Wednesday is Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night, with tickets for university staff members starting at just $5. Visit tickets.12thmanfoundation.com for more information.
In addition, kids get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket to the game (limit four kids per paying adult).
GAME 6
(#25) Texas A&M AGGIES (4-1) vs Alcorn State BRAVES (1-5)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 • 7:05 PM CT • TV: FOX Sports Southwest
Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: FOX Sports Southwest
Greg Lucas, Play-by-Play
Jim Haller, Commentary
Satellite: DirecTV 676/Dish 416
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius 93
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 4-1, 0-0 Big 12
Ranking: 25th (AP), RV (USAT/ESPN)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10 : 4-1 / 4-1
Last Game: def. A&M-CC (H), 56-43 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 215-180 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 4-1 (first year)
vs. Alcorn State: never faced
A&M Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 171 Sr. 4.5 2.5 4.0 2 / 22.5
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 12.5 3.0 0.5b 2 / 23.5
13 Jordan Green G 6-4 181 Fr. 4.5 2.5 1.5 2 / 13.5
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 13.5 4.0 3.0 2 / 28.0
35 Ray Turner F 6-9 232 Jr. 20.0 7.0 0.5 2 / 23.0
Snapshot: Alcorn State
Record: 1-5, 0-0 SWAC
Ranking: NR
Streak: Lost 5
Last 5 / Last 10: 0-5 / 1-5
Last Game: lost at New Orleans, 63-56 (Sun.)
Head Coach: Luther Riley (MVSU '95)
Record: 1-5 (first year)
at Alcorn: 1-5 (first year)
vs. Texas A&M: never faced
Alcorn State: Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
0 Ken McDonald G 6-0 170 Sr. 3.7 1.3 0.7 6 / 15.3
2 Twann Oakley SG 6-5 175 Jr. 10.2 3.3 0.5 6 / 30.8
10 Jarvis Moore PG 5-11 165 Jr. 2.8 1.2 1.7 6 / 15.3
22 Chris Brand F 6-10 210 Jr. 9.7 5.3 1.7b 6 / 22.3
24 Ian Francis SF 6-8 210 Jr. 6.2 5.8 1.8 6 / 24.3
Quick Hits
- Texas A&M has won nearly 75 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (128-46, .736) ... the Aggies are 171-64 (.728) since the start of the '04-05 campaign.
- A&M has won 63 straight non-conference games at Reed Arena (dating back to start of 2005-06 season) and 76 consecutive regular-season, non-conference home games (dating back to 2003).
- A&M is 95-9 (.913) all-time in non-conference games at Reed and 115-14 (.891) overall at home since the start of the 2004-05 season.
- The Aggies are shooting 50 percent from the floor, second-best in the Big 12 and 17th nationally.
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in scoring defense (57.2 ppg) and are third in field-goal pct. defense (35.4).
- The Aggies rank in the top 20 nationally in both field goal percentage (17th) and FG percentage defense (17th), one of just three teams to do so (Kentucky and St. Mary's).
- Nearly 55 percent of Texas A&M's points this season have come in the paint (184 of 338, or 54.4%) ... in the season's opening week, the Aggies scored 45-plus points in the paint in consecutive games for the first time since 2004 ... by comparison, last season 40 percent of A&M's points came in the paint (973 of 2192, or 40.1%).
- A&M was outshot 38 to 3 at the free-throw line against St. John's, yet still won the game ... it marked the fewest FT attempts by an Aggie team since 1979.
- For the first time in league history, Texas A&M has been picked to win the Big 12 Conference men's basketball championship ... the Aggies sat atop the preseason coaches' poll in a tie with Kansas.
- A&M is one of just 12 schools that have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 6 seasons (Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Villanova, Wisconsin, Xavier).
- Texas A&M is one of only 8 schools in the entire country that have won 24 or more games in each of the last 5 seasons (Butler, BYU, Kansas, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, VCU, Xavier).
