December 21, 2007
No. 11-ranked Texas A&M meets the UC Irvine Anteaters on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #12
#11/14 Texas A&M Aggies
(10-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
UC Irvine Anteaters
(4-6, 0-0 Big West Conference)
Saturday, Dec. 22
1:05 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
None
Postgame Satellite Highlights Feed
5:30-5:45 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. 140
TICKETS
Half-Price Holiday Hoops
Available tickets are $12 (mezzanine), $10 (loge) and $5 (general admission)
Parking
Free for Saturday?â„¢s game
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 10-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 11th (USA Today/ESPN), 14th (AP)
RPI (CBSportsline): 5
Last Game: Beat Detroit (79-39) on Wednesday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 163-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 10-1 (1st year)
vs. UC Irvine: 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 8.0 3.5 4.0
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 8.4 4.0 2.9
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.3 4.6 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 10.9 5.1 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 9.5 7.3 --
UC IRVINE ANTEATERS
Record: 4-6 (0-0 Big West)
Ranking: n/a
RPI (CBSportsline): 280
Last Game: Lost at Sam Houston State (61-54) on Thursday
Head Coach: Pat Douglass (Pacific ?'72)
Record: 533-262 (27th year)
at UC Irvine: 157-144 (11th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
TENTATIVE UC IRVINE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
5 Michael Hunter G 5-10 155 Soph. 6.7 2.7 3.2
23 Brett Lauer G 6-1 180 Junior 5.6 1.7 --
21 Patrick Sanders G 6-6 205 Senior 12.7 4.9 --
53 Kevin Bland F 6-8 235 Junior 8.9 6.0 --
33 Darren Fells C 6-7 255 Senior 11.8 4.0 --
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies are 8-0 at home this season while UC Irvine is 0-2 in true road games and 0-5 in all games away from home.
*A&M has won 42 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 31 of their last 32 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 -- 11-0 in 2004, 10-1 in 2005, 9-2 in 2006 and 10-1 this season. Prior to
that stretch, the last time A&M was 10-1 was in 1959-60.
*A&M has won three straight and is coming off a 79-39 win against Detroit at home on Wednesday.
*UC Irvine has won two of its last three games and is coming off a 61-54 loss at undefeated Sam Houston State on Thursday.
*Half-price "Holiday Hoops" tickets are offered for all A&M basketball games through Jan. 3. Available men?â„¢s tickets are $12, $10 and $5.
*Reed Arena parking will be free for Saturday?â„¢s game.
About UC Irvine
*The Anteaters finished 15-18 last season and placed fifth in the Big West Conference with a 6-8 mark.
*UC Irvine is in its 11th season under Coach Pat Douglass, who has posted 533 wins in his 27-year career.
*Douglass needs seven wins to become the winningest coach in UC Irvine history.
*The Anteaters are led by senior forward Patrick Sanders, who averages 12.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. Senior center Darren Fells adds 11.8 points and 4.0 rebounds.
*In addition to the loss at Sam Houston State, UC Irvine has dropped close games to Nevada (77-68) and on the road at Utah (78-66).
Sidebar
*UC Irvine senior guard Marcus McIntosh played his sophomore season at Texas A&M in 2004-05. He played in 10 games for the Aggies, averaging 2.6 points. McIntosh scored 9 points against North Carolina A&T and had 8 against Chicago State.
Series Notes
*UC Irvine leads the series, 1-0. The only meeting came in the opening round of the 1980 KOA Classic in Billings, Mont., with the Anteaters posting a 91-74 victory.
*A&M came into that game with a No. 11 national ranking and a 7-0 record, but the loss to UC Irvine sparked a five-game losing streak. A&M disappeared from the national rankings for 26 years, re-emerging in the 2006-07 preseason poll.
*A&M is 7-6 all-time against teams from the Big West. The last time A&M played a Big West team was last year, when the Aggies beat Pacific (74-62) at Reed Arena.
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 106th career start against Detroit. He graduated on Dec. 14 (agricultural leadership).
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with a 80-27 (.748) record in 107 consecutive starts. The Big 12 record for consecutive starts in 109 by Kansas?â„¢ Aaron Miles (2001-04). A defensive All-American last year, Kirk has been named the Big 12's top defender for the second straight preseason by The Sporting News. He ranks fifth in the Big 12 in assists (4.0) and is fourth assist/turnover ratio (2.32).
*Junior Josh Carter ranks second in career three-point accuracy in Big 12 history at 44.7 percent. Carter leads the team with a 13.3 scoring average and had a game-high 16 points against UAPB.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team in blocks (19) and steals (11) and is second in rebounding (5.2). Davis posted a career-high 4 blocked shots against Detroit.
*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 46-of-58 (.793) from the field to lead the nation in field goal percentage. Of his made field goals, 26 have been dunks.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in three of the last seven games, averaging 10.1 points in that span. He scored a career-high 18 points against both Washington and Texas State.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland has averaged 9.5 points on 66.7 percent (6-of-9) field goal shooting in the last 2 games.
*Sophomore Chinemelu Elonu scored a season-high 10 points with 5 rebounds against Texas State. Elonu has averaged 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in the last five 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. 5 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI, which ranks the Aggies schedule to date as the 28th toughest in the nation and the second toughest in the Big 12.
*Through seven home games, A&M has attracted at least 7,700 fans to every game, including both exhibitions. The average home attendance is 8,912, a 21 percent increase over last year?â„¢s average of 7,345 through 8 home games.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 33.3 points in the paint and lead the Big 12 (and rank fifth nationally) in rebounding margin at +11.8. A&M has out-rebounded all 11 opponents this season and is averaging 12.8 offensive rebounds and 13.6 second-chance points per game.
*A&M is averaging 27.0 bench points per game, more than 35 percent 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 24.9 attempts, most in the Big 12. A&M has outscored their opponents by an average of 19.1 points per game, despite making just 57.3 percent from the line.
*With six players listed at 6'9" or taller, the 2007-08 Aggies are the tallest in school history and among the biggest in college basketball. At 7'0", 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 eight 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.
*In the last two games, A&M?â„¢s opponents have averaged just 38 points while making 22.3 percent from the field.
*A&M has made at least 43 percent of its shots in all 11 contests, with six games above 50 percent.
*In the last six games, A&M has made 54.7 percent from the field.
*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.
*A&M and Kansas are the only Big 12 teams with seven players averaging at least 7.0 points per game.