December 07, 2007
The No.-14-ranked Texas A&M Aggies will being an eight-game homestand on Saturday when they play the Texas State Bobcats at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Game #9
#14 Texas A&M Aggies (7-1, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Texas State Bobcats (5-2, 0-0 Southland)
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007
7:05 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
Fox Sports Net (in Texas only)
Play-by-Play: Greg Lucas
Analyst: Jim Haller
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 143
SERIES
Texas A&M leads, 11-3
In College Station: A&M leads, 11-3
At Reed Arena: 0-0
Last Meeting: Texas State 73, A&M 71 (1991-92 in College Station)
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 7-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 14th (USA Today/ESPN), 16th (AP)
Last Game: Lost at Arizona (78-67) on Sunday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 160-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 7-1 (1st year)
vs. Texas State: 0-0
TENTATIVE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. PPG RPG APG
22 Dominique Kirk G 6-4 185 Sr-3L 8,5 2.9 4.0
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 8.1 4.5 2.3
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.5 4.6 ---
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.5 5.0 ---
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 8.5 7.0 ---
TEXAS STATE BOBCATS
Record: 5-2 (0-0 Southland Conference)
Ranking: n/a
Last Game: Lost to Rice (88-81) at home on Wednesday
Head Coach: Doug Davalos (Houston ?'94)
Record: 86-57 (6th year)
at Texas State: 14-22 (2nd year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
TENTATIVE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl.-Exp. PPG RPG APG
11 Corey Jefferson G 6-0 175 Jr-Tr 6.6 3.4 4.4
5 Brandon Thomas G 6-3 209 Sr-1L 7.7 4.4 ---
3 Brandon Bush G 6-7 185 Jr-2L 16.6 6.9 ---
1 Chris Agwumaro F 6-6 200 Sr-1L 6.4 2.9 ---
24 Ty Gough C 6-10 255 Fr-Hs 7.9 5.9 ---
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies?â„¢ 7-1 start matches last season?â„¢s start through eight games.
*A&M is coming off a 78-67 loss at Arizona on Sunday, while Texas State fell to Rice (88-81) at home on Wednesday.
*The Aggies are 5-0 at home this season while Texas State is 2-1 in road games.
*A&M has won 39 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 28 of their last 29 home games overall, including seven straight since last season.
*As part of Aggie Athletes Involved?â„¢s annual Toys for Tots toy drive, all fans who donate an item will receive half-price admission.
About Texas State
*The Bobcats finished 9-20 last season and placed fifth in the West Division of the Southland Conference with a 4-12 mark.
*Texas State is in its second season under Coach Doug Davalos.
*The Bobcats?â„¢ lone road loss this season was at Colgate (83-77) on Nov. 16. Since then, they have won two straight road games, beating UT-Pan American (102-75) and Prairie View A&M (79-78).
*Texas State is led by junior guard Brandon Bush (6-7), who is averaging 16.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Brent Benson (6-1) adds 14.9 points and has made 44.9 percent from three-point range.
Series Notes
*A&M leads the series, 11-3, with all 14 games played in College Station. The teams have never met at Reed Arena.
*The teams last met in 1991-92, with Jim Wooldridge?â„¢s Bobcats posting a 73-71 win at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
*A&M is 106-36 all-time against Southland Conference teams, including a 73-50 win against McNeese State in the season opener on Nov. 9.
Sidebars
*Texas State Coach Doug Davalos is the son of former New Mexico and University of Houston athletics director Rudy Davalos.
*TSU freshman forward Cameron Johnson is from Lake Highlands HS in Dallas, the same school that produced A&M?â„¢s Josh Carter.
*Bobcats?â„¢ freshman guard Ryan White is from Alief Elsik HS in Houston, which also produced A&M?â„¢s Chinemelu Elonu.
*Of the combined 32 players listed on both teams?â„¢ rosters, 27 attended Texas high schools.
Looking Ahead
*The Texas State game marks the start of an eight-game homestand for the Aggies. A&M does not venture onto the road again until they face 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 103rd career start against Arizona. He will graduate from A&M next Friday (agricultural leadership).
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with a 77-27 (.740) record in 104 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 has averaged 15.0 points in the last two games, including 17 points at Arizona.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.1) and leads the team in blocks (12). He came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points with 6 rebounds against Ouachita Baptist. Davis scored 10 points with 4 rebounds with a career-high 5 assists and 2 blocks against Arizona.
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, was named to the preseason NIT all-tournament team. He made an A&M and Big 12 record 17 straight field goal attempts early this season. He has made 31-of-39 (.795) from the field to lead the nation in field goal percentage. Of his made field goals, 16 have been dunks.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in two of the last four games, averaging 11.0 points in that span. He scored a career-high 18 points with 5 rebounds in the win against Washington. Sloan scored 15 points with a career-high 8 assists and a career-best 6 rebounds against Alabama.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland scored a career-high 15 points against Ohio State, making 3-of-4 three-pointers. He added 6 points and a career-best 7 rebounds against Alabama.
Aggie Angles
*A&M dropped from No. 9 in both polls to No. 14 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches?â„¢ poll and No. 16 in the AP poll this week. The Aggies have been ranked in both polls a school record 25 straight weeks. The Aggies are ranked No.10 in CBSportsline?â„¢s RPI, which ranks the Aggies schedule to date as the 21st toughest in the nation.
*A&M started the season 7-0 for the fourth straight year. Prior to that span, the last time A&M started 7-0 was in 1980-81.
*A&Mhas won 39 straight regular-season non-conference home games.
*Through five home games, A&M has attracted at least 8,000 fans to every game, including both exhibitions. The average home attendance is 8,942, well ahead of last year?â„¢s average of 7,225 through the first five home games.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 30.8 points in the paint and lead the Big 12 in rebounding margin at +11.0. A&M has out-rebounded all eight opponents this season and is averaging 13.5 offensive rebounds and 13.5 second-chance points per game.
*A&M is averaging 24.4 bench points per game, one third of its total offensive output.
*A&M?â„¢s opponents have averaged just 16.9 free throw attempts per game after averaging 20.2 last season. The Aggies have averaged 25.1 attempts. A&M has outscored their opponents by an average of 13.4 points per game, despite making just 60.2 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 five of their 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 eight contests.
*The Aggies have committed more or equal turnovers than their opponents in six of eight games.
*A&M is 55-7when leading at halftime over the last four seasons, including a 44-4 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.