Feb. 18, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
No. 17/21 Texas A&M looks to build on a three-game win streak this weekend when the Aggies (20-5, 7-4) head to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State (16-9, 4-7). Tipoff at Gallagher-Iba Arena is set for 8 p.m. Saturday and the game will be televised nationally by ESPNU.
(#17/21) Texas A&M AGGIES (20-5, 7-4)
at Oklahoma State COWBOYS (16-9, 4-7)
Saturday, February 19, 2011 • 8:05 PM (CT) • TV: ESPNU HD
Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611) • Stillwater, Oklahoma
TELEVISION: ESPNU HD
Dan McLaughlin, Play-by-Play
Bob Valvano, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local/Internet, WTAW-AM 1620/radioaggieland.com
Satellite Radio: Sirius 122/XM 143 (OSU broadcast only)
Series: OSU leads, 30-15
In Stillwater: Oklahoma State leads, 13-3
At Gallagher-Iba Arena: Oklahoma State leads, 13-2
In College Station: Oklahoma State leads, 12-10
At Reed Arena: Oklahoma State leads, 7-6
At Neutral Sites: Oklahoma State leads, 5-2
At Big 12 Tournament: Oklahoma State leads, 1-0
Current Win Streak: A&M, 2 games
Longest A&M Win Streak: 5 games
Longest Oklahoma State Win Streak: 11 games
Largest A&M Win: 71-48 (2010-11)
Largest Oklahoma State Win: 100-65 (1997-98)
Mark Turgeon vs. Oklahoma State: 4-5
Travis Ford vs. A&M: 2-3
Last Meeting: A&M, 71-48 (Jan. 13 in College Station)
THE MATCHUP
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 20-5, 7-4 Big 12
Ranking: 17th (USAT/ESPN), 21st (AP)
NCAA RPI / Sagarin Rating: 28 / 31
Streak: Won 3
Last 5 / Last 10: 3-2 / 6-4
Away from Home: 7-3
Last Game: def. Iowa State (H), 71-66 (Wednesday)
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
Record: 246-155 (13th year)
at Texas A&M: 93-36 (4th year)
vs. OSU: 2-3
A&M Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 175 Jr. 4.4 2.6 3.3 25 / 27.8
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 230 Jr. 10.9 5.2 0.4 25 / 26.0
11 B.J. Holmes G 5-11 175 Sr. 9.7 2.8 3.3 25 / 29.4
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 215 So. 14.9 5.0 3.1 25 / 29.3
45 Nathan Walkup F 6-7 210 Sr. 10.3 5.9 1.2 25 / 24.5
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Record: 16-9, 4-7 Big 12
Ranking: NR
NCAA RPI / Sagarin Rating: 54 / 70
Streak: Lost 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 2-3 / 3-7
At Home: 11-1
Last Game: lost to (#2) Texas (A), 73-55 (Wednesday)
Head Coach: Travis Ford (Kentucky '94)
Record: 251-178 (14th year)
at OSU: 61-32 (3rd year)
vs. Texas A&M: 2-3
Oklahoma State Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP/Min
0 Jean-Paul Olukemi G 6-5 215 So. 11.6 4.1 0.9 25 / 24.1
12 Keiton Page G 5-9 165 Jr. 13.8 1.8 1.8 25 / 33.4
22 Markel Brown G 6-3 190 Fr. 6.1 2.3 1.2 25 / 20.3
31 Matt Pilgrim F 6-8 255 Sr. 4.7 4.9 0.8 25 / 18.2
33 Marshall Moses F 6-7 255 Sr. 14.7 7.6 0.9 25 / 30.4
About Oklahoma State (16-9, 4-7)
Oklahoma State is 16-9 on the year and is tied for ninth in the Big 12 at 4-7 ... the Cowboys have lost two straight, both on the road (at Nebraska, at Texas) ... OSU, however, is 11-1 at Gallagher-Iba Arena this year with the only loss coming to the Longhorns ... the Cowboys will play three of their final five games at home, beginning with this Saturday's visit by A&M.
