No. 13 Aggies Host OSU Wednesday in Big 12 Home Opener; Tickets Start at $2.50

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - No. 13 Texas A&M opens the home portion of its Big 12 schedule Wednesday night when the Aggies host Oklahoma State at Reed Arena. Tipoff against the Cowboys is set for 7 p.m.

Fans can get in for as low as $2.50 through the Old Army Spirit Company promotion or purchase half-price tickets throughout the arena--starting at $5--through the Holiday Hoops ticket special. Visit oldarmyspirit.com or tickets.12thmanfoundation.com to purchase or for more information.

The Aggies (14-1, 1-0) have won 11 in a row and are off to the second-best start in school history, including a league-opening 69-51 victory at Oklahoma. A&M moved up to No. 13 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and No. 14 in The Associated Press rankings, both released Monday. It marks the Aggies' highest ranking in three seasons.

OSU (13-2, 1-0), meanwhile, has won nine of its last 10 and is coming off a 76-62 win over No. 17 Kansas State this past Saturday in Stillwater.

TELEVISION: Big 12 Network (Regional)*
Dave Armstrong, Play-by-Play
Reid Gettys, Commentary
Melissa Knowles, Courtside
Bryan/College Station: CW Texas (KBTX-DT 3.2)
ESPN Full Court: DirecTV 722/Dish 457

National
ESPN Full Court.....DirecTV 722.....Dish 457
Arkansas
Little Rock-Pine Bluff.....KARZ.....MNT
Colorado
Denver.....ALTITUDE2.....RSN
Iowa
Des Moines-Ames.....MEDIACOM-DM.....RSN
Ottumwa-Kirksville.....MEDIACOM-OT.....RSN
Rochestr-Mason City-Austin.....MEDIACOM-MC.....RSN
Sioux City.....KPTH.....FOX
Kansas
Topeka.....KSNT- DT.....NBC
Wichita-Hutchinson Plus.....KMTW.....MNT
Missouri
Columbia-Jefferson City.....KZOU.....MNT
Kansas City.....KSHB.....NBC
Nebraska
Omaha.....KPTM-DT2 .....MNT
New York
Binghamton.....WBPN.....MNT
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City.....KOCB.....CW
Tulsa.....KJRH.....NBC
Texas
Abilene-Sweetwater.....KIDZ-LP.....FOX
Amarillo.....KCPN.....MNT
Austin.....KNVA.....CW
Beaumont-Port Arthur.....KUIL-LD.....TTV
Bryan-College Station.....KBTX-DT2.....CW
Corpus Christi.....KTOV.....MNT
Dallas-Ft. Worth.....KTXA.....IND
Houston.....KTBU.....IND
Lubbock.....KJTV.....FOX
Odessa-Midland.....KOSA-DT2.....CBS
San Angelo.....KIDY.....FOX
San Antonio/Austin.....KCWX.....CW
Sherman, TX-Ada. OK.....KXII.....CBS
Tyler-Longview-Lfkn & Ncgd.....KLPN.....MNT
Wisconsin
La Crosse-Eau Claire.....KQEG.....FMN

RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local/Internet: WTAW-AM 1620/radioaggieland.com
Satellite Radio: Sirius 158

Series: OSU leads, 30-14
In Stillwater: Oklahoma State leads, 13-3
At Gallagher-Iba Arena: Oklahoma State leads, 13-2
In College Station: Oklahoma State leads, 12-9
At Reed Arena: Oklahoma State leads, 7-5
At Neutral Sites: Oklahoma State leads, 5-2
At Big 12 Tournament: Oklahoma State leads, 1-0
Current Win Streak: A&M, 1 game
Longest A&M Win Streak: 5 games
Longest Oklahoma State Win Streak: 11 games
Largest A&M Win: 66-46 (2006-07)
Largest Oklahoma State Win: 100-65 (1997-98)
Mark Turgeon vs. Oklahoma State: 3-5
Travis Ford vs. A&M: 2-2
Last Meeting: A&M, 76-61 (March 3, 2010 in College Station)

THE MATCHUP

TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 14-1, 1-0 Big 12
Ranking: 13th (USAT/ESPN), 14th (AP)
NCAA RPI / Sagarin Rating: 25 / 23
Streak: Won 11
Last 5 / Last 10: 5-0 / 10-0
Last Game: def. Oklahoma (A), 69-51 (Saturday)
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
Record: 240-151 (13th year)
at Texas A&M: 87-32 (4th year)
vs. OSU: 3-5

