February 17, 2008
No. 16-ranked Texas A&M squares off against No. 11 Texas on ESPN's "Big Monday" on Monday night at the Erwin Center. Game time is 8 p.m.
GAME #26
#16/16 Texas A&M Aggies
(20-5, 6-4 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
#11/11 Texas Longhorns
(21-4, 8-2 Big 12 Conference)
Monday, Feb. 18 * 8 p.m. (CST)
Erwin Center (16,755 cap.) * Austin, Texas
TELEVISION
ESPN ?Big Monday?
Play-by-Play: Ron Franklin
Analyst: Fran Fraschilla
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 123
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 20-5 (6-4 Big 12)
Ranking: 16th (USA Today/ESPN), 16th (AP)
RPI: 38
Last Game: Lost to Oklahoma State (59-54) at home on Saturday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 173-124 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 20-5 (1st year)
vs. Texas: 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 8.0 3.6 3.7
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 9.7 4.0 3.2
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 13.1 4.4 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 11.3 5.3 --
0 Bryan Davis F/C 6-9 250 So-1L 9.0 5.0 --
TEXAS LONGHORNS
Record: 21-4 (8-2 Big 12)
Ranking: 11th (USA Today/ESPN), 11th (AP)
RPI: 5
Last Game: Won at Baylor (82-77) on Saturday
Head Coach: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne ?'77)
Record: 439-224 (21st year)
at Texas: 237-90 (11th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 17-5
TENTATIVE TEXAS STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
14 D.J. Augustin G 6-0 180 So-1L 18.8 3.0 6.0
3 A.J. Abrams G 5-11 155 Jr-2L 17.5 2.6 --
24 Justin Mason G 6-2 198 So-1L 7.0 4.0 2.5
32 Connor Atchley F 6-10 226 Jr-2L 10.5 5.4 --
5 Damion James C 6-7 230 So-1L 13.0 10.6 --
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies?â„¢ 20-5 record is the best start by a first-year head coach in school history. Prior to last year's 21-4 start (the best in school history), the last time A&M started 20-5 was in 1978-79.
*A&M?â„¢s 6-4 start in Big 12 play is the second best in school history behind last year?â„¢s 8-1 start.
*The Aggies have won five of their last six games, but are coming off a 59-54 loss to Oklahoma State at home on Saturday.
*Texas has won five straight, the longest winning streak in the Big 12, and is coming off an 82-77 win at Baylor on Saturday.
*A&M is 3-3 in true road games this season, 3-2 in Big 12 play, and have won three straight. The Aggies have won 12 of their last 16 Big 12 road games.
*Texas is 13-1 at home, 4-0 in Big 12 play.
*A&M, Texas and Kansas are the only Big 12 teams to reach the 20-win plateau in each of the last 4 seasons.
About Texas
*The Longhorns finished 25-10 last season, placing third in the Big 12 with a 12-4 mark and advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
*Texas is in its 11th season under Coach Rick Barnes.
*The Longhorns?â„¢ lone home loss this year was to Wisconsin on Dec. 29.
*The Longhorns are led by sophomore guard D.J. Augustin (6-0), an All-America candidate who is averaging 18.8 points and leads the Big 12 in assists with 6.0 per game.
*Sophomore guard A.J. Abrams (5-11) adds 17.5 points and has made a league-best 77 three-pointers.
*Sophomore forward Damion James (6-7) averages a double-double with 13.0 points and 10.6 rebounds.
Series Notes
*Texas leads the series, 129-83, with a 74-26 edge in games played in Austin and a 23-8 mark at the Erwin Center.
*The Longhorns have won five straight against the Aggies in Austin since an 80-74 A&M victory in 2002.
*The teams have split the regular-season series in each of the last three years with the home team winning each game. A&M posted an 80-63 victory in College Station on Jan. 30.
*Monday?â„¢s game marks the fourth straight time the teams have met with both ranked in the top 25. Last season, No. 8 A&M defeated No. 22 Texas (100-82) in College Station and No. 15 Texas edged No. 6 A&M, 98-96, in a double-overtime classic in Austin.
*The teams are meeting for the 213th time, making Texas the Aggies?â„¢ most common opponent.
Who?â„¢s Hot?
*Junior Josh Carter has made 9-of-18 (.500) from three-point range in the last three 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 19 games.
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk owns the Big 12 record for consecutive starts with 121. He is the winningest player in school history with a 90-31 (.744) 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 third in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (2.51) and leads the league in free throw accuracy (.913) in conference play (20 FTA min.).
*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 20 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 eight games as a starter, Davis ranks second on the team in scoring (12.4) and leads in rebounding (6.3). He averaged 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds as a reserve. For the season, he leads the team in blocks (30) and steals (25) and is third in rebounding (5.0).
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, ranks among the top 10 nationally in field goal percentage (.658, 145 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. He scored a team-high 15 points vs. OSU on Saturday.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan scored a career-high 21 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds against Missouri and has made 17 of his last 18 free throws. Sloan has averaged 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the last 7 games.
Aggie Angles
*The Aggies rank among the top 10 nationally in rebounding margin at +8.8. A&M has out-rebounded its opponent in all 20 wins.
*A&M has posted a win against a top 10 team four straight years. Prior to that, A&M had only four top-10 victories in its entire history. The Aggies have beaten 10 ranked teams in the last four seasons.
*A&M?â„¢s 20-5 record under Mark Turgeon is the best coaching debut in school history and the best at any Big 12 school since Oklahoma State?â„¢s Eddie Sutton started 20-5 in 1990-91.
*A&M leads the Big 12 and ranks among the top 20 nationally in field goal percentage defense at .381, and has held 14 opponents under 40 percent. The Aggies are allowing just 61.2 points per game, just behind last year?â„¢s school record of 59.4. A&M is 19-2 when its opponent scores under 70 points.
*A&M ranks among the top 20 nationally in field goal accuracy at 48.7 percent.
*A&M is the only team in the country to rank among the top 20 nationally in offensive and defensive field goal percentage, scoring margin (+13.5) and rebounding margin (+8.8).
*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 47-12 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 climbed five spots to No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches?â„¢ poll and the AP poll last week. The new rankings come out on Monday. The Aggies have been ranked in both polls a school record 35 straight weeks. Prior to this streak, A&M had been ranked a total of 27 weeks in its history.
*A&M has made .720 from the free throw line in the last six games. A&M shot .604 through the first 19 games.