OSU returns 9 letterwinners and 3 starters from a 2009-10 team that went 22-11 and finished sixth in the Big 12 at 9-7 ... the Cowboys advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time last spring ... Travis Ford is in his third season in Stillwater with a record of 61-32.
Series Notes
Oklahoma State leads the series, 30-15, which dates back to the 1917-18 season ... A&M has won 7 of the last 11 meetings between the schools.
The Aggies hosted OSU in the Big 12 home opener back on Jan. 13, and defeated the Cowboys 71-48 ... Nathan Walkup and David Loubeau had 16 points apiece for the then 13th-ranked Aggies.
Last season the teams split, with both winning on their home courts ... OSU took the opener, 76-69, on Jan. 27 at Gallagher-Iba Arena, while the Aggies responded with a 76-61 victory on March 3 at Reed Arena.
The Cowboys have won 13 of 15 meetings at Gallagher-Iba, including the last two ... the Aggies' victories in Stillwater came in back-to-back visits in 2007 and 2008.
Sidebars
Aggie senior Derrek Lewis is a 2007 graduate of Union High School in Tulsa.
A&M assistant coach Pooh Williamson is a native of Beggs and a 1995 graduate of the University of Tulsa ... Williamson also spent four seasons on the coaching staff at TU, including the winter of 2005 as interim head coach.
A&M/OSU RECAPS
Earlier this Year: (#13) Texas A&M 71, Oklahoma State 48
COLLEGE STATION (Jan. 12)--Nathan Walkup and B.J. Holmes and a basket by Loubeau pushed A&M's lead to 35-29 at halftime.
Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon: "I didn't expect this. I thought Oklahoma State was potentially, and I still feel this way, the best team we've played all year. They have inside presence, shooters, they guard you. I just didn't expect this. I think (OSU) missed their last nine shots. It looks really good, 48 looks good, but they're better than that. We defend, we put a lot into it, we talk about it a lot. We weren't great rebounding, but our defense looked good tonight. I thought we did a great job on (Marshall) Moses. He had 12 (rebounds) and 10 (points), but I thought he earned every one of those points. I thought our post defense was good tonight. (This win) gives us confidence. I've been on these guys pretty hard, and I'll continue to do that, but it gives us confidence."
Last Time at Gallagher-Iba: Oklahoma State 76, Texas A&M 69
STILLWATER (Jan. 27, 2010)--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). The Aggies are 1-4 this season in road games. 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.
GAME NOTES
20-Win Mark
With a 71-66 win over Iowa State on Feb. 16, Texas A&M secured its seventh consecutive 20-win season ... before this stretch, which started with the 2004-05 season, Aggie basketball had six 20-win seasons in its entire history ... A&M's other 20-win campaigns were in 1974-75, 1975-76, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82 and 1985-86.
Mark Turgeon recorded his fourth straight 20-win season at A&M ... Turgeon is the only coach in school history to record 4 straight 20-win campaigns ... he has led his teams to at least 20 wins in now 7 of the last 8 seasons ... only the legendary Shelby Metcalf (6) has more 20-win seasons to his name in Aggie history.
A&M, Kansas and Texas are the only Big 12 schools that have won at least 20 games in each of the last seven seasons.
Aggie Trends
A&M is shooting 50 percent (81-for-162) on the current 3-game win streak.
Texas A&M is 14-1 this season when leading (or tied) heading in to the locker room ... the Aggies have overcome halftime deficits 5 times.
The Aggies are a perfect 16-0 this year when having the lead with 5 minutes to play.
A&M is 19-2 this year (84-21 all-time under Turgeon) when it holds foes to under 50 percent shooting ... 18-1 when the Aggies hold opponents to under 45 percent from the floor ... and 11-0 (51-4 under Turgeon) when foes shoot less than 40 percent.
One of A&M's goals every game is to make more free throws than the opponent shoots, which emphasizes the need to get to the charity stripe ... this year, that strategy has proven true, as the Aggies are 18-1 when they shoot more free throws then their opponents.
