Aggies Battle Red Raiders on Wednesday
Feb 26, 2008 | Men's Basketball
February 26, 2008
Texas A&M tries to end a three-game losing skid on Wednesday when the Aggies meet the Texas Tech Red Raiders at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN Regional.
The winner will remain within one game of third place in the Big 12 standings. Game notes:
GAME #28
Texas A&M Aggies
(20-7, 6-6 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
(15-11, 6-6 Big 12 Conference)
Wednesday, Feb. 27 * 7:05 p.m. (CST)
Reed Arena (12,292 cap.) * College Station, Texas
TELEVISION
ESPN Regional (ESPN Full Court)
Play-by-Play: Dave Armstrong
Analyst: Reid Gettys
Stations
New York, N.Y...........................................YES Network
Dallas, Texas............................................................KTXA
Houston, Texas.....................................................KNWS
Denver, Colo. .................................................... Altitude
St. Louis, Mo. .................. Charter (Mo.); Charter (Ill.)
Kansas City, Mo. ....................................................KMCI
San Antonio/Austin, Texas .............................. KCWX
Little Rock, Ark. ....................................................KWBF
Springfield, Mo. .................................................. KWBM
Waco/Bryan, Texas ........................................KBTX-DT
Fayetteville, Ark. ....................................................KFDF
Tyler, Texas...............................................................KLPN
La Crosse, Wis. ...................................................... KQEG
Amarillo, Texas ......................................................KCPN
Columbia, Mo. ......................................................KZOU
Lubbock, Texas .....................................................KLCW
Odessa, Texas ................................................ KOSA-DT
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 140
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 20-7 (6-6 Big 12)
Ranking: RV (USA Today/ESPN), RV (AP)
RPI: 46
Last Game: Lost to Nebraska (65-59) at home on Saturday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 173-126 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 20-7 (1st year)
vs. Texas Tech: 0-1
TENTATIVE TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
22 Dominique Kirk G 6-4 185 Sr-3L 7.9 3.6 3.7
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 9.6 4.0 3.2
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 12.8 4.3 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 10.9 5.3 --
0 Bryan Davis F/C 6-9 250 So-1L 9.0 5.1 --
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Record: 15-11 (6-6 Big 12)
Ranking : Unranked
RPI: 54
Last Game: Beat Iowa State (76-64) at home on Saturday
Head Coach: Pat Knight (Indiana ?'95)
Record: 3-3 (1st year)
at Texas Tech: 3-3 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
TENTATIVE TEXAS TECH STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
21 John Roberson G 5-11 165 Fr-Hs 12.3 2.7 2.7
20 Alan Voskuil G 6-3 175 Jr-2L 13.4 4.0 --
3 Martin Zeno G 6-5 208 Jr-Tr 16.3 4.4 2.9
32 Mike Singletary F 6-5 226 Fr-Hs 7.7 3.3 --
41 Damir Suljagic F 6-8 245 Jr-2L 5.2 4.3 --
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies?™ 20-7 record matches the best start by a first-year head coach in school history (Billy Gillispie in 2004-05).
*A&M?™s 6-6 start in Big 12 play matches the second best in school history. A&M started 10-2 last year (finishing 13-3) and 6-6 in 2006 (finishing 10-6).
*The Aggies have lost three straight and are coming off a 65-59 loss to Nebraska at home on Saturday. A&M has lost two straight at home for the first time since 2006, when it fell to Oklahoma and Kansas in consecutive games.
*Texas Tech has won two straight and three of its last four. The Red Raiders are coming off a 76-64 win against Iowa State at home on Saturday.
*A&M is 15-3 at home this season, 3-3 in Big 12 play. The Aggies have won 40 of their last 44 home games, including 15 of their last 19 in Big 12 play.
*Tech is 2-8 in true road games, 1-5 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 Tech
*The Red Raiders finished 21-13 last season, placing fifth in the Big 12 with a 9-7 mark and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
*Tech is 3-3 under Head Coach Pat Knight, who took over for his father, Bob Knight, earlier this month. Bob Knight is the winningest coach in NCAA history.
*After starting league play at 3-5, Tech has won three of its last four, including an 84-75 win against Kansas State in Lubbock.
