February 15, 2008
No. 16-ranked Texas A&M reaches for its sixth straight win on Saturday when it plays the Oklahoma State Cowboys at 2:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
GAME #25
#16/16 Texas A&M Aggies
(20-4, 6-3 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
(12-12, 3-7 Big 12 Conference)
Saturday, Feb. 16 * 2:39 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,292 cap.) * College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
ABC (regional)
Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
Analyst: Bob Wenzel
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 126
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 20-4 (6-3 Big 12)
Ranking: 16th (USA Today/ESPN), 16th (AP)
RPI: 21
Last Game: Won at Missouri (77-69) Last Saturday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 173-123 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 20-4 (1st year)
vs. Oklahoma State: 1-2
TENTATIVE TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
22 Dominique Kirk G 6-4 185 Sr-3L 8.3 3.6 3.8
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 9.9 4.1 3.2
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.3 4.3 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.3 5.4 --
0 Bryan Davis F/C 6-9 250 So-1L 9.1 5.2 --
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Record: 12-2 (3-7 Big 12)
Ranking : Unranked
RPI: 141
Last Game: Beat Baylor (93-83) at home on Wednesday
Head Coach: Sean Sutton (Oklahoma State ?'92)
Record: 34-25 (2nd year)
at Oklahoma State: 34-25 (2nd year)
vs. Texas A&M: 1-3
TENTATIVE OKLAHOMA STATE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
00 Byron Eaton G 5-11 221 Jr-2L 10.4 3.3 3.1
23 James Anderson G 6-6 195 Fr-Hs 14.9 3.5 --
2 Obi Muonelo G 6-5 235 So-1L 9.5 3.2 --
5 Marcus Dove F 6-9 212 Sr-3L 9.7 5.5 --
21 Ibrahima Thomas F 6-11 238 Fr-Hs 6.0 4.0 --
Key Game Notes
*A win against OSU would make the Aggies 21-4 and would match last year?â„¢s 21-4 start as the best in A&M history. The Aggies?â„¢ 20-4 record is the best start by a first-year head coach in school history.
*A&M?â„¢s 6-3 start in Big 12 play is the second best in school history behind last year?â„¢s 7-1 start.
*The Aggies have won five straight, the longest winning streak in the Big 12. A&M has been idle since a 77-69 victory at Missouri last Saturday.
*A win against OSU would extend the winning streak to six games, the second longest Big 12 winning streak in school history. A&M won seven straight at the end of the 2006 conference schedule.
*The Cowboys have won two of their last three games and are coming off a 93-83 win against Baylor at home on Wednesday.
*A&M is 15-1 at home this season, 3-1 in Big 12 play, and have won two straight. The Aggies have won 40 of their last 42 home games, including 15 of their last 17 in Big 12 play.
*OSU is 0-7 in true road games, 0-5 in Big 12 play.
About Oklahoma State
*The Cowboys finished 22-13 last season, placing seventh in the Big 12 with a 6-10 mark and advancing to the postseason NIT.
*Oklahoma State is in its second season under Coach Sean Sutton, son of legendary coach Eddie Sutton.
*The Tigers have beaten Texas Tech, Colorado and Baylor in Big 12 play while falling to Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor, Texas and Iowa State.
*The Cowboys are led by freshman guard James Anderson (6-6), who is averaging 14.9 points, and junior guard Terrel Harris (6-5), who adds 10.9.
Series Notes
*Oklahoma State leads the series, 27-12, with an 11-7 edge in games played in College Station and a 6-3 mark at Reed Arena.
*A&M has won four of the last five games in the series, including the last two in College Station (67-49 in 2007 and 46-44 in 2006).
*A&M posted a 59-56 win at Oklahoma State on Jan. 26, which ended a three-game losing skid and sparked the current five-game winning streak.
Sidebars
*Texas A&M assistant coach Alvin ?Pooh? Williamson was a standout guard at Tulsa (1992-95), leading the team to NCAA appearances in 1994 and 1995.
*Oklahoma State guards Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris are from Dallas and grew up playing against A&M?â„¢s Josh Carter, Dominique Kirk, Bryan Davis, Donald Sloan and Derrick Roland.
*A&M freshman guard Derrek Lewis is from Tulsa. Last year he led Union HS to a 26-1 record and the state Class 6A semifinals.
In the Rankings
*The Aggies climbed two spots to No. 16 in both the USA Today/ESPN (coaches) and the AP polls this week.