Texas A&M has emerged victorious in 19 of 21 games where the Aggies win the rebounding battle.
Turgeon has called this one of the best passing teams he's ever had ... when Texas A&M totals 10 or more assists, the team is 19-2 this year.
The Aggies are 18-3 this year (80-14 all-time under Turgeon) when holding foes to under 70 points.
Three of A&M's 5 losses this year have come by 9 or fewer points ... two (BC and Baylor) have gone down to the final possession, and a third (Nebraska) was a one-possession game with 1:11 to play.
Texas A&M is averaging 15.9 points off turnovers per game ... under Turgeon, the Aggies are 57-11 (12-2 this year) when they have more points off turnovers than their opponent.
Texas A&M is averaging 14.0 assists per game this year, on pace for its highest average since the 2006-07 season.
Texas A&M has scored at least 40 points in the paint in four games this year ... under Turgeon, A&M is 88-26 when scoring at least 20 points in the paint (18-3 this year).
The Aggies are averaging 14.3 second-chance points through 25 games (10.9 per game last year).
Four players are averaging at least 4 rebounds per game--Nathan Walkup (5.9), David Loubeau (5.2), Khris Middleton (5.0) and Kourtney Roberson (4.0) ... by comparison just two did so last season--Bryan Davis (8.1) and Loubeau (4.7).
Under Mark Turgeon, the Aggies have won 13 of their last 16 games following a loss.
Texas A&M has won nearly 75 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (120-43, .736) ... the Aggies are 163-61 (.728) since the beginning of the '04-05 campaign.
Turgeon Ranks No. 2 in Aggieland
Mark Turgeon (93 wins) passed Bob Rogers (92 in six seasons) as the second-winningest coach in school history with a Feb. 16 win over Iowa State ... the win was also the 20th of the season for the Aggies, making Turgeon the first ever coach to lead A&M to 4 straight 20-win seasons ... Shelby Metcalf (438 wins in 26 1/2 seasons) is the Aggies' all-time winningest coach.
WINNINGEST COACHES, SCHOOL HISTORY
Coach Wins Seasons Years
1. Shelby Metcalf 438 28 ½ 1964-90
2. Mark Turgeon 93 3+ 2007-
3. Bob Rogers 92 6 1958-63
4. D.X. Bible 90 7 1921-29
5. Tony Barone 76 7 1991-98
Down to the Wire
Texas A&M is 6-2 this year in "last possession" games (3 or fewer points, or OT) ... the Aggies have a 1-point win over Washington (63-62), a 2-point win over Missouri (91-89), and 3-point wins over Temple (54-51), Colorado (73-70) and Texas Tech (70-67) ... the Aggies took Arkansas to overtime before emerging victorious, 71-62 ... A&M's 2-point losses this year came to Boston College (65-67) and Baylor (74-76).
Overall, A&M is 7-2 this year in games decided by fewer than 5 points ... and 10-3 this year in games decided by fewer than 10 points.
Let's Keep Playing
Texas A&M has already played a school-record 4 overtime games this year, and is 3-1 in those contests.
The Aggies have set a school record with 3 OT wins this season.
Texas A&M's back-to-back OT games with Baylor (Feb. 5) and Colorado (Feb. 9) marked just the third time in school history the Aggies have played consecutive overtime games ... the most recent came in the fall of 2003, when A&M went extra with Grambling (2OT) and Houston (OT) ... the only other time it has occurred in school history was in 1984 (SMU and TCU).
A&M's 73-70 win at Colorado on Feb. 9 was the Aggies' first overtime win on the road since an 86-78 win at Alabama in the fall of 2008.
The victory in Boulder marked only the Aggies' second road OT victory in Big 12 history ... the other came at Iowa State in 2006 (86-81) ... A&M is 4-7 all-time in Big 12 overtime games (2-4 home, 2-3 away).
