been dunks.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in three of the last five games, averaging 12.4 points in that span. He scored a career-high 18 points against both Washington and Texas State. Sloan scored 15 points with a career-high 8 assists and a career-best 6 rebounds against Alabama.
*Sophomore Chinemelu Elonu scored a season-high 10 points with 5 rebounds against Texas State. He had a career-best 9 rebounds against Ouachita Baptist last month.
Aggie Angles
*A&M climbed to No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches?â„¢ poll and No. 14 in the AP poll this week. The Aggies have been ranked in both polls a school record 26 straight weeks. The Aggies are ranked No.3 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI, which ranks the Aggies schedule to date as the 14th toughest in the nation.
*A&M?â„¢s 8-1 start is among the best in school history. The Aggies started 11-0 in 2004-05 and 10-0 in 2005-06, but before that, the last time A&M had a n 8-1 mark after nine games was in 1978-79.
*A&M has won 40 straight regular-season non-conference home games.
*Through six home games, A&M has attracted at least 8,000 fans to every game, including both exhibitions. The average home attendance is 9,098, a 31 percent increase over last year?â„¢s average of 6,945 through six home games.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 34.2 points in the paint and lead the Big 12 in rebounding margin at +11.2. A&M has out-rebounded all nine opponents this season and is averaging 13.1 offensive rebounds and 13.8 second-chance points per game.
*A&M is averaging 26.3 bench points per game, more than one third of its total offensive output.
*A&M?â„¢s opponents have averaged just 16.8 free throw attempts per game after averaging 20.2 last season. The Aggies have averaged 26.4 attempts, most of any team in the Big 12. A&M has outscored their opponents by an average of 15.9 points per game, despite making just 59.2 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 six opponents to under 40 percent field goal accuracy, including just 24.6 percent by Ohio State.
*A&M has made at least 43 percent of its shots in all nine contests, with five games above 50 percent.
*The Aggies have committed more or equal turnovers than their opponents in seven games.
*A&M is 56-7 when leading at halftime over the last four seasons, including a 45-4 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 7-14 points. Turgeon?â„¢s teams at WSU always had at least six players averaging in a similar range.