- Texas A&M opened the year ranked in the top 20 nationally (19th/USAT, 20th/AP) for just the fifth time in school history, but the third time in the last six years ... the Aggies' previous preseason ranked teams were: 1979-80 (14th/AP); 1980-81 (15th/AP); 2006-07 (13th/USAT, 13th/AP); and 2007-08 (14th/USAT, 16th/AP).
Alcorn State: A Closer Look
- Alcorn State is located in Lorman, Mississippi (about an hour and a half southwest of Jackson) ... the school competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and has an enrollment of 3,252.
- The Braves are 1-5 on the season and have lost 5 in a row entering Wednesday's game, defeating Blue Mountain College in their opener before dropping contests at West Virginia, at Kent State and three in New Orleans last weekend (to Tulane, San Diego and New Orleans) ... A&M is the only Big 12 team on ASU's schedule, although it does feature one former (Nebraska) and one future (West Virginia) Big 12 member.
- Luther Riley (Mississippi Valley State '95) is in his first season as the head coach of Alcorn and his first year as a collegiate head coach ... Riley spent the previous 11 years as head coach at Provine High School (Jackson, Miss.), where he won four state championships.
Series History
- Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 2-0 ... the Aggies topped Alcorn State, 82-65, on Nov. 26, 1985 at G. Rollie White Coliseum ... in the most recent meeting, A&M dropped ASU in last year's season opener at Reed, 88-56 (Nov. 12) ... Nate Walkup (22 pts, 8 rebs), Khris Middleton (12 pts, 4 rebs), Naji Hibbert (10 pts) and Kourtney Roberson (10 pts) led the way ... the teams combined for a school-record 72 fouls on the night, with the Aggies going 34-of-48 from the free throw line.
Last Time Out: A&M 56, A&M-Corpus Christi 43
- COLLEGE STATION (Nov. 26)-Elston Turner scored 14 points and No. 25 Texas A&M used its stifling defense to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 56-43. Ray Turner had 13 and eight rebounds for the Aggies (4-1), who played for the first time in eight days and held the Islanders to 27.8 percent shooting. It was the lowest shooting percentage for an Aggies opponent since the first round of the 2008 Big 12 tournament, when Iowa State finished at 27.4 percent. Hameed Ali, Johnathan Jordan and Jake Kocher made consecutive 3-pointers to help Texas A&M-Corpus Christi close to 45-39 with 7:45 left, but Turner scored on an offensive rebound on Texas A&M's ensuing possession and the Aggies outscored the Islanders 11-4 the rest of the way. Myron Dempsey had 14 points for the Islanders (1-3). Texas A&M went 5 for 8 from 3-point range in the first half and led 30-16 at the break. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts in the first half, and finished 3 of 17 from long range. Turner tied a career high with four 3-pointers, and freshman Jordan Green had 10 points and six assists. The Aggies also won their 63rd consecutive non-conference home game.
- POSTGAME NOTES: Texas A&M won its 63rd consecutive non-conference home game (dating back to 2005) and its 76th consecutive regular-season, non-conference game (dating back to 2003) ... the Aggies held the Islanders to 27.8 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest by an A&M opponent since Iowa State in the 2008 Big 12 Tournament (27.4 percent) ... A&M matched a season high by draining 6 three-pointers ... Jordan Green's 6 assists were a season (and career) high ... the total also tied a team season high ... Elston Turner tied a career high with four 3-pointers (did it twice at Washington).
Defense Notables
- Texas A&M has held foes to 57.2 points per game, best in the Big 12 and 28th nationally (through games of 11/27) ... the Aggies have held four of their opponents to under 60 points and are unbeaten in those games.
- A&M is holding opponents to just 35.4 percent from the floor, ranking third in the Big 12 and 17th nationally.
- The Aggies have forced an average of 12.6 turnovers per game and converted that into 14.4 ppg.
- A&M held Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11/26) to 27.8 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest by an A&M opponent since Iowa State in the 2008 Big 12 Tournament (27.4 percent).
