Aggie Hoops Returns Home, Hosts SFA Thursday

Dec. 1, 2010

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M opens a four-game homestand on Thursday when the Aggies (5-1) host Stephen F. Austin (4-1) at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest.

TELEVISION: FOX Sports Southwest

Play-by-Play/Greg Lucas, Commentary/Jim Haller
DirecTV/Dish Network: Ch 676/Ch 416
ESPN Full Court: DirecTV 721/Dish 458

RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network

Play-by-Play/Dave South, Commentary/Al Pulliam
Local/Internet: WTAW-AM 1620/radioaggieland.com
Satellite Radio: Sirius 127

SERIES: Texas A&M leads, 16-3

In Nacogdoches: A&M leads, 2-0
In College Station: A&M leads, 10-2
At Reed Arena: A&M leads, 2-0
At Neutral Sites: A&M leads, 1-0
Current Win Streak: A&M, 12 games
Longest A&M Win Streak: 12 games (current)
Longest SFA Win Streak: 1 game
Largest A&M Win: 93-63 (1989-90)
Largest SFA Win: 54-38 (1932-33)
Last Meeting: A&M, 55-48 (Nov. 18, 2008 in College Station)

THE MATCHUP

TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 5-1, 0-0 Big 12
Ranking: RV (AP)
Sagarin Rating: #36
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 4-1 / 5-1
Last Game: def. #20 Temple (N), 54-51 (Sunday)
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
Record: 231-151 (13th year)
at Texas A&M: 78-32 (4th year)
vs. SFA: 1-0

A&M Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP/Min

5 Dash Harris G 6-1 175 Jr. 1.8 2.2 3.3 6 / 25.2

10 David Loubeau F 6-8 230 Jr. 11.5 5.5 --- 6 / 22.7

11 B.J. Holmes G 5-11 175 Sr. 8.7 3.5 4.2 6 / 27.2

22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 215 So. 14.8 4.7 2.8 6 / 26.8

45 Nathan Walkup F 6-7 210 Sr. 11.7 5.3 1.3 6 / 22.7

SFA LUMBERJACKS
Record: 4-1, 0-0 Southland
Ranking: NR
Sagarin Rating: #168
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 4-1 / 4-1
Last Game: def. Okla Science/Arts (H), 86-47 (Saturday)
Head Coach: Danny Kaspar
Record: 404-166 (20th year)
at SFA: 185-114 (11th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-1

