Jan. 18, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. --Texas A&M tries to even its Big 12 record when it takes on the defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be televised nationally as part of ESPN's "Big Monday" series.
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
GAME #19
Texas A&M Aggies (15-3, 1-2 Big 12)
vs.
Kansas Jayhawks (13-4, 2-0 Big 12)
Monday, January 19, 2009
8:05 p.m. (CST)
Lawrence, Kan.
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300 cap.)
Television
ESPN
Play-by-Play: Ron Franklin
Analyst: Fran Fraschilla
ESPN360: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/espn360/index?id=290192305
Dish Network: Channel 140
Direct TV: Channel 206
Radio
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 91
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: 15-3 (1-2 Big 12)
Ranking/RPI: Receiving votes (both polls) / 40
Last Game: Lost to No. 5 Oklahoma (69-63) on Saturday
Current Streak: Lost one
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
Record: 193-133 (11th year)
at Texas A&M: 40-14 (2nd year)
vs. Kansas: 0-2
PROJECTED TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Player P Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 Jr-2L 11.6 3.7 3.3
3 Derrick Roland G 6-4 185 Jr-2L 5.4 2.3 --
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Sr-3L 13.4 4.1--
0 Bryan Davis F 6-9 240 Jr-2L 10.66.1 --
41 Chinemelu Elonu C 6-10 235 Jr-2L 10.3 7.6 --
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
Record: 13-4 (2-0 Big 12)
Ranking/RPI: Receiving votes (AP) / 38
Last Game: Won at Colorado (73-65) Saturday
Current Streak: Won two straight
Head Coach: Bill Self (Oklahoma State `85)
Record: 362-141 (16th year)
at Oklahoma: 155-36 (6th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 5-1
PROJECTED KANSAS STARTERS
No. Player P Ht. Wt.Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
12 Brady Morningstar G 6-3 187 So-1L 7.1 2.9 2.9
4 Sherron Collins G 5-11 200 Jr-2L 18.5 2.6 5.2
15 Tyshawn Taylor G 6-3 180 Fr-Hs 10.4 2.1 3.2
23 Mario Little G 6-5 210 Jr-Tr 2.2 2.4 --
45 Cole Aldrich C 6-11 245 So-1L 15.3 9.8 --
Additional Information:
Big 12 Conference: http://big12sports.com/
NCAA: http://www.ncaa.com/
Series Notes
• Kansas leads the series, 13-1, and has won two straight. The Jayhawks posted a 72-55 win last year in College Station and a memorable 77-71 win in the 2008 Big 12 tournament semifinals.
• Five of the last six games in the series were decided by 10 points or less with four decided within six points.
• Kansas has a 5-1 edge in games played in Lawrence, but A&M posted a 69-66 win at Allen Fieldhouse in 2007. The Aggies are the only Big 12 South division team to win in Lawrence since league play began in 1997.
• In the 2007 game, A&M was ranked No. 10 and Kansas was No. 6. A&M trailed by 10 with 6 1/2 minutes left, but A&M rallied behind All-American Acie Law IV, who drilled a three-pointer with :20 left to hand the Aggies the lead for good. Law scored 23 points for A&M.
• A&M's Josh Carter started as a sophomore in that game and scored 11 points. Donald Sloan (4 points, 2 assists) and Bryan Davis (4 points, 4 rebounds) played key roles in the win as freshmen. Chinemelu Elonu, also a freshman at the time, made a brief appearance but did not score.
Key Game Notes
• The Aggies are continuing perhaps the toughest opening schedule in Big 12 history on Monday when they play defending national champion Kansas in Lawrence.
• The Aggies were picked to finish fifth in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll. Their first five games in league play are against the other five teams picked to finish in the top half of the Big 12, with three of the games on the road.
• No other team in Big 12 history has had to play every team in the top-half of the preseason coaches poll in its first five games.
DAUNTING START
Preseason 2008-09
Date Opponent Poll Record
J10 at Oklahoma State (L 72-61) 6th 12-4
J14 #21 Baylor (W, 84-73) T3rd 14-3
J17 #5 Oklahoma (L, 69-63) 1st 17-1
J19 at Kansas T3rd 13-4
J24 at #11 Texas 2nd 13-4
• After winning 10 straight, the Aggies have lost two of their first three Big 12 games.
