Dec. 14, 2008
COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M continues a busy week on Monday when it plays host to the Florida A&M Rattlers at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game is the second of four in an eight-day stretch for the Aggies.
GAME #9
Texas A&M Aggies (7-1, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Florida A&M Rattlers (2-7, 0-0 MEAC)
Monday, December 15, 2008
7:05 p.m. (CST)
College Station, Texas
Reed Arena (12,989 cap.)
Television
Fox Sports Net Southwest
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: n/a
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
http://aggieathletics.com
Record: 7-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: Receiving votes (AP)
Last Game: Won at Alabama (86-78) on Saturday
Current Streak: Won three straight
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
           Record: 185-131 (11th year)
           at Texas A&M: 32-12 (2nd year)
           vs. Florida A&M: 1-0
PROJECTED TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No.      Player                         P         Ht.       Wt.      Cl-Ex            PPG    RPG    APG
15       Donald Sloan           G        6-3     205    Jr-2L              11.9    3.4      3.9
3         Derrick Roland         G        6-4     185    Jr-2L              4.9      1.9      2.1
23       Josh Carter              F         6-7     200    Sr-3L             15.9    4.5      2.5
0         Bryan Davis              F         6-9     240    Jr-2L              12.1      6.4     --
41       Chinemelu Elonu     C        6-10   235    Jr-2L               7.0     5.3      --
          Â
FLORIDA A&M RATTLERS
http://famurattlersports.com
Record: 2-7 (0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Ranking: n/a
Last Game: Beat Kinnesaw State (63-58) at home on Saturday
Current Streak: Won last game to end a three-game losing skid
Head Coach: Eugene Harris (Florida State `79)
           Record: 17-24 (2nd year)
           at Florida A&M: 17-24 (2nd year)
           vs. Texas A&M: 0-1
PROJECTED FLORIDA A&M STARTERS
No.      Player                                    P         Ht.       Wt.      Cl-Ex              PPG    RPG    APG
10       Byron Taylor                          G        5-7     155    Sr-3L            2.1      1.3      2.9
24       Joe Ballard                           G        6-0     190    Sr-3L            5.6      3.3      3.7
15       Brandon Bryant                    G        6-3     170    Jr-Tr               10.3   1.8      --
3         Lamar Twitty                         F         6-4     205    Sr-3L            10.1   4.1      --
21       Cecil Bent                             C        6-9     290    Fr-Hs            4.2      2.3      --
Additional Information:
Big 12 Conference: http://big12sports.com/
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC): http://meacsports.com/
NCAA: http://www.ncaa.com/
Half Price Holiday Hoops
- Texas A&M men's and women's home games through Jan. 5 will be half price.
- For more information, go to http://www.12thmanfoundation.com/tickets/B08-Holiday.asp.
Series Notes
- Texas A&M leads the series, 1-0, after winning the first meeting, 83-54, last year at Reed Arena.
- A&M is 7-1 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Key Game Notes
- Florida A&M visits Reed Arena for the second straight season on Monday. A&M won last year's game, 83-54.
- Both teams are coming off wins on Saturday. The Aggies have won three straight and are coming off a n 86-78 overtime win at Alabama. The Rattlers beat Kennesaw State (63-58) at home to end a three-game losing skid.
- A&M has won 51 straight regular-season non-conference road games since an 82-80 loss to A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
- The Aggies have won 72 home games in the last five seasons, second only to Memphis' 76 home victories.
- Mark Turgeon 32-12 record is the second-best coaching start in Big 12 history behind Tech's Bob Knight (33-11 in 2001-03).
Busy Week
- The Florida A&M game is the second of four games in an eight-day stretch for the Aggies before they break for Christmas.
- A&M plays host to SMU on Wednesday before meeting LSU on Saturday in Houston's Toyota Center as part of a double-header. Texas plays Michigan State in the first game.
- Former members of the Southwest Conference, A&M and SMU have not played since that league disbanded in 1996.
- This is the fourth straight year the Aggies have played LSU.
About FAMU
- The Rattlers went 15-17 last year and placed fifth in the MEAC with a 9-7 mark.
- Florida A&M is in its second year under Head Coach Eugene Harris, who had been an assistant at Alabama (2005-06), Auburn (1994-01), Clemson (1984-94), and South Alabama (1983-84). Harris was a three-year starter at Florida State in the late 1970s under Coach Hugh Durham.
- The Rattlers led by junior guard Brandon Bryant (6-3), who is averaging 10.3 points per game. Senior forward Lamar Twitty (6-4) adds 10.1 points per contest.
- Florida A&M has played a rugged schedule with road losses to Kansas State, Wichita State, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida. After playing the Aggies, the Rattlers will have road tests at Mississippi and Nebraska.
