Jan. 27, 2009
COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M plays Texas Tech at 8:05pm this Wednesday at Reed Arena. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
GAME #21
Texas A&M Aggies (15-5, 1-4 Big 12)
vs.
Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-8, 1-3 Big 12)
             Â
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
8:05 p.m. (CST)
College Station, Texas
Reed Arena (12,989 cap.)
Television
ESPNU
Play-by-Play: Doug Bell
Analyst: Reid Gettys
Dish Network: Channel 148
Direct TV: Channel 614
Radio
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: 91
www.aggieathletics.com
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
www.aggieathletics.com
Record: 15-5 (1-4 Big 12)
Ranking/RPI (NCAA): Unranked / 48
- Last Game: Lost at No. 14 Texas (67-58) on Saturday
Current Streak: Lost three straight
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
           Record: 193-135 (11th year)
           at Texas A&M: 40-16 (2nd year)
           vs. Texas Tech: 1-1
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      3.2
3         Derrick Roland         G        6-4     185    Jr-2L   5.4      2.3      --
23       Josh Carter              F         6-7     200    Sr-3L  12.9    4.2      --
0         Bryan Davis              F         6-9     240    Jr-2L  10.2      6.0     --
41       Chinemelu Elonu     C        6-10   235    Jr-2L   10.3    7.4      --
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TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
www.texastech.com
Record: 11-8 (1-3 Big 12)
Ranking/RPI (NCAA): unranked / 95
Last Game: Lost at Missouri (97-86) on Saturday
Current Streak: Lost one
           Head Coach: Pat Knight (Indiana `95)
           Record: 15-15 (2nd year)
           at Texas Tech: 15-15 (2nd year)
           vs. Texas A&M: 0-1
PROJECTED TEXAS TECH STARTERS
No.      Player                                   P         Ht.       Wt.      Cl-Ex   PPG    RPG    APG
21       John Roberson                     G        5-11   165    So-1L 14.1   3.4      5.9
20       Alan Voskuil                         G        6-3     181    Sr-3L 13.6   4.5      2.2
5         D'Walyn Roberts                  F         6-7     194    So-1L 7.3      4.7      --
30       Michael Prince                     F         6-7     208    Sr-3L 3.8      3.2      --
15       Robert Lewandowski           F         6-10   240    Fr-Hs 5.4      3.3      --                                          Â
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Additional Information:
Big 12 Conference: http://big12sports.com/
NCAA: http://www.ncaa.com/
Audio links
Monday's weekly Texas A&M basketball press conference at Reed Arena:
 (due to technical difficulties, ths audio is not of the highest quality this week. We regret any inconvenience)
Head coach Mark Turgeon
http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/texasam/090126_turgeon.mp3
Junior guard Donald Sloan
http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/texasam/090126_sloan.mp3
Senior Guard/Forward Josh Carter
http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/texasam/090126_carter.mp3
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Series Notes
- Texas Tech leads the series, 63-54, but A&M has a 33-21 advantage in games played in College Station and a 6-4 edge at Reed Arena.
- Each team cruised to big wins at home last season. The Aggies posted an 98-54 win in College Station, but the Red Raiders won in Lubbock, 68-53.
Key Game Notes
- After playing three of their first five Big 12 games on the road, the Aggies return to Reed Arena for a two-game homestand this week against Texas Tech (Wednesday) and Oklahoma State (Saturday).
- The Aggies have lost three straight and are coming off a 67-58 loss at No. 11 Texas on Saturday.
- Texas Tech has lost four of its last five games and is coming off a 97-86 loss at Missouri on Saturday.
- The Aggies are 11-1 at home this season while Tech is 0-5 in true road games.
- Mark Turgeon's 40-16 record is the second-best coaching start in Big 12 history through 56 games. Kansas' Bill Self was 44-12 in 2003-05.
Tough Competition
- A&M is the first team in Big 12 history to play every team in the top half of the preseason coaches poll in its first five games.
- Three of the games were on the road at three of the toughest venues in the country (Oklahoma State, defending NCAA champion Kansas and No. 11 Texas), while the other two were at home against ranked teams (No. 21 Baylor, No. 5 Oklahoma).
- Of the Aggies' first four conference road games, three are against teams that rank among the top five nationally in longest home winning streaks -- Kansas (1), Texas (4), Oklahoma (5). The opener was at Oklahoma State, considered by many to be among the toughest places to play in the country.
- In this week's official RPI released by the NCAA, all five Big 12 opponents A&M has faced are ranked among the top 35. Both home foes this week are in the top 100 (Texas Tech is No. 95 and Oklahoma State is No. 22).
- The Aggies don't play a team ranked outside of the top 102 in the RPI until they play host to Iowa State (129) on Feb. 28.Â
About Texas Tech
- The Red Raiders are in their second season under Head Coach Pat Knight, who replaced his legendary father, Bob Knight, in the middle of last season.
- Tech finished 16-15 last year and placed seventh in the Big 12 with a 7-9 mark.
- Sophomore guard guard John Roberson (5-11) leads the Red Raiders in scoring (14.1) and leads the Big 12 in assists (5.9). Senior guard Alan Voskuil (6-3) adds 13.6 points and ranks second in the league in three-pointers made (3.0 per game) and three-point percentage (.463).