A&M Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP/Min
5 B.J. Holmes G 5-11 175 Sr. 9.5 2.8 3.7 15 / 27.9
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 215 So. 15.4 4.7 2.9 15 / 27.4
45 Nathan Walkup F 6-7 210 Sr. 9.9 6.4 1.5 15 / 23.4

OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Record: 13-2, 1-0 Big 12
Ranking: RV (USAT/ESPN), RV (AP)
NCAA RPI / Sagarin Rating: 36 / 39
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 4-1 / 9-1
Last Game: def. Kansas State (H), 76-62 (Saturday)
Head Coach: Travis Ford (Kentucky '94)
Record: 248-171 (14th year)
at OSU: 58-25 (3rd year)
vs. Texas A&M: 2-2

Oklahoma State Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP/Min
12 Keiton Page G 5-9 165 Jr. 14.0 1.9 2.1 15 / 33.1
14 Ray Penn G 5-9 165 So. 8.5 0.9 2.9 15 / 27.3
15 Nick Sidorakis G 6-4 195 Sr. 2.8 1.6 0.9 15 / 18.8
31 Matt Pilgrim F 6-8 255 Sr. 4.9 5.3 0.9 15 / 18.5
33 Marshall Moses F 6-7 255 Sr. 17.0 8.1 1.0 15 / 32.5

About Oklahoma State (13-2, 1-0)

Series Notes

Sidebars

A&M/OSU IN 2010

Jan. 19: Oklahoma State 76, Texas A&M 69

STILLWATER (1/27/10)--Obi Muonelo scored a season-high 24 points, James Anderson added 19 and Oklahoma State extended its home winning streak to 16 games with a 76-69 victory over Texas A&M. Oklahoma State (16-4, 4-2 Big 12) shot a season-best 57.9 percent and won its third straight game, a run that includes a road win over then-No. 10 Kansas State. The Cowboys overcame the absence of starting point guard Ray Penn, who has a stress reaction-type knee injury and missed his second straight game. Donald Sloan scored 27 points to lead Texas A&M (14-6, 3-3). Oklahoma State won on the ninth anniversary of a plane crash that killed 10 men associated with the Cowboys' program. It was only the second time since the crash that Oklahoma State has played on the anniversary date.

March 3: (#23) Texas A&M 76, Oklahoma State 61

COLLEGE STATION (3/3/10)--Donald Sloan scored 19 points and No. 23 Texas A&M led from start to finish in a 76-61 win over Oklahoma State. The Aggies (21-8, 10-5 Big 12) used 3-point shooting to take an early lead and a 14-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half to keep it against the Cowboys, who were coming off a big win over then-No. 1 Kansas. Texas A&M had its 18-point lead cut to eight before outscoring the Cowboys 11-3 to stretch the cushion to 70-54 with about three minutes left. Sloan, a senior playing in his last home game, and B.J. Holmes both had 3s during that spurt. James Anderson led the Cowboys (20-9, 8-7) with 27 points.

GAME NOTES

Looking for a Dozen

LONGEST WIN STREAKS, TEXAS A&M HISTORY

 Year(s) Wins
1. 1919-21* 25
2. 1914-16* 20
3. 2010-11 11
 2004-05 11
 1921-22 11
6. 2008-09 10
 2005-06 10
 1959-60 10
 1918-19 10
* spanned two seasons

WIN STREAK STATS

Category
Record 11-0
A&M Points/Game 70.6
Opponent Points/Game 55.4
Margin of Victory +15.2
Opponent FG Pct. .373
Opponent 3-Pt FG Pct. .280
Rebound Margin +11.3
Opp. Combined Record (as of 1/10) 90-69 (.566)

Locking it Down

LATE-GAME DEFENSIVE STANDS, CURRENT WIN STREAK
Opponent Clock Situation Opponent rest of game Result Notable
Nicholls St. 4:09 left up 9 (62-53) 0 FG, 2 FT W, 66-55
McNeese St. 3:43 left up 3 (56-53) 2 FG, 0 FT W, 66-57 last MSU FG came w/:00.1 left in game
Arkansas 6:42 left down 6 (58-52) 0 FG, 2 FT W, 71-62 (OT) UA also scoreless in OT until layup w/:16 left
Washington 5:02 left up 5 (61-56) 2 FG, 2 FT W, 63-62
Pacific 5:19 left up 9 (63-54) 1 FG, 2 FT W, 79-59 FG was 3-pointer with :06 left in game
SFA 3:00 left up 7 (57-50) 1 FG, 0 FT W, 62-53
Temple 6:42 left down 1 (47-46) 1 FG, 2 FT W, 54-51
Manhattan 12:49 left up 5 (43-38) 2 FG, 3 FT W, 74-45