*The Red Raiders are led by senior guard Martin Zeno (6-5), who is averaging 16.3 points, and junior guard Alan Voskuil (6-3) who adds 13.4 points and is shooting a blazing .543 from three-point range.
Earlier This Year
*The Red Raiders handed the Aggies a 68-53 loss on Jan. 16 in Lubbock, sparking a three-game A&M losing skid. A&M came into the game with a 15-1 record and a No. 9 national ranking.
*A&M had a 40-28 rebounding edge, but shot just 34.0 percent from the field and had a season-high 20 turnovers. Joseph Jones led the Aggies with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Martin Zeno led Tech with 19 points and Trevor Cook added 14 off the bench.
Series Notes
*Tech leads the series, 63-53, and has won 3 straight. Prior to that streak, the Aggies had won 3 straight.
*A&M has a 32-21 edge in games played in College Station with a 5-4 record at Reed Arena.
*Tech swept the Aggies last year with a 70-68 win in Lubbock and a 77-75 win in College Station. Tech?™s Jarrius Jackson hit a short jumper at the buzzer to win the game in College Station. If A&M had won either game, it would have been Big 12 co-champions with Kansas.
Players to Watch
*Junior Josh Carter ranks fifth in career 3-point accuracy in Big 12 history at .430. With 1,003 career points, Carter is the 29th A&M player to reach the 1,000-point mark and the 18th to do it in three years.
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk owns the Big 12 record for consecutive starts with 123, which also ties the A&M record for career games played. He is the winningest player in A&M history with a 90-33 (.732) record. A defensive All-American last year, Kirk?™s primary defensive assignment in Big 12 play has made just 32 percent from the field. Kirk ranks second in the Big 12 (19th nationally) in assist/turnover ratio (2.48).
*A preseason All-America candidate, senior forward Joseph Jones was named MVP of the Dick?™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?™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 this year and in 93 in his career, second most in school history (96 by Vernon Smith in 1977-81).
*Sophomore Bryan Davis scored 14 points with 11 rebounds against Missouri for his second double-double of the year. In 10 games as a starter, Davis ranks second on the team in scoring (11.5) and leads in rebounding (6.2). He averaged 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds as a reserve. For the season, he leads the team steals (29), ranks second in blocks (31) and is third in rebounding (5.1).
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, ranks among the top 15 nationally in field goal percentage (.631, 160 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 leads the team in blocks with 33.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has made 19 of his last 21 free throws. Sloan has averaged 11.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the last 9 games.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland scored a team-high 13 points against Nebraska, making 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Aggie Angles
*The Aggies rank sixth nationally in rebounding margin at +8.4. 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 ranks second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally in field goal percentage defense at .389, and has held 14 opponents under 40 percent. The Aggies are allowing just 61.9 points per game, just behind last year's school record of 59.4. A&M is 19-3 when its opponent scores under 70 points.
*In the last three games, A&M has averaged just 54.3 points while making .380 from the field, .250 from three-point range and .620 from the free throw line. Defensively, A&M has allowed 67.0 points on 48.2 percent shooting. The opponents have made .458 from three-point range and .702 from the free throw line.
*In the six Big 12 wins, A&M has made .500 from the field, .407 from three-point range and .740 from the free throw line with a 1.3 assist/turnover ratio. In the six league losses, the Aggies have made just .371 from the field, .253 from three-point range and .601 from the line with a 0.8 assist/turnover ratio. A&M has allowed just 60.0 points in the wins but 76.7 in the losses.
*A&M is the only team in the country to post a rebounding margin of at least +8.0 while shooting at least 47 percent from the field and holding its opponents to less than 39 percent field goal accuracy.
*A&M?™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 47-14 since the start of last season, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country 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).
*Eight different Aggies have scored in double figures this season. A&M and Kansas are the only Big 12 teams with seven players averaging more than 6.0 points.
*A&M fell out of the national polls this week although it is receiving votes. The last time A&M was unranked was in the final polls in 2005-06. The Aggies had ranked in both polls a school record 36 straight weeks. Prior to that streak, A&M had been ranked a total of 27 weeks in its history.