- Tech averages 79.3 points per game buts ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (77.2).
Last Year at Reed Arena
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Feb. 27, 2008) - Mark Turgeon sat all his starters with more than five minutes left to play. Tech, which had won two straight, was doomed by its own poor shooting (33 percent) coupled with 57 percent shooting by the Aggies, who made 12 3-pointers. The Aggies harassed Tech into seven turnovers and numerous bad shots while committing just one turnover in the first half. Tech was led by Alan Voskuil with 11 points. The Aggies lead 56-29 at halftime. The Aggies could have gone scoreless in the second half and still won the game by two.
Last Year in Lubbock
LUBBOCK (AP, Jan. 16, 2008) -- Bob Knight reached another milestone. Texas Tech beat No. 10 Texas A&M 68-53, the Hall of Fame coach's 900th career victory. After the game fans chanted Knight's name as he walked off the court to a thunderous ovation. The win was Tech's third straight over an Aggies team ranked in the top 10. Last season the Red Raiders beat A&M twice by a combined four points. The Aggies were ranked No. 6 going into each game and were on nine- and five-game winning streaks, respectively. The Aggies looked frazzled and out of sync most of the game. A&M went 18-for-53 from the field in its worst shooting performance (34 percent) of the season and they turned the ball over a season-high 20 times. Martin Zeno scored 19 points and Trevor Cook added a career-high 14 for Texas Tech (10-6, 1-1). The Aggies used a 14-4 run to whittle the Red Raiders' lead to 39-31 with about 16 minutes remaining. But Tech stiffened and went on a 20-4 run to go up by 56-35 with 7:45 remaining. The run included two 3-pointers by Trevor Cook and one by Alan Voskuil. A&M never threatened after that. Josh Carter and Joseph Jones scored 11 points each to lead the Aggies.
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Texas Recap
AUSTIN (AP) -- Damion James scored 28 points, including 11 in a two-minute stretch of the second half, to lead No. 14 Texas to a 67-58 win over Texas A&M on Saturday night. Neither team had led by more than five before James started his run. His first basket put Texas up 44-37 and a couple of layups, short jumpers and a rim-rattling dunk pushed the Longhorns' lead to 52-40 by the time he was done. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-1 Big 12) also got 15 points from Gary Johnson in winning their 19th straight at home. Donald Sloan scored 17 points for the Aggies (15-5, 1-4). The two worst shooting teams in the Big 12 played like they couldn't miss in the early going with both teams knocking down long and mid-range jumpers. James scored 13 and A&M's Josh Carter made a 3-pointer to keep the Aggies' within four and kept the Longhorns within striking distance. Two free throws and a slashing reverse layup after an A&M turnover kept the Aggies from creeping closer and brought the sellout home crowd to its feet. The Longhorns pushed the lead to 13 twice. A.J. Abrams, Texas' top scorer, was held to 0-for-2 shooting from three-point range under the defensive lockdown provided by the Aggies' Derrick Roland and Dash Harris. Abrams needed three treys to set the Big 12 career record.
Inside Dish
- Senior Josh Carter owns the school record for career three-point field goals with 261, 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 41.8 percent. He led the nation in 2006-07 by making 50.0 percent.
- Carter leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.873, 62-71), 22nd-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 but just 30-20 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. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, he was a second-team preseason selection.
- Carter has started in 90 straight games -- every game since the start of his sophomore season. He has played in 121 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 (6.0) and blocks (25). 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 56 straight games since the start of his sophomore year (2007-08). He scored 17 points and made 3-of-4 three-pointers against Texas on Saturday and has scored at least 8 points in all but one game this year. Sloan leads the team in assists (3.2). A&M is 34-5 when Sloan hands out at least 3 assists.
- Junior Chinemelu Elonu leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounds (4.6) in league play and ranks second in field goal percentage (619) . He has had a team-high six double-doubles this season and has averaged 12.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks over the last 12 games. Elonu's season field goal percentage of .659 ranks 11th nationally (min. 100 FGA). A&M is 20-3 when Elonu scores at least 6 points and is 22-2 when he has at least 5 rebounds.
- Sophomore B.J. Holmes has averaged 10.1 points in the last 17 games while making 40 percent (32-80) 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 10-3 in his career when he scores at least 8 points and is 21-6 when he makes at least one three-pointer. He's made a three-pointer in 18 straight games, the third-longest streak in school history (record is 27 by Bernard King in 1999-00).
- Junior Derrick Roland has averaged 7.3 points and made 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range in the last three 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. He helped limit Texas' A.J. Abrams to just 9 points on 3-of-10 shooting (0-2 on three-pointers).
- 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 20 assists with just eight turnovers in the last eight games.
- Freshman David Loubeau has averaged 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the last two games.
- 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.
- 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 16.3 turnovers in its four Big 12 losses, but had only 7 in the win against Baylor. A&M is 12-1 when it has 15 or fewer turnovers this season, but is 3-4 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 (84).
- A&M is 67-23 (.744) in the last three seasons, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country in that span.
- A&M has scored at least 18 points in the paint in every game, averaging 30.2 points in the paint per game.
- A&M is 11-0 this year when its opponent scores fewer than 67 points.
- Under Mark Turgeon, the Aggies are 19-0 when they make better than 50 percent from the field and are 30-4 when they make at least 45 percent.