December 18, 2007
The No. 11-ranked Texas A&M Aggies play host to the Detroit Titans on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #11
#11/14 Texas A&M Aggies
(9-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Detroit Titans
(4-6, 0-2 Horizon League)
Wednesday, Dec. 19
7:05 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
None
Postgame Satellite Highlights Feed
9:45-10 p.m. (CST)
AMC15, Transponder K5
(received vertically at 11800 MHz)
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: Ch. 147
TICKETS
Half-Price Holiday Hoops
Available tickets are $12 (mezzanine), $10 (loge) and $5 (general admission)
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record 9-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 112th (USA Today/ESPN), 14th (AP)
RPI (CBSportsline): 4
Last Game: Beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff (64-37) on Sunday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 162-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 9-1 (1st year)
vs. Detroit: 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 7.9 3.2 4.1
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 8.7 4.2 2.7
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.6 4.6 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.2 5.1 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 9.0 7.2 --
DETROIT TITANS
Record 4-6 (0-2 Horizon League)
Ranking: n/a
RPI (CBSportsline): 214
Last Game: Lost at TAMU-Corpus Christi (70-55) on Monday
Head Coach: Perry Watson (Eastern Michigan ?'72)
Record: 258-181 (15th year)
at Detroit: 258-181 (15th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-1
TENTATIVE DETROIT STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
25 Jon Goode G 5-10 150 Senior 16.3 2.9 3.1
31 Woody Payne G 5-10 160 Soph. 5.4 2.4 --
11 Zach Everingham G 6-4 180 Senior 5.8 3.0 3.6
23 Chris Hayes F 6-9 190 Junior 11.1 5.6 --
33 Justin Sample C 6-8 235 Soph. 2.4 1.9 --
Key Game Notes
*A win against Detroit would hand A&M its 100th victory at Reed Arena. A&M is 99-47 (.678) in its 10th season at the facility, which opened in 1998.
*The Aggies are 7-0 at home this season while Detroit is 1-2 in road games.
*A&M has won 41 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 30 of their last 31 home games overall, including nine straight since last season.
*The Aggies have had a strong start through 10 games in each of the last four seasons -- 10-0 in 2004, 10-0 in 2005, 8-2 in 2006 and 9-1 this season. Prior to that stretch, the last time A&M was 9-1 was in 1978-79.
*A&M has won two straight and is coming off a 64-37 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home on Sunday.
*Detroit has lost four straight and is coming off a 70-55 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night.
About Detroit
*The Titans finished 11-19 last season and placed seventh in the Horizon League with a 6-10 mark.
*Detroit is in its 15th season under Coach Perry Watson. Watson is the winningest coach in Horizon League history with 134 career league victories.
*Under Watson, the Titans have never had back-to-back losing seasons.
*The University of Detroit will be the host school for the 2009 NCAA Final Four at Ford Field.
*The Titans are led by senior guard Jon Goode, who averages 17.0 points and has scored at least 20 points in four straight games, including 22 at TAMUCC.
*Detroit began the season with a 4-2 mark, including a 61-60 win against Kent State. Four of their six lossess have been by single digits, including a 53-46 loss to then-No. 13-ranked Butler on Dec. 6.
*Junior forward Chris Hayes is the only other Titan averaging in double figures with 10.4 points per game.
Series Notes
*A&M leads the series, 1-0. The only meeting came in the consolation finals of the 2000 Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, with the Aggies pulling out an 81-72 overtime victory.
*A&M is 8-2 all-time against teams from the Horizon League. The last time A&M played a Horizon team was in 2001-02, when the Aggies fell to Illinois-Chicago (86-82) in the first round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
Looking Ahead
*Detroit marks the third 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 105th career start against UAPN. He graduated last Friday (agricultural leadership).
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with a 79-27 (.745) record in 106 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 ranks fourth in the Big 12 in assists (4.1) and assist/turnover ratio (2.41).
*Junior Josh Carter ranks second in career three-point accuracy in Big 12 history at 44.6 percent. Carter leads the team with a 13.6 scoring average and had a game-high 16 points against UAPB.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team in blocks (15) and steals (10) and is second in rebounding (5.2). Davis handed out a career-high 7 assists against Texas State.
*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 39-of-50 (.780) from the field to lead the nation in field goal percentage. Of his made field goals, 24 have been dunks (including his last eight).
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in three of the last six games, averaging 11.0 points in that span. He scored a career-high 18 points against both Washington and Texas State.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting against UAPB.
*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. Elonu has averaged 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in the last four games.
Aggie Angles
*A&M climbed to No. 11 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 27 straight weeks. The Aggies are ranked No. 4 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI, which ranks the Aggies schedule to date as the 24th toughest in the nation and the second toughest in the Big 12.
*A&M?â„¢s 9-1 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 9-1 mark after 10 games was in 1978-79.
*A&M has won 41 straight regular-season non-conference home games.
*Through seven home games, A&M has attracted at least 7,700 fans to every game, including both exhibitions. The average home attendance is 8,911, a 21 percent increase over last year?â„¢s average of 7,378 through 7 home games.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 33.4 points in the paint and lead the Big 12 (and rank fifth nationally) in rebounding margin at +11.7. A&M has out-rebounded all 10 opponents this season and is averaging 13.0 offensive rebounds and 13.3 second-chance points per game.
*A&M is averaging 26.5 bench points per game, more than one third of its total offensive output.
*A&M?â„¢s opponents have averaged just 15.7 free throw attempts per game after averaging 20.2 last season. The Aggies have averaged 25.4 attempts, second most in the Big 12. A&M has outscored their opponents by an average of 17.0 points per game, despite making just 57.9 percent from the line. If the Aggies were making 70.0 percent from the line, they would be averaging 80.0 points per game with a +20 scoring margin.
*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 seven opponents to under 40 percent field goal accuracy, including just 24.6 percent by Ohio State. UAPB made just 20.6 percent, the second lowest by an opponent in A&M history.
*A&M has made at least 43 percent of its shots in all 10 contests, with five games above 50 percent.
*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.