Protecting the Ball
Texas A&M has done a good job limiting turnovers in conference play ... the Aggies have committed just 126 turnovers (11.5 per game) in Big 12 play, tied for the fewest in the league (Missouri) ... A&M, which averaged 14 turnovers per game in non-conference play, has committed 322 on the entire season, the second fewest of any Big 12 team (Colorado, 314).
A&M is averaging 7.5 turnovers in the first half against Big 12 foes ... A&M averages just 4.0 turnovers the rest of the game (including overtime).
The Aggies have allowed Big 12 opponents 97 first-half points off turnovers, but just 38 the rest of the way.
TURNOVER TOTALS, BIG 12 GAMES
Category 1H Total 1H Avg. 2H Total* 2H Avg.*
Turnovers 82 7.5 44 4.0
Opponent Pts off TOs 97 8.8 38 3.5
* includes overtime periods
Road Warriors
Texas A&M is 7-3 away from Reed Arena this season ... in those games, the Aggies are holding opponents to 61.6 points and 42.0 percent shooting per game ... A&M has out-rebounded teams away from home this year by an average of 9 boards (36-27).
The Aggies have won 13 of their last 19 games away from Reed Arena dating back to early February of last season ... three of those six 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), on Thanksgiving Day vs Boston College (67-65) in Orlando, at No. 10 Texas (81-60) and most recently at Nebraska (57-48).
Mark Turgeon has won more Big 12 road games (14) than any Aggie coach in the 15-year history of the league.
Big 12 Bits
Texas A&M ranks second in Big 12 games in scoring defense (66.4 ppg), trailing only Texas ... the Aggies are third in league play in turnover margin (+0.7) and in rebounds allowed (30.6/game).
For the entire season, the Aggies lead the league in rebound margin (+8.4) and rebounding defense (29.1/game) ... are second in offensive rebounds (13.5) ... are third in scoring defense (60.9 ppg) ... and fourth in 3-point field goal defense (32.1% by foes) and overall rebounding (37.6).
Senior BJ Holmes leads the league in Big 12 play in 3-point field goal percentage (16-31, .516) ... for the entire year, Holmes ranks third in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
Locking it Down
The Aggies have used quite a few key defensive showings en route to a 20-5 record ... a look at some of the defensive efforts that have led to victories so far this season:
A&M'S LATE-GAME DEFENSIVE STANDS
Opponent Clock Situation Opponent rest of game Result Notable
Texas Tech 3:33 left down 2 (65-63) 1 FG, 0 FT W, 70-67 layup came with :10 left & 3-pt lead
Colorado 3:29 left down 6 (58-52) 0/3 FG, 2/2 FT (reg/OT) W, 73-70 (OT) CU 3-16 (19%) from field over span
Kansas State 4:55 left tied (48-48) 2 FG, 2 FT W, 64-56 late 3-ptr came with :12 left & 9-pt lead
Missouri 1:35 left-OT down 2 (87-85) 1 FG, 0 FT W, 91-89 (OT) MU's bucket came on tip-in at end of game
Oklahoma St. 15:08 left up 3 (43-40) 1 FG, 6 FT W, 71-48 OSU scoreless over final 5:41
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
In the last 3 minutes of games this season, the Aggie defense has held foes to 28 percent shooting (38-of-135) from the field and 25 percent (14-of-56) from 3-point range.
Battling Back
Texas A&M has erased four double-digit deficits en route to victories this season ... the Aggies have also washed out two more 10-plus deficits in games which they lost by two points.
BIG COMEBACKS (10+ POINT DEFICITS)
Opponent Largest Deficit Score / Time Final
Texas Tech (2/12) 10 8-18 / 12:30, 1st W, 70-67
Missouri (1/15) 12 7-19 / 13:00, 1st W, 91-89 (OT)
McNeese State (12/31) 10 18-28 / 7:51, 1st W, 66-57
Arkansas (12/18) 10 35-45 / 17:26, 2nd W, 71-62 (OT)
Baylor (2/5) 14 25-39 / 6:12, 1st L, 74-76 (OT)
Boston College (11/25) 11 38-49 / 13:50, 2nd L, 65-67
A&M trailed Colorado 58-52 last Wednesday with 3:29 to play in Boulder ... the Aggies held Colorado to just 2 free throws for the remainder of regulation, rallying to tie the game at 60 and force OT ... A&M went on to win the game, 73-70 ... the Buffs shot 19 percent (3-of-16) over the final 8:29 (including OT), managing the 3 field goals and 4 free throws.
