January 04, 2008
No. 10-ranked Texas A&M closes its non-conference schedule against the LSU Tigers on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #15
#10/12 Texas A&M Aggies
(13-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
LSU Tigers
(7-6, 0-0 Southeastern Conference)
Saturday, Jan. 5
7:02 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
ESPNU
Play-by-Play: Doug Bell
Analyst: Reid Gettys
Check local listings
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: n/a
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 13-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: 10th (USA Today/ESPN), 12th (AP)
RPI (CBSportsline): 16
Last Game: Beat Rice (68-41) at home on Monday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 166-120 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 12-1 (1st year)
vs. LSU: 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 7.4 3.5 4.2
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 8.1 3.8 3.1
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.8 4.0 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.3 5.4 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 10.5 7.2 --
LSU TIGERS
Record: 7-6 (0-0 Southeastern Conference)
Ranking : n/a
RPI (CBSportsline): 183
Last Game: Lost to Tulane (68-63) on Wednesday in New Orleans
Head Coach: John Brady (Belhaven ?'76)
Record: 280-209 (18th year)
at Rice: 191-132 (12th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 2-1
TENTATIVE LSU STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
11 Bo Spencer G 6-1 180 Fr-Hs 6.3 1.7 2.2
14 Garrett Temple G 6-6 185 Jr-2L 5.9 3.6 3.7
5 Marcus Thornton G 6-4 190 Jr-Tr 18.8 6.5 --
13 Terry Martin G 6-6 200 Jr-1L 10.2 3.7 2.1
3 Anthony Randolph F 6-10 190 Fr-Hs 13.6 7.8 --
Key Game Notes
*LSU is making its first visit to College Station since 1981-82. The Tigers went to the Final Four in 1981.
*The Aggies have won 13 straight home games, the ninth longest streak in the country, and have won 34 of their last 35 at Reed Arena.
*A&M is 11-0 at home this season while LSU is 0-3 in true road games.
*The Aggies have won 45 straight regular-season non-conference home games since an 82-80 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
*A win would make A&M 14-1 for the first time since the 1921-22 season, when it started 16-1 under legendary coach D.X. Bible. The best start in school annals was in 1919-20, when the Aggies finished 19-0.
*A&M has won six straight and is coming off a 68-41 win against Rice at home on Monday.
*LSU has lost two straight and is coming off a 68-63 loss to Tulane on Wednesday in New Orleans.
About LSU
*After advancing to the NCAA Final Four in 2006, the Tigers finished 17-15 last season, placing sixth in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference with a 5-11 mark.
*The Tigers are in their 11th season under Coach John Brady, who is 2-1 in his career against Texas A&M.
*LSU and A&M have had two common opponents. The Tigers beat McNeese State (78-74) and lost to Washington (73-65). A&M beat McNeese (73-50) and Washington (77-63).
*LSU has played a tough schedule with its other losses to Oklahoma State (83-77), Arizona State (87-84), Villanova (68-67), Wichita State (67-47) and Tulane (68-63).
*The injury-riddled Tigers are led by junior guard Marcus Thornton (6-4), who is averaging 17.9 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Sidebars
*LSU freshman forward Anthony Randolph (6-11) is from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson HS), where he earned Parade All-America honors.
*LSU beat A&M in each of the last two seasons.
*The Tigers eliminated A&M from the 2006 NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 58-57 victory in the second round in Jacksonville, Fla., when Darrell Mitchell nailed a 22-foot three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left. LSU went on to advance to the Final Four.
*The Tigers posted a 64-52 win last year in Baton Rouge, A&M?â„¢s only loss by more than three points.
*Mark Turgeon?â„¢s Wichita State team posted a 57-53 win against LSU last year in Baton Rouge.
Series Notes
*LSU leads the series, 14-9, but A&M has a 5-1 edge in games played in College Station. The teams have never met at Reed Arena.
*The Tigers are making their first appearance in College Station since a 68-63 A&M win at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 1981-82.
*The teams last met in Texas at the 2002 Space City Hoops Classic in Houston, with A&M hanging on for a 79-77 victory. It was the first basketball game played at Reliant Stadium, site of the 2011 NCAA Final Four.
*LSU?â„¢s only win in College Station came in 1920-21 by a score of 24-16.
*A&M is 17-30 all-time against teams from the Southeastern Conference.
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, who graduated on Dec. 14 (agricultural leadership), scored 14 points with a season-high 9 rebounds on Monday against Rice.
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk has set the Big 12 record for consecutive starts with 110. Kirk is the winningest starter in school history with an 83-27 (.755) 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 (4.2) and leads the league assist/turnover ratio (2.68). Kirk has averaged 6.5 assists in the last two games.
*Junior Josh Carter ranks second in career three-point accuracy in Big 12 history at 44.2 percent. He leads the team with a 13.8 scoring average.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team in blocks (22) and steals (13) and is third in rebounding (4.6). Davis ranks fifth in the Big 12 in blocks (1.57).
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, leads the nation in field goal percentage (.780, 80 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. Jordan scored 16 points with a career-high 12 rebounds and a career-best 4 blocks on Monday against Rice.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has led the team in scoring in four of the last 10 games, averaging 9.3 points in that span. Sloan has averaged 4.2 assists in the last six games.
*Sophomore Chinemelu Elonu has averaged 5.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in the last eight games. He scored 5 points with 8 rebounds on Monday against Rice.
Aggie Angles
*A&M climbed to No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches?â„¢ poll and No. 12 in the AP poll this week. The Aggies have been ranked in both polls a school record 29 straight weeks. Prior to this streak, A&M has been ranked a total of 27 weeks in its entire history.
*A&M?â„¢s 13-1 record under Mark Turgeon is the best coaching debut in school history.
*A&M leads the nation in field goal percentage defense at .352 and have held 10 opponents under 40 percent. The Aggies are allowing just 57.1 points per game, just ahead of last year?â„¢s school record of 59.4.
*A&M ranks fifth nationally in field goal accuracy at 51.2 percent, despite shooting a season-low .377 against Rice on Monday.
*During A&M?â„¢s six-game winning streak, the Aggies have outshot their opponents, .538 to .307 and posted an average scoring margin of +30.2
*The Aggies have won 13 straight home games, the seventh longest streak in school history and the ninth longest active streak in the country.
*A&M is 40-8 since the start of last season, the ninth most wins in the country in that span.
*A&M has won 45 straight regular-season non-conference home games. The Aggies?â„¢ 62 home wins in the last four seasons are the most in the nation in that period.
*The Aggies have averaged a whopping 35.3 points in the paint and rank in the top five nationally in rebounding margin at +11.9. A&M has out-rebounded all 14 opponents this season.
*A&M is averaging 26.5 bench points per game, 34.2 percent of its total offensive output.
*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.