SFA Probable Starters*

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Exp. PPG RPG APG GP/Min

12 Eddie Williams G 6-2 190 Sr-3L 7.0 3.6 3.8 5 / 26.0

14 Denzel Barnes G 5-7 170 Sr-1L 7.6 2.0 4.8 5 / 25.2

23 Jordan Glynn F 6-7 225 Sr-1L 12.6 7.8 1.6 5 / 26.2

24 Mark Gomillia F 6-5 190 Sr-1L 4.2 2.2 0.2 5 / 17.6

55 Jereal Scott C 6-7 230 Jr-2L 15.8 6.2 0.4 5 / 23.6

* based on last game

GAME NOTES

• The Aggies open a four-game homestand Thursday vs SFA ... A&M's opponents on the stretch combined for 88 wins last season (SFA - 23, Pacific - 23, Prairie View A&M - 16, Washington - 26).
• Texas A&M will play seven of its next eight at Reed Arena ... the Aggies will not leave the state of Texas again until they open Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Jan. 8 ... A&M's only game away from College Station over that span is a matchup with former Southwest Conference rival Arkansas at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Dec. 18.
• The Aggies have won 53 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 66 straight regular-season non-conference home games since 2003. A&M is 85-9 all-time in non-conference games at Reed (.904).
• The Aggies got their first crack at a ranked opponent this year and picked up a win over Temple Sunday (No. 20 USAT/ESPN, No. 21 AP) ... A&M played 12 ranked teams last season ... the Aggies will play 8 other games against teams ranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll, including Kansas (4th), Kansas State (5th), Missouri (9th), Baylor (11th, 2 games), Texas (19th, 2 games) and Washington (23rd).
• A&M ranks second nationally only to Pittsburgh in rebounding margin (+14.8) and rank 11th in the country in scoring defense (55.0 ppg) ... the Aggies have out-rebounded every opponent this season.
• A&M rebounded from a tough two-point loss to Boston College Thursday with a 29-point win over Manhattan Friday afternoon ... the Aggies never trailed in the game, and held the Jaspers to 7 points over the final 13 minutes ... under Mark Turgeon, the Aggies have won 11 of their last 12 games following a loss.
• The Aggies have won 9 of their last 13 games away from Reed Arena dating back to early February of last season ... three of those four losses have been by 4 points or less ... A&M's setbacks in that stretch came at No. 24 Baylor (70-66), against No. 1 Kansas in the Big 12 semifinals in Kansas City (79-66), in overtime to No. 10 Purdue in the NCAA Second Round in Spokane (63-61) and Thursday vs Boston College (67-65).
• Texas A&M has outscored its opponents 229-150 in the first half this season and has carried an average lead of 15 points into the locker room.
• A&M has won 20 of its last 21 home games, including 10 of its last 11 in Big 12 play. The Aggies are 33-3 at home in the last two-plus seasons with a 13-3 mark in conference games.
• The Aggies are 67-6 (.918) at home the last four-plus seasons and are 99-12 (.892) in the last six-plus years.
• A&M has won 19 straight home games against unranked opponents (eight straight in Big 12 play). Under Turgeon, the Aggies are 42-3 against unranked opponents at Reed Arena, including a 12-3 mark against unranked Big 12 teams.

About SFA (4-1)

• Stephen F. Austin (Nacogdoches, Texas) is 4-1 on the year and has won its last two entering Thursday's game ... the Lumberjacks picked up a 1-point win at Louisiana-Monroe and, most recently, an 86-47 beating of the University of Arts and Sciences of Oklahoma on Saturday ... SFA's lone loss on the year came at Texas Tech (Nov. 19), 70-58.
• SFA has outscored opponents by an average of 80.6-56.8 on the year (23.8 points) ... the 'Jacks have shot well from the field (.488) and the free-throw line (.688), and are out-rebounding opponents by an average of 10.6 boards per game ... they are led by junior C Jereal Scott (15.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and senior F Jordan Glynn (12.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg).
• The Lumberjacks return 3 starters from a 2009-10 team that went 23-9 and finished second in the Southland at 11-5 ... SFA fell one win short of making their second straight NCAA Tourney appearance, falling to Sam Houston State in the league's tournament championship game ... Danny Kaspar is in his 11th season in Nacogdoches with a record of 185-114.

Series Notes (A&M leads, 16-3)

• Texas A&M leads all-time, 16-3, in a series that dates back to the 1932-33 season ... the Aggies have won the last 12 meetings between the schools ... SFA's last win came in the 1970-71 season, an 89-82 victory at G. Rollie White Coliseum ... A&M has won both meetings at Reed Arena, in 1999-00 (70-65) and in 2008-09 (55-48).
• The last meeting was on Nov. 18, 2008, a 55-48 Aggie win that featured 12 ties and no lead larger than 8 points ... current Ags that saw action were B.J. Holmes (15 min) and Nathan Walkup (27 min, 7 pts, 11 reb).
• SFA is one of four Southland Conference schools on Texas A&M's schedule ... the Aggies beat A&M-Corpus Christi (86-65) on Nov. 15 in Corpus Christi, and will face McNeese State (Dec. 31) and Nicholls State (Jan. 3) to close out non-conference play.
• The Lumberjacks have faced one other Big 12 team this year, a 70-58 setback at Texas Tech on Nov. 19.