*A&M has appeared in both polls for 35 consecutive weeks, a school record. Prior to this streak, A&M had been ranked a total of 27 weeks in its entire history.
*The Aggies previously had eight-week runs in the AP poll in 1959-60 and again in 1978-79. Before last season, A&M had not been ranked since 1980-81.
*In the last four seasons, A&M has posted 10 wins against ranked teams, including four against top 10 teams.
*A&M has defeated a top 10 team in each of the last four seasons. Prior to that span, A&M had defeated a top 10 team just four times in its history.
Success Streaks
*A&M has posted its fourth straight 20-win season, a first in school history. Among Big 12 schools, A&M, Texas and Kansas are the only teams to reach the 20-win plateau in each of the last four seasons.
*A&M has made two straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2006, 2007) for the first time in school annals.
*A&M has advanced to postseason play 3 straight years, starting with the 2005 NIT. The Aggies had consecutive NIT appearances in 1985 and 1986 before making the NCAAs in 1987, the only other time in school history they had 3 straight postseason appearances.
*A&M has never made 4 straight postseason appearances.
*A&M is 5-4 in postseason play (2-1 NIT, 3-3 NCAA) in the last three years, the most postseason wins in a three-year period in school history.
Who?â„¢s Hot?
*Junior Josh Carter has made 7-of-14 (.500) from three-point range in the last two games. He ranks second in career 3-point accuracy in Big 12 history at .434 and has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 18 games.
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk owns the Big 12 record for consecutive starts with 120. He is the winningest player in school history with a 90-30 (.750) record. A defensive All-American last year, Kirk?â„¢s primary defensive assignment in Big 12 play this year has made just 32 percent from the field. Kirk ranks second in the Big 12 (15th nationally) in assist/turnover ratio (2.65) and leads the league in free throw accuracy (.952) in conference play (20 FTA min.). He has made 17 straight free throws.
*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 was a consensus preseason first-team All-Big 12 pick. He ranks among the school?â„¢s career top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, field goal percentage, steals, free throws and free throw attempts. Jones, who graduated in December (agricultural leadership), has scored in double figures in 19 games and tied his season-best with 9 rebounds against Missouri.
*Sophomore Bryan Davis scored 14 points with 11 rebounds against Missouri for his second double-double of the year. In seven games as a starter, Davis leads the team in scoring (13.1) and rebounding (6.9). He averaged 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds as a reserve. For the season, he leads the team in blocks (30) and steals (24) and is third in rebounding (5.2).
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, ranks seventh nationally in field goal percentage (.650, 130 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.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan scored a career-high 21 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds against Missouri and has made 15 of his last 16 free throws. Sloan has averaged 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the last 6 games.
Aggie Angles
*The Aggies rank fourth nationally in rebounding margin at +9.4. A&M has out-rebounded its opponent in all 20 wins. Against Iowa State and Missouri, A&M did not allow an offensive rebound until the final 13 minutes of the game.
*A&M?â„¢s 20-4 record under Mark Turgeon is the best coaching debut in school history and the best at any Big 12 school since Kansas?â„¢ Dick Harp finished 24-3 in 1956-57. A win against OSU would match last year?â„¢s 21-4 start as the best in school history.
*A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally in field goal percentage defense at .379, and has held 14 opponents under 40 percent. The Aggies are allowing just 61.3 points per game, just behind last year?â„¢s school record of 59.4. A&M is 19-1 when its opponent scores under 70 points.
*A&M ranks 14th nationally in field goal accuracy at 48.8 percent and is 18-2 when it has at least 10 assists.
*A&M is the only team in the country to rank among the top 15 nationally in offensive (14th) and defensive field goal percentage (9th), scoring margin (9th, +14.3) and rebounding margin (4th, +9.4).
*A&M?â„¢s 66 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (68).
*A&M is 47-11 since the start of last season, 11th most wins in the country (2nd in the Big 12) in that span.
*A&M has had more free throw attempts than its opponent in all 20 wins.
*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 are among the most balanced scoring teams in college basketball. Eight different players have scored in double figures this season and A&M and Baylor are the only Big 12 teams with six players averaging more than 8.0 points. Turgeon?â„¢s teams at WSU always had at least six players averaging in a similar range.
*A&M has made .726 from the free throw line in the last five games. A&M shot .604 through the first 19 games.