Aggies Battle Tulsa on Friday in South Padre Island Invitational
Nov 26, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2008
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Texas A&M battles Tulsa on Friday as the South Padre Island Invitational moves from campus sites to South Padre Island. Tipoff is set for 7:35 p.m. at the South Padre Island Convention Center.
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GAME #5
Texas A&M Aggies (4-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-1, 0-0 Conference USA)
South Padre Island Invitational
Friday, November 28, 2008
7:35 p.m. (CST)
South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island Convention Center (2,500 cap.)
Television
Fox College Sports
Play-by-Play: Kevin Eschenfelder
Analyst: Reid Gettys
Direct TV: Channel 617
Radio
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Network Affiliates
Atlanta KPYN-AM 900
Athens KLVQ-AM 1410
Austin KJCE-AM 1370
Brenham KWHI-AM 1280
Carthage KGAS-AM 1590
College Station WTAW-AM 1620
College Station KZNE-AM 1150
Comanche KCOM-AM 1550
Dallas KFXR-AM 1190
El Campo KULP-AM 1390
Gonzales KCTI-AM 1450
Houston KBME-AM 790
Marshall KMHT-AM 1450
New Braunfels KGNB-AM 1420
San Antonio KSJL-AM 810
San Saba KBAL-AM 1410
Sulphur Springs KSST-AM 1230
Victoria KVNN-AM 1340
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 4-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: Receiving votes (AP and Coaches)
Last Game: Beat UNC Wilmington (84-65) at home on Tuesday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
Record: 182-130 (11th year)
at Texas A&M: 29-11 (2nd year)
vs. Tulsa: 2-3
PROJECTED TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Player P Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 Jr-2L 12.5 4.3 4.0
3 Derrick Roland G 6-4 190 Jr-2L 5.5 0.5 2.3
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Sr-3L 15.8 5.5 --
0 Bryan Davis F 6-9 240 Jr-2L 12.56.3 --
41 Chinemelu Elonu C 6-10 235 Jr-2L 10.3 7.0 --
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com
Record: 3-1 (0-0 Conference USA)
Ranking: n/a
Last Game: Beat North Carolina Central (92-52) at home on Tuesday
Head Coach: Doug Wojcik (Navy '87)
Record: 59-43 (4th year)
at Tulsa: 59-43 (4th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED TULSA STARTERS
No. Player P Ht. Wt.Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
1 Ben Uzoh G 6-3 200 Jr-2L 18.0 4.8 --
53 Ray Reese G 6-5 220 Sr-3L 9.0 4.0 --
12 Bishop Wheatley F 6-6 220 Jr-2L 5.0 3.3 --
33 Joe Richard F 6-7 235 Fr-Hs 2.0 3.3 --
23 Jerome Jordan C 7-0 245 Jr-2L 10.5 7.5 --
Series Notes
* Tulsa leads the series, 6-0, including a 2-0 mark in games played at neutral sites.
* The teams last met in the 2001 Houston Charity Classic, where the Golden Hurricane came away with a 90-56 victory.
Sidebars
* A&M assistant coach Alvin "Pooh" Williamson was a four-year letterwinner at Tulsa and earned first team all-Missouri Valley Conference honors as a senior in 1995. He played a key role in Tulsa's back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994 and 1994. He led Beggs (Okla.) High School to two state championships.
* Williamson was an assistant coach at Tulsa from 2001-05 and became interim head coach midway through the 2004-05 season.
* A&M sophomore guard Derrek Lewis is from Tulsa. He led Union High School to a 26-1 record and the state semifinals as a senior in 2007 and led Cascia hall High School to a runner-up finish at state in 2006.
Key Game Notes
* The Aggies play Tulsa on Friday in the third round of the South Padre Island Invitational. A&M will play either Kent State or Illinois in Saturday's final round.
* A&M is 2-0 in the SPI Invitational with wins against Jackson State (96-78) and UNC Wilmington (84-65) in the first two rounds played in College Station.
* The Aggies have won four straight and Tulsa has won two straight. The Golden Hurricane is coming off a 92-52 win against North Carolina Central on Tuesday.
* A&M is reaching for its second in-season tournament title in as many years. The Aggies won the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tipoff last season in New York. Prior to that, A&M had not won a tournament since the 1989 Golden Panthers Classic in Miami.
* Mark Turgeon 29-11 record is the best coaching start in the Big 12's 13-year history and is the best start in Texas A&M history.
SPI Invitational
Here are the pairings and results to date for the South Padre Island Invitational. The first two rounds were played at campus sites with the final two rounds played on Friday and Saturday at South Padre Island.
First Round
Nov. 16 @Illinois 72, A&M-Corpus Christi 53
Nov. 17 @Kent State 83, N.C. Central 42
Nov. 21 @Texas A&M 96, Jackson State 78
Nov. 23 @Kent State 83, UNC Wilmington 64
Second Round
Nov. 23 @Illinois 78, Jackson State 64
Nov. 23 @Tulsa 66, A&M-Corpus Christi 43
Nov. 25 @Tulsa 92, North Carolina Central 52
Nov. 25 @Texas A&M 84, UNC Wilmington 65
Third Round
(South Padre Island Convention Center)
Nov. 28 (1) UNC Wilmington vs. N.C. Central Noon
Nov. 28 (2) A&M-C.C. vs. Jackson State 2:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 (3) Illinois vs. Kent State 5 p.m.
