Jan. 4, 2010
Game 14
Texas A&M Aggies
(10-3, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
North Dakota Fighting Sioux
(2-13, 0-0 Great West Conference)
Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010
7:06 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989 cap.)
College Station, Texas
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Southwest
Greg Lucas, play-by-play
Jim Haller, commentary
Direct TV: Channel 643
Dish Network: Channel 416
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
http://www.aggieathletics.com/multimedia/aggies-on-the-radio.html
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Sirius Satellite Radio: 130
TICKETS:
https://www.12thmanfoundation.com/tickets/mb09-homegame.asp
Half-Price Holiday Hoops (all tickets are half price through Saturday); Tickets range from $5-15.
Texas A&M Basketball Digital Media
Texas A&M Media Almanac (complete bios, history and records): http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/352a4862
Mark Turgeon's Virtual Guide to Texas A&M Basketball: http://coachturgeon.com/
Aggie Basketball Fast Break blog: http://blogs.aggieathletics.com/fastbreak/
Texas A&M Aggies
http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/tam-m-baskbl-body.html
Record: 10-3 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: RV (AP); RV (ESPN/USA Today)
RPI: #25 (CBSSports.com)
Last Game: Beat Northwestern State (89-63) Saturday at home
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon's (Kansas `87)
               Record: 212-143 (12th year)
               at Texas A&M: 59-24 (3rd year)
               vs. North Dakota: 1-0
Projected Texas A&M Starters
No.        Player                                  Pos.      Ht.         Wt.        Cl.          PPG      RPG      APG
5             Dash Harris                        G            6-1         175        So          5.3        3.2         3.2     Â
15          Donald Sloan                     G            6-3         205        Sr           17.3      4.0         2.7        Â
22          Khris Middleton                G            6-7         215        Fr           4.7       3.1         --
10          David Loubeau                 F             6-8         230        So           8.4        4.4         --
0             Bryan Davis                        F             6-9         250        Sr           8.5        7.4         --
Off the Bench
2           Derrek Lewis                    G            6-5        195        Jr           1.7         0.3         --
11          B.J. Holmes                        G            5-11      175        Jr            9.9       2.4         --
21          Ray Turner                        F             6-8         220        Fr           1.0         3.0         --
23          Naji Hibbert                       G            6-6         200        Fr           3.0         2.3         --
45          Nathan Walkup                 F             6-7         210        Jr          6.5        3.5         --
North Dakota Fighting Sioux
http://www.fightingsioux.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&KEY=&SPID=6388&SPSID=58563
Record: 2-13 (0-0 Greg West Conference)
Ranking: Unranked
RPI: 337 (CBSSports.com)
Last Game: Lost at Northern Illinois (66-45) Saturday
Head Coach: Brian Jones (Northern Iowa `94)
              Record:  44-56 (4th year)
               at  NDU: 44-56 (4th year)
               vs. Texas A&M: 0-1
Projected North Dakota Starters
No.        Player                                  Pos.      Ht.         Wt.        Cl.          PPG      RPG      APG
13          Travis Bledsoe               G            6-0        185       Sr            8.2       1.6        1.7     Â
23          Spencer Goodman         F            6-5       177       Fr            6.7         3.1         --
15         Travis Mertens                 G            6-5         218        Sr            10.7       7.1        --        Â
45          Patrick Mitchell                F             6-8         240        So            7.8       3.4         --
44          Derek Benter                  C             6-8        229        Jr            5.6       2.8         --
Big 12 Conference: http://www.big12sports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&KEY=&SPID=13134&SPSID=106110
Great West Conference: http://www.greatwestconference.org/sports/m-baskbl/gwfc-m-baskbl-body.html
NCAA: http://www.ncaa.com/statistics/index.html
Series Notes
- A&M leads the series, 1-0, after winning last year at Reed Arena (76-62).
- A&M is 11-0 all-time against current members of the Great West Conference, including an 8-0 mark against Houston Baptist. Â
Game Notes
- Tuesday's game closes the non-conference portion of A&M's schedule. The Aggies open Big 12 play against Nebraska on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Reed Arena. Next week, the Aggies play road games at No. 11/10 Kansas State and at No. 2 Texas.
- A&M is 7-0 at home this season while North Dakota is 0-5 in true road games.