• Kansas has won two straight to open Big 12 play and is coming off a 73-56 win at Colorado on Saturday.
• A&M is 2-1 in true road games this season and 4-2 in all games away from College Station.
• The Jayhawks are 11-1 at home.
• Mark Turgeon 40-14 record is the second-best coaching start in Big 12 history through 54 games. Kansas' Bill Self was 44-10 in 2003-05.
Sidebars
• After leading Hayden HS in Topeka to consecutive Kansas state titles in 1982 and 1983, A&M Coach Mark Turgeon became the first Jayhawk to play in four straight NCAA Tournaments (1984-87).
• Turgeon is making his first appearance on the opposing bench at Allen Fieldhouse.
• With Turgeon at point guard, Kansas advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1986. Kansas Head Coach Bill Self was an assistant coach at KU that season.
• After graduating in 1987, Turgeon was an assistant coach at KU under Larry Brown, helping the Jayhawks win the 1988 NCAA title. He went on to serve four more years as an assistant under Roy Williams.
• Turgeon still ranks ninth in KU history in career assists with 437. He and KU assistant coach Danny Manning were teammates for three years.
• Before coming to A&M, Turgeon was the head coach at Wichita State for nine years, leading the Shockers to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2006.
About Kansas
• The Jayhawks are in their sixth season under Head Coach Bill Self, who led them to the NCAA Championship and a 37-3 record last season.
• Kansas won the 2008 Big 12 title with a 13-3 league mark.
• The Jayhawks' losses this season have been to Syracuse (89-81 OT), Massachusetts (61-60), at Arizona (84-67) and at Michigan State (75-62).
• Junior guard Sherron Collins (5-11) leads the team and ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring (18.5) and has made .388 (38-98) from three-point range.
• Sophomore center Cole Aldrich (6-11) averages 15.3 points and ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding (9.8). He leads the league in field goal percentage (.642) and blocked shots (2.8).
• Kansas ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding margin ((+6.1), assists (17.6) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3). The Jayhawks are third in free throw percentage (.714), field goal percentage (.483), field goal percentage defense (.385) and blocked shots (4.9).
Last Time They Met
KANSAS CITY (AP, March 15, 2008) - Brandon Rush scored a career-high 28 points as No. 5 Kansas beat Texas A&M 77-71 in the Big 12 semifinals. The Aggies outrebounded Kansas 35-25 and hit almost 54 percent of their shots but could not stop Rush. The Aggies pulled within 73-71 on Josh Carter tip-in clanged off the rim and Mario Chalmers rebounded. Bryan Davis had 16 points and Joseph Jones 14 for A&M. The Aggies closed out the first half on an 8-0 run, forging a 34-34 tie.
Last Year in College Station
COLLEGE STATION (AP, March 8, 2008) - Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur both scored 16 points and No. 5 Kansas beat Texas A&M to clinch a share of its fourth straight Big 12 regular-season title. The Jayhawks led by 10 points at halftime and took advantage of poor second-half shooting by A&M. Mark Turgeon, who played and was an assistant coach at Kansas, faced his former school as a head coach.
Oklahoma Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) - Austin Johnson had 19 points and Blake Griffin added 16 and No. 6 Oklahoma held off a late rally by Texas A&M for a 69-63 victory Saturday. Oklahoma allowed A&M to cut a 13-point second-half lead to two on a 3-pointer by Josh Carter had 17 points for the Aggies (15-3, 1-2), who had won 11 straight at home. A&M trailed 51-37 before going on a 15-5 run to cut the lead to four with about 5 minutes left. Bryan Davis, Chinemelu Elonu, who entered the game with three straight double-doubles, but struggled with early fouls and finished with seven points and five rebounds. Oklahoma scored the game's first nine points and stretched the lead to 19-6 with about 10 minutes left thanks to 2-of-10 shooting by the Aggies. A&M went on an 8-2 run to get within seven and trailed 30-25 at halftime.