Nov. 28 (4) Texas A&M vs. Tulsa 7:30 p.m.
Championship Round
(South Padre Island Convention Center)
Nov. 29 (1) Loser vs. (2) Loser 11:30 a.m.
Nov. 29 (1) Winner vs. (2) Winner 2 p.m.
Nov. 29 (3) Loser vs. (4) Loser 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 29 (3) Winner vs. (4) Winner 7 p.m.
Tie Breakers
1st Tiebreaker: Head-to-Head
2nd Tiebreaker: Defensive Points (Total)
About Tulsa
* The Golden Hurricane went 25-14 last year and placed sixth in Conference USA with a 6-6 mark.
* Tulsa is in its fourth year under Head Coach Doug Wojcik, who has led the team to back-to-back 20-win seasons. The Golden Hurricane won the inaugural College Basketball Invitational postseason crown last year.
* Tulsa is led by junior guard Ben Uzoh (6-3), who is averaging 18.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
* Junior center Jerome Jordan (7-0) and sophomore guard Glen Andrews (6-2) also average in double figures, each with 10.5 points per game. Jordan leads the team rebounding (7.5) and blocks (15).
* The Golden Hurricane lone defeat came at Oklahoma State (91-73) on Nov. 20,
* Tulsa is making 48.4 percent from the field while allowing just 35.8 percent accuracy.
UNCW Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) --Chinemelu Elonu scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds to help lead Texas A&M to an 84-65 victory over North Carolina-Wilmington on Tuesday night in the second round of the South Padre Invitational. The Aggies (4-0) held the Seahawks (2-3) 27 points below their season scoring average of 92 points per game in the teams' first-ever meeting. Elonu's 18 points came on 8-of-9 shooting. B.J. Holmes and Derrick Roland added 13 points each. Josh Carter set a school record for career 3-pointers in the first half with 233, breaking Bernard King's record of 232 from 1999-2003. Chad Tomko scored a game-high 21 points for North Carolina-Wilmington.
Aggie Notes
* Senior Josh Carter has set the school record for career three-point field goals with 233. The old mark was 232 by Bernard King (1999-03). Carter is the most accurate three-point shooter in school history, making 42.8 percent. He led the nation in 2006-07 by making 50.0 percent.
* Carter scored 25 points against Jackson State, one shy of his career-high, and made 5-of-9 three-pointers. He has scored at least 20 points in two games this season and is averaging a team-best 15.8 points. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, he was a second-team preseason selection.
* Carter has started in 74 straight games -- every game since the start of his sophomore season.
* Junior Chinemelu Elonu scored a career-high 18 points with a career-best 11 rebounds against UNC Wilmington, his first double-double. He has averaged 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the last two games while making 80.0 percent (12-15) from the field.
* Sophomore Nate Walkup has averaged 8.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in the last three games. He scored a season-high 9 points with a career-best 12 rebounds against UNC Wilmington. Walkup had 7 points and 11 rebounds against SFA.
* Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes scored a career-high 13 points against UNC Wilmington, making a career-best 4-of-6 three-pointers. Holmes had missed his first 14 field goal attempts this season before making a three-pointer on his final attempt against Jackson State. Since then, he mas made 5-of-7 three-pointers.
* Junior Bryan Davis is averaging 12.5 points and ranks third on the team in rebounds (6.3). He leads the team in blocks (10) and ranks second in steals (5). Davis was named preseason honorable mention All-Big 12. Davis scored 16 points vs. SFA, tying his career-best for a regulation game, and has had at least 14 points three of four games this season. Davis tied his career-high with 4 blocks against Jackson State.
* Junior Donald Sloan has started in 40 straight games since the start of the 2007-08 season. Sloan scored a season-high 17 points against Jackson State, his most since he had 17 in the win at Baylor late last season. Sloan leads the team in assists (4.0) and ranks second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (4.0).
* Freshman David Loubeau was a preseason honorable mention Freshman All-American by CollegeHoops.net. He and fellow freshman Dash Harris, who both played high school basketball in Florida, were ranked among the top 75 recruits in the nation.
* The Aggies placed fifth in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll and received votes in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
* A&M's 71 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (75).
* A&M is 56-18 since the start of the 2006-07 season, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country in that span.
* Mark Turgeon is 29-11 at A&M, the best coaching start in Big 12 history.
* A&M is allowing just 59.5 points on 35.2 percent field goal shooting. SFA was 0-of-13 from the field from inside the three-point line in the second half. They were just 4-of-26 inside the three-point line for the game. SFA's 6-foot-9 Matt Kingsley was the only Lumberjack to make a shot inside three-point range, finishing 4-of-16 from the field.
* Turgeon's teams are known for their balance and the 2008-09 Aggies are no different. Four players (Carter, Sloan, Davis and Elonu) are averaging in double figures in scoring, with four more (Holmes, Loubeau and Roland) averaging at least 4.5.