- In the 2K Sports Classic semifinal against Mississippi State (11/17), the Bulldogs hit 11 of their first 15 shots (73.3%) through the first 10 minutes of the game, racing out to a 31-9 lead ... A&M's defense held MSU to 28.2 percent shooting (11-of-39) for the rest of the game and to 40.7 percent from the floor overall (22-of-54).
Fun with Free Throws
- Texas A&M got to the charity stripe just 3 times in the Aggies' 58-57 win over St. John's at Madison Square Garden (11/18), going 2-for-3 at the line ... the Red Storm, meanwhile, shot 38 FTs (making 23), good for a 35-shot advantage at the line.
- The 3 free throw attempts were the fewest by an Aggie team since Dec. 14, 1979 (32 years), when A&M went 1-for-2 at the line in a 72-67 loss to La Salle at the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah ... Aggie star Rudy Woods shot both the free throws in the game ... La Salle went 20-for-25 from the line, shooting 23 more free throws than A&M ... the loss was just one of eight all season for the team, which won 26 games and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
- A&M's 2 made free throws were the team's fewest since going 1-for-4 at the line at Kansas State in 2002 (Feb. 12).
Hot Shots
- A&M is shooting an even 50 percent so far this year (131-of-262), a total which ranks second in the Big 12 and 17th nationally ... the Aggies are one of just three schools nationally who rank in the top 20 in both field goal percentage and FG percentage defense (Kentucky and St. Mary's).
- The Aggies shot 65.4 percent from the floor in the season opener against Liberty, the fifth-best shooting outing in school history ... A&M then connected on 56.6 percent shooting against Southern (11/13).
- A&M shot 55 percent or better just once last season (57.8 vs Missouri, Big 12 tourney quarterfinals) and a total of 4 times in the last 3 seasons combined (once in '10-11, none in '09-10, three times in '08-09).
- In fact, the last time an Aggie team shot 55 percent or better in back-to-back games was Dec. 19 and 22, 2007, against Detroit (57.7) and UC Irvine (63.0) ... that's a span of 92 games.
Picking Up the Pace
- A main goal of coach Billy Kennedy and his staff heading into the season was to play fast and try to score in the first seven seconds of the shot clock ... through five games, the Aggies have hit double figures in fast-break points 4 times (after doing so just 8 times all of last year) ... A&M is averaging 10.8 fast-break points per game.
- A&M showed a very fast-paced style in season-opening wins over Liberty and Southern, racking up 32 fast-break points (16.0 average) ... last year's team averaged 6.9 for the season and 7.7 through non-conference play.
Getting Physical Inside
- Nearly 55 percent of Texas A&M's points this season have come in the paint (184 of 338, or 54.4%) ... by comparison, last season 40 percent of A&M's points came in the paint (973 of 2192, or 40.1%).
- A&M's season average stands at 36.8 through 5 games (averaged 27.5 overall in 2010-11 and 30.4 in non-conference play).
- A&M's 48 points in the paint against Liberty (11/9) were the most by an Aggie team since putting up 48 against Angelo State in 2009 (Nov. 13) ... A&M followed with 46 points in the paint against Southern (11/13).
- Before the first week of the season, the last time A&M scored 45 or more points in the paint in consecutive games was against Louisiana-Monroe (50) and Chicago State (54) in Dec. 2004 ... the Aggies posted back-to-back games with 40 points in the paint just once last year.
On Point
- Senior Dash Harris leads the team in assists (4.2/game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.33) ... A&M is 43-10 over Harris' career when he has at least 3 assists (4-1 this year, 14-5 as a junior, 15-3 as a sophomore and 10-1 as a freshman).
- True freshman Jamal Branch has had a solid Aggie debut ... the Arlington, Texas product is averaging 5.8 points, 3.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.
- Combined, the A&M tandem averages 10.4 points, 7.6 assists, 5 rebounds and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.72.
Up Next
- Texas A&M will continue its season-long 5-game homestand on Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Aggies host SFA at Reed Arena ... the game will be broadcast over the internet by 12th Man TV ... A&M will close the homestand with ensuing games against Sam Houston State (Dec. 7, 7 p.m.) and ULM (Dec. 10, 7 p.m.).