Up Next

• The Aggies will host Pacific on Saturday night and Prairie View A&M next Wednesday before welcoming in the Washington Huskies on Saturday, Dec. 11 as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

LAST TIME OUT: Texas A&M 54, (#20/21) Temple 51

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Nov. 28)--David Loubeau scored 13 points, B.J. Holmes scored off a rebound with 18.5 seconds left. Temple (3-2) had gone up 51-50 when Ramone Moore made two free throws with just under a minute remaining. After Temple's Juan Fernandez missed an open late jumper, Khris Middleton made it 54-51 by hitting two free throws with 2.3 seconds to go. Fernandez and Lavoy Allen had 10 points apiece for Temple. Holmes hit a 3 and Hibbert had a pair of baskets as Texas A&M took a 37-27 advantage three minutes into the second half. Hibbert added a 3-pointer that extended the Aggies' lead to 42-29 with 13 1/2 minutes left. Temple responded by scoring the next nine points to get within 42-38 at the 11-minute mark. Khalif Wyatt and Aaron Brown both hit 3's during the stretch. Wyatt made a free throw and then scored on a layup after missing a second shot from the line as Temple went ahead 47-46 with just under seven minutes to play. Texas A&M took a 30-25 lead into halftime, getting nine points from Loubeau in a 22-10 run over the final eight minutes of the half. The Aggies hit 12 of 18 free throws during the opening 20 minutes, while Temple converted 7 of its 10 chances from the foul line.

Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon: "That was as physical as you're going to get in a basketball game. One team shoots 33 percent, the other one shoots 31 percent. It came down to one play, BJ (Holmes) made a play. We missed the shot, we didn't really get a great shot, and BJ made a play. They (then) had a wide open look. You've got to be really good and you've got to be really lucky in this business, and I think we were a little bit of both today. I was really proud of my group because we really haven't played with a lot of toughness quite honestly, not to take anything away from Boston College. The team we beat today is really good. I think they're a top-20 team in the country, and will be. Maybe better as the year goes on. I was proud of our group. We made a play and you know, (Ray Turner and Naji Hibbert) had great games. Naji gave us great offense today and played the way he's capable of playing. And Ray just was determined on the boards. If you look at the rebounding, 45-30, that's really the difference in the game. (Getting the win) changes everything. And it's such a fine line. I mean, that kid hits the shot, we're not up here first, we're not smiling and we feel like the world's coming to an end. But he missed it, we got a rebound, and we win the game. I was going to be of our group no matter what because I feel like we got better. We're still a work in progress, a young team, but today I think we' really grew up. I thought Temple was ready to play and I thought we were ready to play. I thought it was a high-level college basketball game."

Postgame Notes: Temple

• Texas A&M picked up its first win over a ranked opponent in its first try this season ... with the win, the Aggies finish the Old Spice Classic at 2-1 ... A&M finished in a tie for second in victories in the tournament.
• A&M has now won 9 of their last 13 games away from Reed Arena dating back to last season.
• Texas A&M improved to 11-3 under Mark Turgeon in early-season tournaments.
• The Aggies had a 30-25 lead at the break ... A&M has now outscored opponents 229-150 in the first half this season.
• The Aggies out-rebounded Temple, 45-30 ... A&M has out-rebounded its opponent in every game this year.
• Texas A&M has now hit at least one 3-pointer in 308 consecutive games dating back to January of 2001.
• Naji Hibbert matched a career high with 12 points ... his 7 rebounds were the most in his career ... Hibbert played a career-high 26 minutes.
• Ray Turner played a career-high 21 minutes and snagged a career-best 12 rebounds ... Turner is the second Aggie to hit double-figures in rebounds this year (David Loubeau, 12 vs A&M International) ... Turner matched a career high with 2 blocks.
• David Loubeau led all scorers with a game-high 13 points ... Loubeau has gone for double figures in three of the last four games.

OFFENSE NOTES

Fast-Paced Offense

• Texas A&M has outscored its opponents 229-150 in the first half this season and has carried an average lead of 13.2 points into the locker room.
• Texas A&M is 32-2 under Mark Turgeon when scoring at least eight fast-break points (2-0 this year).
• The Aggies are 23-3 under Turgeon when scoring at least 80 points and 51-5 when scoring at least 70. A&M has scored 74 or more in four of five wins this year.
• A&M is 64-11 under Turgeon when leading at halftime (5-0 this year), and 12-19 when trailing (0-1).

