December 30, 2007
No. 11-ranked Texas A&M tries to extend its winning streak to six games when the Aggies play host to the Rice Owls on Monday at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #14
#11/14 Texas A&M Aggies
(12-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Rice Owls
(3-7, 0-0 Conference USA)
Monday, Dec. 31
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. 122
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: 12-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 11th (USA Today/ESPN), 14th (AP)
RPI (CBSportsline): 11
Last Game: Beat Florida A&M (83-54) at home on Saturday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 165-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 12-1 (1st year)
vs. Rice: 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 7.8 3.5 4.1
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 8.6 4.0 3.2
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.6 4.2 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.1 5.1 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 10.1 6.8 --
RICE OWLS
Record: 3-7 (0-0 Conference USA)
Ranking : n/a
Last Game: Beat TCU (70-65) at home on Saturday
Head Coach: Willis Wilson (Rice ?'82)
Record: 219-226 (16 years)
at Rice: 219-226 (16 years)
vs. Texas A&M: 5-5
TENTATIVE RICE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
12 Bryan Beasley G 6-0 185 So-Tr 3.7 2.7 1.7
21 Rodney Foster G 6-1 185 Jr-2L 10.0 2.9 2.6
33 Lawrence Ghoram G 6-5 195 So-1L 4.8 3.1 --
41 Patrick Britton F 6-8 200 Sr-3L 11.3 5.4 --
13 Paulius Packevicius F 6-9 230 Sr-3L 9.9 10.1 --
Key Game Notes
*Rice is making its first visit to College Station since the final year of the Southwest Conference in 1996.
*The Aggies are 10-0 at home this season while Rice is 1-2 in true road games.
*A&M has won 44 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 33 of their last 34 home games overall, including 12 straight since last season.
*A win would make A&M 13-1, tying the second-best start in school history. The Aggies were 13-1 in 1959-60 and 1921-22, and finished 19-0 in 1919-20.
*A&M has won five straight and is coming off an 83-54 win against Florida A&M at home on Saturday.
*Rice has lost two of its last three games but is coming off an 80-75 win against TCU at home on Saturday.
*Half-price ?Holiday Hoops? tickets are available for $12, $10 and $5.
*Reed Arena parking will be free for Monday?â„¢s game.
About Rice
*The Owls finished 16-16 last season and tied for fourth in conference play with an 8-8 mark.
*Rice is in its 16th season under Coach Willis Wilson, who is 5-5 in his career against Texas A&M.
*The Owls are led by senior forward Patrick Britton (6-8), who averages 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.
*Rice lost a home game to Texas (80-54) on Dec. 8.
Sidebars
*Sophomore guard Bryan Beasley (6-0) transferred to Rice last summer after redshirting at A&M in 2006-07. Beasley has played in all 10 games for the Owls, starting five times, and is averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 assists.
Series Notes
*Texas A&M leads the series, 104-81, but the teams are meeting for the first time since a 56-53 A&M win in the 1999 Houston Charity Classic at Compac Center.
*The teams have not met in College Station since a 78-56 A&M win at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 1996, the final year of the Southwest Conference.
*A&M owns a 59-34 advantage is all games played in College Station.
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 108th career start against Florida A&M. He graduated on Dec. 14 (agricultural leadership).
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk will make his 110th consecutive start against Rice, breaking the Big 12 record of 109 set by Kansas?â„¢ Aaron Miles (2001-05). Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with an 82-27 (.752) 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 (4.1) and is second assist/turnover ratio (2.21). 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 44.8 percent. He scored 20 points (making 4-of-7 treys) on Saturday against Florida A&M. Carter leads the team with a 13.6 scoring average.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team in blocks (21) and steals (11) and is third in rebounding (4.7). Davis ranks fourth in the Big 12 in blocks (1.62). He scored 13 points against Florida A&M.
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, leads the nation in field goal percentage (.792, 70 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 57 field goals, 30 have been dunks.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in four of the last nine games, averaging 10.1 points in that span. Sloan has averaged 4.8 assists in the last five games.
*Sophomore Chinemelu Elonu has averaged 5.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in the last seven games. He posted a team-high 7 rebounds against UC Irvine and tied his career-high with a team-best 9 boards vs. Florida A&M.
Aggie Angles
*A&M remained No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches?â„¢ poll and No. 14 in the AP poll last 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. 11 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI.
*A win against Rice would improve the Aggies to 13-1 and would hand Mark Turgeon for the best start by a first-year coach in school history. Billy Gillispie got off to a 12-2 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 13 contests, with eight games above 50 percent. A&M has made 57.8 percent in the last five games.
*The Aggies have won 12 straight home games, the eighth longest streak in school history.
*A&M is 39-8 since the start of last season, the ninth most wins in the country in that span.
*A&M has won 44 straight regular-season non-conference home games. The Aggies?â„¢ 61 home wins in the last four seasons are the most in the nation in that period.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 34.6 points in the paint and rank second nationally in rebounding margin at +12.2. A&M has out-rebounded all 13 opponents this season.
*A&M is averaging 27.1 bench points per game, 34.6 percent of its total offensive output.
*A&M is allowing just 58.3 points per game, just ahead of last year?â„¢s school record of 59.4. The Aggies rank second nationally in field goal percentage defense at .358 and have held nine 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 7'0", 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.