With 10:30 to play on Feb. 5, the Aggies found themselves down 11 points (63-52) to a hot-shooting Baylor squad ... up to that point in the game, the Bears were hitting 61 percent from the field (25-41) ... over the remainder of the game (including overtime, 15:30), A&M held Baylor to just 27 percent shooting and 13 points ... over the last 10:30 of regulation, Aggie defenders locked the Bears down to just 1-of-8 from the floor and 6 points (4 of those coming from the free throw line) ... the 11-point second-half deficit wasn't the largest of the game for the Aggies, as they found themselves down 14 with 6:12 to play before halftime ... A&M's defense locked down again, holding the Bears to two late field goals and pulling all the way to within one before entering the locker room trailing 43-40.
Reed Arena Struggles for Foes
A&M is 13-2 at home this year, a feat due in no small part to the Aggies' defensive effort all season long ... opponents are shooting 40.8 percent inside Reed and averaging 60.4 points per game.
Only 3 teams have shot better than 45 percent on A&M's home floor--Missouri (52.2), Baylor (51.8) and Texas (50.0).
Only 2 teams have scored more than 70 points on A&M's home floor, with both games going to overtime--Missouri (89) and Baylor (76).
Home, Sweet Home
A&M has won 31 of its last 34 home games, including 14 of its last 17 in Big 12 play ... the Aggies are 44-5 at home since the start of the 2008-09 season with a 17-5 mark in conference games ... those 4 losses have come to Kansas (#1), Texas (#3), Oklahoma (#5), Baylor and Kansas State.
The Aggies are 78-8 (.907) at home since the start of the 2006-07 season and are 110-14 (.887) since the start of the 2004-05 campaign.
A&M has won 26 of its last 27 home games against unranked opponents (10 of last 11 in Big 12 play) ... under Turgeon, the Aggies are 49-4 against unranked opponents at Reed Arena, including a 14-4 mark against unranked Big 12 teams.
The Aggies are the only Big 12 team to win at least 15 home games for the last six consecutive seasons.
A&M is 152-56 (.731) in its 13th season at Reed Arena ... the Aggies were 41-41 the first six years at Reed and are 111-15 since.
The Aggies have won 60 straight non-conference games at Reed Arena ... the streak dates back to the start of the 2005-06 season and includes wins over Arizona, Alabama, LSU and Washington, among others ... the last home non-conference loss for the Aggies was to St. Joseph's (58-51) in the 2005 NIT quarterfinals ... A&M is 92-9 all-time in non-conference games at Reed (.911).
Texas A&M has won 73 consecutive regular-season non-conference home games ... the last non-conference team to beat the Aggies at Reed Arena was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (82-80) in 2003.
Texas A&M broke its home attendance record three times in 2010, including the current mark of 13,717 vs. Texas (Feb. 27) ... A&M sold out four games, topping the 13,000 mark in each game ... the Aggies' season average of 9,889 ranked second on the school chart behind the record of 10,343 set in Turgeon's first season in 2007-08 ... A&M has posted its top five single game marks, and two of the top three season averages, under Turgeon.
The top 20 single-game attendance marks in A&M history have been set since the start of the 2005-06 season ... the top 15 non-conference attendance marks also have been set in that time span.
Aggies in the NCAA Rankings
In the latest NCAA rankings (as of Feb. 14), A&M ranked 5th nationally in rebounding margin (+8.8) ... the Aggies have out-rebounded 21 of 24 opponents this season ... A&M is 83-13 under Turgeon (19-2 this year) when matching or out-rebounding their foes.
