December 28, 2007
No. 11-ranked Texas A&M reaches for its fifth straight victory when it plays host to Florida A&M on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #13
#11/14 Texas A&M Aggies
(11-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Florida A&M Rattlers
(3-7, 0-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Saturday, Dec. 29
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: Will Johnson
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: Ch. 126
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: 11-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 11th (USA Today/ESPN), 14th (AP)
RPI (CBSportsline): 3
Last Game: Beat UC Irvine (88-66) on Dec. 22
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 164-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 11-1 (1st year)
vs. Florida A&M: 1-0
TENTATIVE TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
22 Dominique Kirk G 6-4 185 Sr-3L 8.5 3.5 3.8
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 8.8 4.1 3.1
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.1 4.4 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.0 5.2 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 9.7 7.1 --
FLORIDA A&M RATTLERS
Record: 3-7 (0-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic)
Ranking: n/a
RPI (CBSportsline): 273
Last Game: Lost to Kansas State (87-60) on Dec. 17 in Kansas City
Head Coach: Eugene Harris (Florida State ?'79)
Record: 3-7 (1st year)
at FAMU: 3-7 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
TENTATIVE FLORIDA A&M STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
1 Joe Ballard G 6-0 180 Junior 4.7 2.9 3.1
11 Leslie Robinson G 6-0 180 Senior 11.6 3.0 --
2 Jermonte Bush G 6-0 185 Soph. 4.0 1.6 --
32 Larry Jackson F 6-6 215 Frosh 7.1 4.4 --
21 Oliver Prince F 6-6 230 Junior 9.8 6.5 --
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies are 9-0 at home this season while Florida A&M is 1-5 in true road games and 1-7 in all games away from home.
*A&M has won 43 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 32 of their last 33 home games overall, including 11 straight since last season.
*The Aggies have had a strong start through 12 games in each of the last four seasons -- 11-1 in '04-05, 10-2 in '05-06, 10-2 in '06-07 and 11-1 this season. Prior to that stretch, the last time A&M was 11-1 was in 1959-60.
*A&M has won four straight and is coming off an 88-66 win against UC Irvine at home last Saturday.
*Florida A&M has lost four of its last five games but has been idle since an 87-60 loss to Kansas State in Kansas City on Dec. 17.
*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 Florida A&M
*The Rattlers finished 21-14 last season and placed second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 12-6 mark.
*Florida A&M is in its first season under Coach Eugene Harris, a standout at Florida State in the late 1970s under Hugh Durham. He has served as an assistant coach at Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, South Alabama and Georgia State in his career.
*The Rattlers are led by senior guard Leslie Robinson (6-0), who averages 11.6 points per game. Junior forward Oliver Prince adds 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.
*Florida A&M has played a brutal schedule. In addition to the loss to Kansas State, Florida A&M has fallen to Colorado, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Florida.
Series Notes
*Texas A&M and Florida A&M have never played.
*A&M is 5-1 all-time against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The last time A&M played a MEAC team was in 2004-05, when the Aggies beat North Carolina A&T (89-56) at Reed Arena in Billy Gillispie?â„¢s first game as the Aggies?â„¢ head coach.
*In his first year as a head coach in 1998-99, Mark Turgeon?â„¢s Jacksonville State team won at Florida A&M, 92-87, for his third victory.
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 in November. 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 107th career start against UC Irvine. He graduated on Dec. 14 (agricultural leadership).
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk will make his 109th consecutive start on Saturday against Florida A&M, tying the Big 12 record set by Kansas' Aaron Miles (2001-05). Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with an 81-27 (.750) record. 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 fifth in the Big 12 in assists (3.8) and is third assist/turnover ratio (2.42). Kirk scored 14 points, making 4-of-5 three-pointers, against UC Irvine.
*Junior Josh Carter ranks second in career three-point accuracy in Big 12 history at 44.6 percent. Carter leads the team with a 13.1 scoring average.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team in blocks (21) and steals (11) and is third in rebounding (4.0). Davis ranks fourth in the Big 12 in blocks (1.75) and has averaged 2.7 blocks in the last three games.
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, leads the nation in field goal percentage (.797, 60 FGA min.). A member of the preseason NIT all-tournament team, Jordan made an A&M and Big 12 record 17 straight field goal attempts in November. Of Jordan?â„¢s team-high 51 field goals, 28 have been dunks.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in four of the last eight games, averaging 10.6 points in that span. Sloan has averaged 4.8 assists in the last four games.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland has averaged 9.3 points on 64.7 percent (11-of-17) shooting in the last 3 games.
*Sophomore Chinemelu Elonu has averaged 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in the last six games. He scored 6 points with a team-high 7 rebounds against UC Irvine.
Aggie Angles
*A&M remained 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 28 straight weeks. Prior to this streak, A&M has been ranked a total of 27 weeks in its entire history. The Aggies are ranked No. 3 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI, which ranks the Aggies schedule to date as the 20th toughest in the nation and the second toughest in the Big 12.
*A win against Florida A&M would improve the Aggies to 12-1 and would tie Mark Turgeon for the best start by a first-year coach in school history. Billy Gillispie got off to a 12-1 start in 2004-05.
*A&M leads the nation in field goal accuracy at 52.5 percent. The Aggies have made at least 43 percent in all 12 contests, with seven games above 50 percent. A&M has made 59.2 percent in the last four games.
*The Aggies have won 11 straight home games, tying for the eighth longest streak in school history.
*A&M is 38-8 since the start of last season, tying for the ninth most wins in the country in that span. The Aggies?â„¢ 60 home wins in the last four seasons are the most in the nation in that period.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 33.8 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 12 opponents this season.
*A&M is averaging 26.9 bench points per game, 34.5 percent of its total offensive output.
*A&M is allowing just 58.7 points per game, just ahead oif last year?â„¢s school record of 59.4. The Aggies rank fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense at .358 and have held eight opponents under 40 percent.
*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).
*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.
*A&M has made 50.0 percent from 3-point range in the last 2 games (18-36), making a season-best 9 in each game.