Make Shots, Win Games

• Texas A&M is 53-7 under Turgeon (3-1 this year) when hitting better than 45 percent from the field and a perfect 31-0 (1-0) when hitting at 50 percent or higher.

Protecting the Ball

• Texas A&M committed 20 turnovers in the season opener against Alcorn State, and has cut that down to an average of 12.6 per game over the next five contests.
• In A&M's five wins, opponents have managed just 11.2 points off turnovers per game ... that proved to be the difference in the Nov. 25 loss to Boston College, a trend A&M corrected a day later against Manhattan ... after allowing a season-high 25 points off 14 turnovers in the loss to BC, A&M gave up just 4 to Manhattan off 13 turnovers.
• A&M is 53-14 all-time under Turgeon (3-1 this year) when committing fewer than 14 turnovers.

Strong Down Low

• The Aggies' big men down low have been very productive in the early part of the year ... David Loubeau (5.5) and Kourtney Roberson (5.2) rank first and third, respectively, in rebounding and are third (11.5) and sixth (7.2), respectively, in scoring.
• Texas A&M has scored at least 40 points in the paint in two games this year ... A&M did so just four times last year ... this season, the Aggies are averaging 31.3 points down low (28.6 average in 2009-10).
• Under Turgeon, A&M is 74-24 when scoring at least 20 points in the paint (4-1 this year).

Take Another Chance

• The Aggies are averaging 19 second-chance points through six games ... A&M only went over 20 in that category one time last year (home vs Texas) but has already done so twice this season.

From Way Downtown

• Texas A&M has hit at least one 3-pointer in 308 consecutive games ... the last time the Aggies did not connect from behind the arc was at Colorado on January 13, 2001 (0-for-6).

Balancing Act

• The loss of A&M's top three scorers from last year (B.J. Holmes (8.7) and Naji Hibbert (8.3).
• A total of 6 Aggie players have combined for 21 double-figure outings thus far (Middleton 5, Hibbert 4, Walkup 3, Roberson 3, Holmes 3, Loubeau 3).

DEFENSE NOTES

Rebounding

• Texas A&M has out-rebounded its opponents by an average of 42-27 this season, ranking 2nd nationally ... the Aggies are 69-13 under Turgeon (5-1 this year) when matching or out-rebounding their foes ... A&M is just 8-17 under Turgeon when being out-rebounded.
• Texas A&M has out-rebounded two teams this year by 20 or more boards ... the Aggies beat Alcorn State on the glass by 20 and A&M International by 25 ... A&M did not out-rebound anyone last season by more than 18.
• Six players are averaging at least 4.5 rebounds per game ... it's very early, but by comparison just two did so last season--Bryan Davis (8.1) and David Loubeau (4.7).

Forcing Turnovers

• Texas A&M's quick defense has already paid big dividends in the early part of the season ... the Aggies have put up two of the highest P.O.T. totals in the Mark Turgeon era in the first six games ... A&M scored 31 points off turnovers in the win at A&M-Corpus Christi, the second-highest output in the Mark Turgeon era ... the Aggies scored 34 off turnovers last season against North Dakota ... A&M also had 28 points off turnovers in the season opener against Alcorn State, matching the total in the 2007-08 opener against McNeese State (28), Turgeon's first game as head coach.
• Texas A&M is averaging 19.3 points off turnovers per game.
• Under Turgeon, the Aggies are 50-9 (4-0 this year) when they have more points off turnovers than their opponent.
• Texas A&M's 16 steals in the win at A&M-Corpus Christi were the most by an Aggie team in the Mark Turgeon era and the most since a win over Grambling State in December 2006.

Stout "D"

• A&M has held four of its six opponents under 36 percent shooting from the field ... under Turgeon, the Aggies are 44-4 (4-0 this year) when their opponent shoots under 40 percent and are 70-20 (5-1) when they make under 50 percent.
• Texas A&M is 67-12 under Turgeon (5-1 this year) when opponents score under 70 points.