A&M also ranked 20th in the country in scoring defense (60.7 ppg) ... Stephen F. Austin, whom the Aggies beat at Reed Arena on Dec. 2, leads the nation (54.5).
At the statistical release, the Aggies were holding opponents to 31.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, which ranks 36th nationally.
Success Against Ranked Teams
The Aggies are 4-2 this season against ranked opponents, picking up a 54-51 win over Temple (No. 20 USAT/ESPN, No. 21 AP) on Nov. 28 at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, a 63-62 win over Washington (No. 21 AP, No. 22 USAT/ESPN) on Dec. 11 at Reed Arena, a 91-89 home victory over Missouri (No. 12 USAT/ESPN, No. 15 AP) on Jan. 15, and a 64-56 defeat of Kansas State (No. 24 USAT/ESPN) on Jan. 22 ... the Aggies' only losses have come to Texas.
Texas A&M has the second most ranked wins (4) in the Big 12, behind Texas (6) ... only Texas (8) and Kansas State (7) have played more ranked teams than the Aggies (6).
The four wins against ranked opponents ties for the second-most in school history and is one shy of the all-time record, held by the 1978-79 team (5) ... both last year's squad and the 2006-07 Sweet 16 team had 4 wins vs ranked foes.
MOST TOP-25 WINS, SCHOOL HISTORY
Season Wins Teams (ranking)
1. 1978-79 5 Indiana (10), UNLV (15), USF (19), Kentucky (11), Arkansas (11)
2. 2010-11 4 Temple (20), Washington (21), Missouri (12), K-State (24)
2009-10 4 Clemson (19), Minnesota (16), Baylor (20), Texas (21)
2006-07 4 Oklahoma St (12), Kansas (6), Texas (25), Louisville (16)
5. 2005-06 3 Colorado (25), Texas (6), Syracuse (21)
Senior Watch
A&M's senior class needs 8 more wins to become the winningest class in school history ... it is just the fourth class in school history to total at least 90 victories ... the Class of 2011 is 93-36 (.721) entering Saturday's game against Oklahoma State, trailing only the 2010 (100-38, .725), 2009 (98-37, .726) and 2008 (95-37, .720) classes in the record books.
An NCAA bid would make the 2011 seniors just the third class in school history to advance to four NCAA Tournaments, joining those from the Classes of 2009 and 2010.
Balancing Act
The loss of A&M's top three scorers from last year (B.J. Holmes (9.7).
A total of 9 players have combined for 70 double-figure outings (Middleton 19, Holmes 13, Walkup 12, Loubeau 11, Hibbert 6, Roberson 6, Turner 1, Harris 1, Lewis 1) through 23 games.
Emerging Big 12 Power
The Aggies won 4 of their first 5 Big 12 games, matching the 2006-07 team for the best Big 12 start in school history.
Texas A&M matched its best-ever finish in Big 12 play last season, tying for second place with an 11-5 record ... it was the Aggies' second-best record in league history, trailing only the 2006-07 squad (13-3) ... A&M was 7-1 at home and 4-4 on the road in conference tilts in 2010.
The Aggies have won 46 Big 12 games since the start of the 2007 league season ... prior to that, A&M had totaled only 43 victories in the first 10 years of Big 12 play.
With a win at Oklahoma on Jan. 8, Texas A&M has now won 4 of its last 5 Big 12 openers after going winless in its first 10 tries.
Hot Start
Texas A&M matched the best 20-game start in school history with a 17-3 record to open the year.
BEST 20-GAME STARTS, SCHOOL HISTORY
Season 20-Gm Record Final Record Postseason
1. 2010-11 17-3 ?? ??
2006-07 17-3 27-7 NCAA Sweet 16
1959-60 17-3 19-5 --
4. 2007-08 16-4 25-11 NCAA 2nd Round
1978-79 16-4 24-9 NIT Final 6
1975-76 16-4 21-6 --
7. 2008-09 15-5 24-10 NCAA 2nd Round
2004-05 15-5 21-10 NIT Quarterfinals
1979-80 15-5 26-8 NCAA Sweet 16
Mark Turgeon other A&M teams were 16-4 (2007-08), 16-4 (2008-09) and 14-6 (2009-10) through 20 games.