- The Aggies are coming off an 89-63 home win Saturday against Northwestern State. All 15 active players received playing time. North Dakota is coming off a 66-45 loss Saturday at Northern Illinois.Â
- A&M has won 10 straight home games since a 65-60 loss to Kansas State last season. Since the start of the 2008-09 season, the Aggies are 23-2 at Reed Arena. A&M is 39-6 at home under Mark Turgeon.
- The Aggies have won 50 straight non-conference home games, including wins against Arizona, Alabama and LSU. The last loss was to St. Joseph's (58-51) in the 2005 NIT quarterfinals. A&M has won 63 straight regular-season non-conference home games since 2003. A&M is 82-9 all-time in non-conference games at Reed (.901).
- Turgeon is 38-5 in regular-season non-conference games at A&M, including a 30-0 record at home. He has posted wins against Minnesota, Clemson, Arizona, Washington, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU.
- A&M is 2-2 against ranked teams this season, only the second time in school history the Aggies have beaten two nationally-ranked opponents in non-conference play. The 1978-79 team posted four non-conference wins against ranked opponents.
- The Aggies' three losses this season have all been to teams ranked in the top 25 in this week's polls (No. 8/8 West Virginia, No. 24/22 Washington and No. 15/14 New Mexico). A&M's schedule through December was ranked as the seventh toughest nationally -- and the toughest in the Big 12 -- by CBS Sports.
- Senior forward Bryan Davis leads the Aggies in "hustle stats" - rebounds, steals and blocks. Davis has had at least 5 rebounds in every game this season
- Senior guard Donald Sloan has averaged 19.7 points in the last six games.
- The Aggies are 15-1 when sophomore guard Dash Harris has at least 3 assists in his career.
- Sophomore forward David Loubeau had his first start of the year against Northwestern State and responded with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
- Freshman Khris Middleton started at small forward for the first time against Northwestern State. He started the first two games at power forward, but had since come off the bench.
- After starting in 10 straight games, junior forward Nathan Walkup came off the bench against Northwestern State and scored 10 points with 5 rebounds.
- Junior guard Derrek Lewis scored a career-high 8 points against Northwestern State, double his point total for the season.
- Four Aggies have made at least four three-pointers in a game this season - B.J. Holmes, Donald Sloan, Khris Middleton and Nathan Walkup.
- A&M is 26-0 under Mark Turgeon's when it makes at least 50 percent from the field.
- A&M has won 14 straight games when its opponent scores fewer than 70 points, including 10-0 mark this season.
About North Dakota
- The Fighting Sioux return only one starter from last year's team that finished 16-12.
- UND is a memberof the Great West Conference, which is going into its first season of basketball. The league also includes Houston Baptist and Texas-Pan American.
- The Fighting Sioux were picked to finish fourth in the Great West in a preseason poll of league coaches. Seniors Travis Bledsoe (6-0-) and Travis Mertens (6-5) were second-team all-conference picks.
- Mertens leads the team in scoring (10.7) and rebounding (7.1). Bledsoe is adding 8.2 points per game.
Last Year's Game
COLLEGE STATION (AP) - Chinemelu Elonu scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds as Texas A&M defeated North Dakota 76-62 Monday night. Josh Carter scored a game-high 18 points for the Aggies (14-1). Donald Sloan and B.J. Holmes had 14 each. A&M, which led throughout, made 23 of 28 free throws. North Dakota (8-6) pulled within four at 37-33 three minutes into the second half on Derek Benter's 3-pointer. But Holmes responded with two 3-pointers over the next two minutes to shove the Aggies' lead back to double digits at 43-33. Following Benter's 3-pointer, the Aggies outscored the Fighting Sioux 19-5 over the next 10 minutes to put away their 10th consecutive victory. Travis Bledsoe led North Dakota with 13 points. The Aggies led by 14 with 3:46 remaining in the first half, but North Dakota outscored A&M 10-2 down the stretch to only trail 33-27 at halftime.
Northwestern State Recap
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Mark Turgeon's said. "We were sharing the ball well. We didn't make some shots and free throws, but they will come."
Roland's Value
- Senior guard Derrick Roland will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right leg on Dec. 22 against Washington. Roland was considered by many to be the top perimeter defender in the Big 12. He was the Aggies' No. 2 scorer, a team captain and perhaps the team's top leader.