Aggies Battle Baylor in Key Big 12 Matchup
Mar 04, 2008 | Men's Basketball
March 04, 2008
Texas A&M battles the Baylor Bears on Wednesday in a key Big 12 matchup at 8 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Game notes:
GAME #30
Texas A&M Aggies
(21-8, 7-7 Big 12 Conference)
vs.
Baylor Bears
(20-8, 8-6 Big 12 Conference)
Wednesday, March 5 * 8:05 p.m. (CST)
Ferrell Center (10,284 cap.) * Waco, Texas
TELEVISION
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Dave Barnett
Analyst: Stephen Bardo
RADIO
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 161
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 21-8 (7-7 Big 12)
Ranking: RV (AP)
RPI: 47
Last Game: Lost at Oklahoma (64-37) on Saturday
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ?'87)
Record: 174-127 (10th year)
at Texas A&M: 21-8 (1st year)
vs. Baylor: 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 3.5 3.5
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 So-1L 9.4 3.9 3.2
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Jr-2L 12.6 4.2 --
30 Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 Sr-3L 10.7 5.2 --
12 DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 255 Fr-Hs 9.0 6.4 --
BAYLOR BEARS
Record: 20-8 (8-6 Big 12)
Ranking : RV (both polls)
RPI: 32
Last Game: Beat Missouri (100-89) at home on Saturday
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler ?'93)
Record: 76-88 (6th year)
at Baylor: 56-77 (5th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 3-6
TENTATIVE BAYLOR STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class PPG RPG APG
0 Curtis Jerrells G 6-1 200 Jr-2L 15.3 3.6 3.8
5 Henry Dugat G 6-0 170 Jr-2L 12.2 4.0 --
14 Aaron Bruce G 6-3 185 Sr-3L 9.3 1.9 2.0
40 Mark Shepherd F 6-9 225 Sr-3L 1.6 2.2 --
23 Kevin Rogers F 6-9 240 Jr-2L 12.9 8.6 --
Key Game Notes
*The Aggies?™ 21-8 record is the best start by a first-year head coach in school history.
*A&M has reached at least seven Big 12 wins for the fourth straight year. Prior to that, A&M never had more than six league victories.
*The Aggies have lost four of their last five games and are coming off a 63-37 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday.
*Baylor has won three straight and is coming off a 100-89 win against Missouri at home on Saturday.
*A&M is 3-5 in true road games this season, 3-4 in Big 12 play. The Aggies have won 12 of their last 18 Big 12 road games, including three of the last five.
*Baylor is 12-3 at home this year, 5-2 in Big 12 play, and has won two straight.
*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 Baylor
*The Bears finished 15-16 last season, placing 11th in the Big 12 with a 4-12 mark.
*Baylor is in its fifth season under Coach Scott Drew.
*The Bears are hoping to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988.
*Baylor had lost six of seven games before its current three-game winning streak.
*Baylor has four players averaging in double figures, led by junior guard Curtis Jerrells (6-1), who is averaging 15.3 points and 3.8 assists per game. Junior forward Kevin Rogers (6-9) adds 12.9 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds.
The Longest Game
*Baylor beat the Aggies, 116-110, in a five-overtime game on Jan. 23 in College Station. ESPN Classic will feature that game on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
*After a 64-64 deadlock in regulation, the teams combined for 97 points in the overtimes, setting an NCAA record. The game was the longest in the history of both schools and the Big 12.
*A&M held Baylor to a season-low shooting percentage of .361. The Bears?™ 64 points were their lowest in regulation play in the Big 12 this year.
Series Notes
*A&M leads the series, 124-72, with a 49-42 advantage in games played in Waco and a 10-9 lead at the Ferrell Center. A&M has won three straight in Waco.
*Baylor's five-overtime win (116-110) on Jan. 23 ended a six-game A&M winning streak in the series and marked the first time any current A&M player had lost to the Bears.
*The last six meetings have each been within 10 points. A&M won last year in College Station (97-87) and in Waco (61-51).
*The teams are meeting for the 197th time since the first game in 1914-15. The only opponent A&M has played more is Texas (213 games).
Players to Watch
*Junior Josh Carter ranks fifth in career 3-point accuracy in Big 12 history at .427. Carter has made 11 straight free throws.
*Senior guard Dominique Kirk owns the Big 12 record for consecutive starts with 125, which also is the A&M record for career games played. He is the winningest player in A&M history with a 91-34 (.728) record. A defensive All-American last year, Kirk?™s primary defensive assignment in Big 12 play has made just 33 percent from the field. Kirk ranks second in the Big 12 (23rd nationally) in assist/turnover ratio (2.44).
*A preseason All-America candidate, senior forward Joseph Jones scored 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the win against Texas Tech. Jones was named MVP of the Dick?™s Sporting Goods NIT Season-Tip-Off in November and 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 21 games this year and in 94 in his career, second most in school history (96 by Vernon Smith in 1977-81).
*Sophomore Bryan Davis leads the team steals (31), ranks second in blocks (33) and is third in rebounding (5.0).
*Freshman DeAndre Jordan, a preseason freshman All-America pick, has made .629 from the field and is chasing the school record for season field goal percentage (.622 by Rudy Woods in 1978-79). 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 37 and has had at least two in five straight games. Jordan scored 8 points with a game-high 10 rebounds in the win against Texas Tech and has a team-high 10 points in the loss at Oklahoma.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan has made 21 of his last 23 free throws.
*Sophomore Derrick Roland has averaged 9.3 points in the last three games. He scored a team-high 13 points against Nebraska, making 3-of-5 from three-point range, and followed with 11 in the win against Tech.
*Senior Beau Muhlbach has averaged 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in the last two games, averaging 15.5 minutes per game. He added a career-high 3 steals in the loss at Oklahoma.
Aggie Angles
*The Aggies rank sixth nationally in rebounding margin at +7.8. A&M has out-rebounded its opponent in all 21 wins, but is 0-4 when its opponent wins the battle of the boards.
*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 14th nationally in field goal percentage defense at .390, and has held 15 opponents under 40 percent. The Aggies are allowing just 61.7 points per game, just behind last year?™s school record of 59.4. A&M is 20-4 when its opponent scores under 70 points.
*In the seven Big 12 wins, A&M has made .511 from the field, .408 from three-point range and .704 from the free throw line with a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio. In the seven league losses, the Aggies have made just .357 from the field, .235 from three-point range and .612 from the line with a 0.6 assist/turnover ratio. A&M has allowed just 59.1 points in the wins but 74.9 in the losses.
*In the five-overtime loss to Baylor, A&M held the Bears to a season-low 36.1 percent from the field. Baylor scored just 64 points in regulation, its fewest in Big 12 play this season.
*The loss to the Bears in College Station ended a six-game A&M winning streak in the series and marked the first time any current A&M player has lost to the Bears. No A&M player has lost a game in Waco (3-0).
*A&M?™s 67 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (69).
*A&M is 48-15 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 21 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.