Hot Start

Big 12 Notables

Home, Sweet Home

Road Warriors

Success Against Ranked Teams

Making a Stand

Aggies in the NCAA Rankings

Senior Watch

Elite Poll Company

Balancing Act

Miscellaneous

Up Next

LAST TIME OUT: (#16) Texas A&M 69, Oklahoma 51

NORMAN, Okla. (Jan. 8)--Khris Middleton scored 16 points and added five assists and No. 16 Texas A&M won its 11th straight game, beating Oklahoma 69-51 in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. A&M shared the basketball - recording assists on 17 of its 25 baskets - crashed the boards and slowed the Sooners so much that Oklahoma had zero fast-break points. The Aggies also won away from home on a day that two other ranked Big 12 teams - Missouri and Kansas State - lost on the road to conference foes. By beating Oklahoma, Texas A&M (14-1, 1-0) matched the third-longest winning streak in school history and dealt Oklahoma its first loss in nine games this season at Lloyd Noble Center. The Aggies have won six of their last nine games against Oklahoma (8-7, 0-1) after losing 25 of their first 26 against the Sooners. The Aggies, who shot 54.3 percent from the field, have won four of their last five Big 12 openers. Texas A&M's only loss this season came by two points to Boston College on Nov. 25 in Orlando, Fla. The Aggies won the next day against Manhattan and haven't lost since, a run that includes wins over ranked foes Temple and Washington. Oklahoma had won five of its previous six games. Although undefeated at home before Saturday, the Sooners hadn't played anyone of note there and had only three players - Steven Pledger, Andrew Fitzgerald and Cade Davis - who'd ever seen significant action in a Big 12 game. Texas A&M made eight of its first 10 shots and never trailed. The Aggies sprinted to an 18-6 lead in the first eight minutes as Oklahoma hit only three of its first 10 shots. The Sooners pulled within 22-16 on Pledger's 3-pointer with 7:27 left in the first half but Texas A&M eventually pushed its lead to 13 points and was ahead 36-28 at halftime. Oklahoma was within six at 42-36 after a 4-point play by Davis with 15:52 left, but the Sooners managed only one basket during the next 7 1/2 minutes. The Aggies went on a 16-2 run to build their lead to 58-38 after two free throws by B.J. Holmes had 13 points and five assists for the Aggies. Davis scored 13 points for Oklahoma and had a team-high six rebounds.

Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon: "I thought that we were pretty good the first half and really good in the second half. I thought that our defense picked it up in the second half. We did a much better job on (Andrew) Fitzgerald and our team defense today. We really shared the ball. We ran and we shared the ball. We had 17 assists with 25 buckets. We worked hard this week and it showed. The guys played well and they deserve this. They really had a tough week. I was happy. It was Oklahoma's first conference game and they had a pretty good crowd out there. There is a lot of fight in them still. You look around the country and it is tough on the road, and for us to handle them like we did is a good sign. I said to the guys that it is a marathon and not a sprint and that we have to get ready for the next one. We are really inconsistent and I was a nervous wreck before the game because I didn't know what I was going to get. It depends on how much energy I have. If I can keep a foot up them all year, I think we have a chance to get a lot better. We are really a young team that is kind of immature. One day a player practices really hard and then the next day he won't give me everything. That is just a wasted day and that is what I am trying to correct. We have some young talent and some pretty good depth. I think that we can get a lot better. It depends on how hard we work."

Postgame Notes

ADDITIONAL NOTES: DEFENSE

Rebounding

Forcing Turnovers

ADDITIONAL NOTES: OFFENSE

Fast-Paced Offense

Sharing the Ball

From Way Downtown

Make Shots, Win Games

Strong Down Low

Take Another Chance

TURGEON QUOTEBOARD (1/10 press conference)

You commented heading in to the Oklahoma game that you weren't sure what you had. Now after the OU game, where do you think things stand?

Does it help when you have the week of practice you did and the team sees the results on the court?

On the team "flying under the radar" nationally so to speak up to this point...

On the 11-game win streak matching the longest of his career...

In what area has the team exceeded your expectations the most this year?

Is it hard to keep the team balanced and grounded?

On the next stretch of games being a big judge of where the team is...

On what makes Marshall Moses such an effective player...

On OSU losing players like James Anderson and Obi Muonelo off last year's team and still playing so well...

On Oklahoma State's offensive strategy this year...