Last Year's Game
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Dec. 29, 2007) -- Josh Carter scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half and Texas A&M (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) beat Florida A&M 83-54 on Saturday for its fifth straight win. Carter, who led the nation in 3-point accuracy last season, went 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half against the Rattlers. He missed both of his attempts from behind the arc during limited action in the second half. Texas A&M led by 17 at halftime and outscored Florida A&M 11-5 in the opening minutes of the second half to stretch its lead to 58-35 with about 15 minutes to play. Joseph Jones sunk a 3-pointer and he and freshman DeAndre Jordan each made a layup to help increase the lead to 65-40 a couple minutes later. Texas A&M went to its reserves soon after that. Jordan finished with 15 points and Bryan Davis had 13 for the Aggies. Dominique Kirk didn't score, but led the team with seven assists and six rebounds. The Rattlers (3-8) jumped out to a 5-0 lead despite having a 12-day break since their last game. The Aggies, who have three starters taller than 6-foot-6, had trouble keeping up with the quickness of the smallish Rattlers at the start but soon adjusted. Florida A&M led 12-10 with about 15 minutes left after a 3-pointer by Leslie Robinson but the Aggies responded with an 8-0 run. Florida A&M got within one with about 11 minutes remaining before halftime. The Aggies then scored 10 straight points, and led 47-30 at halftime. Akini Akini led Florida A&M with 10 points and six rebounds and Robinson had nine points.
Arizona Recap
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Josh Carter scored 23 points and Texas A&M defeated Alabama 86-78 in overtime on Saturday night. In the overtime, the Aggies (7-1) held Alabama (5-3) without a field goal as Demetrius Jemison made three free throws and Alonzo Gee hit two for the Crimson Tide. Alabama led 70-67 until the Aggies made two 3-pointers in the final 17 seconds to send the game into overtime. Bryan Davis. Gee led Alabama with 19 points and Senario Hillman added 17.
Notes
- Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes has averaged 15.0 points in the last three games while making 50.0 percent (8-16) from three-point range. Holmes hit a rainbow three-pointer with two seconds left to send the Alabama game into overtime. He led the team in scoring two of the last three games, scoring a career-high 16 points against Alabama and added adding 14 against Arizona.
- Senior Josh Carter owns the school record for career three-point field goals with 244. The old mark was 232 by Bernard King (1999-03). Carter is the most accurate three-point shooter in school history, making 42.4 percent. He led the nation in 2006-07 by making 50.0 percent.
- Carter is making 87.5 percent from the free throw line (28-32) and has made 12 straight. He ranks second in the Big 12 in free-throw accuracy. The school record is .865 by Mike Floyd in 1974-75.
- Carter has had three 20-point games this season, including 23 on Saturday at Alabama, and is averaging a team-best 15.0 points. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, he was a second-team preseason selection.
- Carter has started in 78 straight games -- every game since the start of his sophomore season. He has played in 109 career games and is on track to break the school record of 132 by Dominique Kirk (2004-08).
- Junior Bryan Davis has averaged 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in the last three games while making 71.4 (15-21) percent from the field. He leads the team in rebounds (6.4) and blocks (12). Davis was named to the all-tournament team at the South Padre Island Invitational.
- Junior Donald Sloan has started in 44 straight games since the start of his sophomore year (2007-08). He has scored in double figures in four straight games and leads the team in assists (3.9). Sloan ranks second in the Big 12 and among the leaders nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.4).
- Junior Derrick Roland has established himself as one of the nation's top defenders. He helped limit Arizona All-American Chase Budinger to just 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting in the second half of the come-from-behind win against Arizona. Roland scored 6 points with a season-best 6 rebounds against the Wildcats.
- Sophomore Nate Walkup has averaged just 8.0 minutes in the last two games but hit big three-pointers late in both games. His trey against Arizona with 20 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. He hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left at Alabama, which set up B.J. Holmes trey at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime.
- The win at Alabama was A&M's first overtime victory since an 86-81 win at Iowa State in 2005-06. A&M had never won non-conference road game in overtime against a member of a BCS conference. The last time A&M won any non-conference road game in overtime was at Prairie View A&M (83-78 2 OT) in 2002-03.
- The Aggies have rallied from 14-point deficits in each of the last two games. A&M was five points down with 15 seconds left in regulation against Alabama, but came back to win in overtime.
- The Aggies are 22-of-24 (.916) from the free throw line in the last two minutes of "close games," which are defined as games within 10 points. In the last two games, the Aggies are 13-of-14 (.929) in "crunch time."
- In the last three games, A&M has made 82.0 percent (50-61) from the free throw line, connecting on at least 80.0 percent in each game. The Aggies made just 64.5 percent through the first five games this season.
- A&M had just 4 turnovers (16 assists) against Arizona, a school record for fewest in a game. Turnovers were not kept as an official statistic until the mid-1970s.
- A&M's 72 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (76).
- A&M is 59-19 in the last three seasons, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country in that span.
- A&M is one of just nine schools to win an NCAA Tournament game in each of the last three seasons.
- A&M and Kansas are the only Big 12 schools to win at least 21 games in each of the last four seasons.
- Turgeon's teams are known for their balance and the 2008-09 Aggies are no different. Eight players are averaging at least 4.5 points per game and nine are averaging at least 13 minutes.
- In the last six games, the Aggies are averaging 28.5 bench points.
- A&M has scored at least 22 points in the paint in all eight games, averaging 31.0 points in the paint per game.
- The Aggies placed fifth in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll and received votes in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
Family Game Day
- Texas A&M basketball will present the Family Game Day Experience on Saturday, Jan. 3, when the women's team plays George Washington (5 p.m.) and the men's team plays McNeese State (8 p.m.).
- Children (Grades 8 and younger) will be treated to an open-gym with the A&M players as well as t-shirts, posters, etc. Adults will receive a tour and a Q&A session with the coaches.
- To register, call 979-845-4531. Cost is $35 for children and $45 for adults and includes game tickets.