Inside Dish
• Senior Josh Carter owns the school record for career three-point field goals with 258, which ranks seventh in Big 12 history. The old A&M mark was 232 by Bernard King (1999-03). Carter is the most accurate three-point shooter in school history, making 41.9 percent. He led the nation in 2006-07 by making 50.0 percent.
• Carter leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.881, 59-67), 24th-best nationally. The school record for a season is .865 by Mike Floyd in 1974-75. A&M is 59-12 when Carter scores in double figures and 30-18 when he doesn't hit at least 10.
• Carter has had three 20-point games this season, and scored 19 in the win against LSU. He is averaging a team-best 13.4 points. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, he was a second-team preseason selection.
• Carter has started in 88 straight games -- every game since the start of his sophomore season. He has played in 119 career games and is on track to break the school record of 132 by Dominique Kirk (2004-08).
• Junior Bryan Davis scored 17 points in the win against Baylor, making 9-of 12 from the free throw line. He ranks second on the team in rebounds (6.1) and blocks (23). Davis was named to the all-tournament team at the South Padre Island Invitational. A&M is 21-3 when Davis scores in double figures in his career.
• Junior Donald Sloan has started in 54 straight games since the start of his sophomore year (2007-08). He has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 14 games and has scored at least 8 points in every game this year. Sloan leads the team in assists (3.3) and ranks fourth in the Big 12 in assist/turnover radio (2.1). A&M is 34-5 when Sloan hands out at least 3 assists.
• Junior Chinemelu Elonu has posted double-doubles in three of the last four games, averaging 14.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in that stretch. He has had a team-high six double-doubles this season and has averaged 13.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over the last 10 games. Elonu's season field goal percentage of .661 ranks ninth nationally (min. 100 FGA). A&M is 20-1 when Elonu scores at least 6 points and is 22-1 when he has at least 5 rebounds in his career.
• Sophomore B.J. Holmes has averaged 10.6 points in the last 15 games while making 42.9 percent (30-70) from three-point range. Holmes hit a rainbow three-pointer with two seconds left to send the Alabama game into overtime. He scored a career-high 19 points at Oklahoma State. A&M is 10-2 in his career when he scores at least 8 points and is 21-4 when he makes at least one three-pointer. He's made a three-pointer in 16 straight games.
• Junior Derrick Roland has averaged 9.0 points and made 80.0 percent (4-of-5) from three-point range in the last two games. He scored 10 points in the win against Baylor, making both his three-point tries, and added a season-high 4 assists. Roland is regarded as one of the country's top defenders and held Arizona's Chase Budinger to just 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting in the second half of A&M's come-from-behind victory. A&M is 16-4 when he scores at least 6 points in his career.
• Sophomore Nate Walkup has become the Aggies' new "Mr. Clutch" for making big shots in tight 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. Walkup also hit key baskets late in close games against Stephen F. Austin, SMU and Rice.
• Freshman Dash Harris has had 18 assists with just seven turnovers in the last six games.
• The Aggies made just 64.5 percent from the free throw line through the first five games but made 74.9 percent over the next 12 games. A&M made just 14-of-23 (.609) in the loss to Oklahoma. The Aggies ranked last in the Big 12 last year at .633 but are fourth this season at 70.9 percent. A&M set Big 12 and A&M records for free throw percentage by making 20-of-20 against Florida A&M.
• The Aggies are 47-of-53 (.887) from the free throw line in the last two minutes of "close games," which are defined as games within 10 points.
• A&M has posted an average scoring margin of +7.9 points per game. The Aggie are out-scoring their opponents by an average of 6.7 points per game from the free throw line, the best margin in the Big 12.
• The Aggies rallied from 14-point deficits to beat Arizona and Alabama. A&M was five points down with 15 seconds left in regulation against Alabama, but came back to win in overtime.
• A&M had just 4 turnovers (16 assists) against Arizona, a school record for fewest in a game. A&M is averaging just 12.2 turnovers per game, tied for second fewest in the Big 12. A&M is 12-0 when it has 15 or fewer turnovers this season, but is 3-3 when it has more than 15 miscues.
• A&M's 78 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (83).
• A&M is 67-21 (.761) in the last three seasons, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country in that span.
• A&M has scored at least 22 points in the paint in all 18 games, averaging 31.3 points in the paint per game.