Of note, the 1919-20 team had the best start (and finish) in school history, completing the year a perfect 19-0.
Thirteen in a Row
Texas A&M rattled off 13 straight wins over just under a two-month span from Nov. 26-Jan. 15 ... the 13-game streak was the longest in 91 years and the third-longest in school history, and included wins over then No. 12 Missouri, then No. 20 Temple, then No. 21 Washington and against Arkansas on a neutral court in Dallas.
LONGEST WIN STREAKS, TEXAS A&M HISTORY
Year(s) Wins
1. 1919-21* 25
2. 1914-16* 20
3. 2010-11 13
4. 2004-05 11
1921-22 11
* spanned two seasons
The 13-game win streak was A&M's longest since the school-record 25-game streak which spanned the 1919-20 and 1920-21 seasons ... it also was the longest in Mark Turgeon coaching career, as his 2006-07 Wichita State team won its first 11 games of the season ... it was the third time a Turgeon-coached A&M team has won at least eight straight games (13 games, 2010-11; 10 games, 2008-09; 8 games, 2007-08).
Over the 13-game win streak, Aggie foes averaged just under 55 points per game and were out-rebounded by a margin of 10.4 boards ... a closer look at the numbers:
WIN STREAK STATS
Category
A&M Points/Game 72.2
Opponent Points/Game 57.4
Margin of Victory +14.8
Opponent FG Pct. .386
Opponent 3-Pt FG Pct. .286
Rebound Margin +10.4
Opp. Combined Record (as of 1/17) 127-88 (.591)
Every Aggie opponent on the 13-game streak was held under its season average (not counting overtime periods) ... in addition, only two teams on the streak shot better than their season average (Missouri and Pacific).
In the last 3 minutes of games on the win streak, the Aggie defense held foes to 24.2 percent (16-of-66) from the field.
Cracking the Top 10
Texas A&M earned its first top-10 ranking in over three years this month, checking in at No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll (Jan. 17) ... the last time the Aggies sat in the national top 10 was on Nov. 26, 2007, when they were ranked ninth in both major polls.
It also marked just the fifth time in school history that a Texas A&M team has broken the top 10 in a season, joining the 1959-60, 2006-07 and 2007-08 squads ... A&M's school-record ranking in the polls is No. 6, set in the 2006-07 season.
Up Next
Texas A&M has two home games remaining, Feb. 23 vs Oklahoma and March 5 vs Texas Tech ... the Aggies will wrap up road play in the league with back-to-back games at Baylor (Feb. 26) and Kansas (March 2).
LAST TIME OUT: (#17) Texas A&M 71, Iowa State 66
COLLEGE STATION (Feb. 16)--Nathan Walkup scored 19 points and No. 21 Texas A&M held off Iowa State 71-66 on Wednesday night to give A&M its seventh consecutive 20-win season. The Aggies (20-5, 7-4 Big 12) were up by seven before Iowa State cut the lead to 66-62 on a 3-pointer by Scott Christopherson with 1 1/2 minutes remaining. Texas A&M's Khris Middleton made three free throws in the next minute to push the lead back to seven, and the Aggies held on. Before the current streak, the Aggies had reached 20 wins just six times in their history. The victory was Texas A&M's third straight overall and eighth in a row over the Cyclones. Iowa State (14-12, 1-10), which was led by Jake Anderson's 18 points, dropped its eighth consecutive game. Iowa State erased a 10-point deficit with a 13-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by Diante Garrett to take a 48-47 lead with about 14 minutes remaining. But the Aggies answered with a 10-4 spurt to regain the lead for good. Texas A&M had two 3-pointers in that run, including one from Walkup. Middleton added 14 points for Texas A&M and David Loubeau and Dash Harris chipped in 11 apiece. One of the highlights of the night came from Walkup, who brought the crowd to its feet with a one-handed dunk that ended with him falling to the court after he was tripped up and fouled with about 3 minutes left. He missed the free throw, but added two more points when he got an offensive rebound and putback to make it 66-59 a few seconds later. Iowa State's 15 turnovers were just three more than Texas A&M committed. The difference was that the Aggies scored 20 points off Cyclones miscues, while Iowa State managed just seven off Texas A&M's errors. Iowa State was up by two points with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half before Texas A&M used a 17-4 run to take a 29-18 lead 4 minutes before halftime. The Cyclones went more than 4 minutes without scoring in that span. Texas A&M led 35-28 at halftime after Anderson hit a 3 just before the buzzer. The Aggies wore uniforms with camouflage accents as part of military appreciation night and they gave away free tickets to veterans and active military personnel.
Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon: "I thought Iowa State was great, and we also allowed them to be great right before half. We made two really dumb defensive plays right before half. Then we decided we weren't going to guard or rebound right at the start of the second half. We're not playing with the type of toughness we want to be successful, but it's a good win for us, especially this type of year. (Nathan Walkup) made some good plays for us. I thought the three in the corner was big. The dunk on the break, and then the offensive rebound for the basket was big. If you would've told me we'd be 20-5 and 7-4, I never would have believed it. Even though it's not pretty, this team continues to figure out a way to win games. We had one awful stretch (against Texas), and this is a 5-and-a-half month season with a team that's not more talented than a lot of the teams we play. It's not easy this time of year to win."
Postgame Notes: Iowa State
With the victory, Texas A&M improved to 20-5 and secured its seventh consecutive 20-win season ... before this stretch, which started with the 2004-05 season, Aggie basketball had six 20-win seasons in its entire history.
Mark Turgeon recorded his fourth straight 20-win season at A&M ... Turgeon is the only coach in school history to accomplish that feat ... he has led his teams to at least 20 wins in now 7 of the last 8 seasons.
The victory was Turgeon's 93rd at Texas A&M, making him the second-winningest coach in school history ... Turgeon passed Bob Rogers, who totaled 92 victories over six years (1958-63) ... Turgeon trails only the legendary Shelby Metcalf (438 wins over 28 ½ seasons) ... Turgeon is now 93-36 in his fourth season at A&M.
A&M improved to 13-2 at Reed Arena this year ... the Aggies have won 31 of their last 34 home games, including 14 of their last 17 in Big 12 play.
Texas A&M has won 26 of its last 27 home games against unranked opponents (10 of last 11 in Big 12 play).
A&M has shot a perfect 50 percent from the floor (81-for-162) on their current 3-game win streak.
The Aggies now lead the all-time series with Iowa State, 10-7, and have won 8 straight against the Cyclones.
Senior Nathan Walkup set a career high in points in a Big 12 game for the second time in a week ... Walkup poured in 19, three shy of his career best ... it tops his previous high in a league game, set last Wednesday in a win at Colorado (18).
Sophomore Khris Middleton (14 points) hit double figures for the 21st time this season, and the 25th time in the last 30 games ... Middleton's 9 rebounds matched a career high, set twice this year.
Junior Dash Harris' 11 points matched a season high, set vs SFA ... Harris' career high is 14..
TEAM NOTES
Looking for Six
A&M has made five straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to this streak, A&M had never played in consecutive NCAA Tournaments and had not been to the NCAAs since 1987. Five of A&M's 11 NCAA appearances, and 6 of its 9 NCAA wins, have come since 2006.
A&M is one of just 12 schools that have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons.
A&M and Pittsburgh are the only schools in the country to win an NCAA tournament game in each of the last five years.
A&M is one of just three schools to have won a postseason game in each of the last six years (5 NCAAs/1 NIT, joining North Carolina (5 NCAAs/1 NIT) and Memphis (4 NCAAs/2 NITs).
Texas A&M went 24-10 last season, tying for second in the Big 12 with an 11-5 mark. A&M earned the No. 5 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, falling in overtime to No. 4-seed Purdue, 63-61, in the second round in Spokane, Washington. 
