COLLEGE STATION-Texas A&M returns to the hardwood on Wednesday when the Aggies (9-5, 0-2) renew their long-standing rivalry with the Texas Longhorns (11-4, 1-1) in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m. (CT) and the game will air nationally on ESPN2.
GAME 15
Texas A&M AGGIES (9-5, 0-2) at Texas LONGHORNS (11-4, 1-1)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 • 8:05 PM CT • TV: ESPN2 HD
Frank Erwin Center (16,734) • Austin, Texas
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: ESPN2 HD
Jon Sciambi, Play-by-Play
Bob Knight, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius 92
LIVE AUDIO/STATS aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 9-5, 0-2 Big 12 (T-8th)
Ranking: NR
Streak: Lost 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 1-4 / 6-4
Last Game: lost to Iowa State (H), 74-50 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 220-184 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 9-5 (first year)
vs. Texas: never faced
A&M Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 171 Sr. 5.4 2.9 4.2 14 / 28.0
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 10.6 4.8 0.4 14 / 24.6
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 217 Jr. 12.6 5.0 3.1 7 / 26.1
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 13.3 3.4 2.1 14 / 30.7
35 Ray Turner F 6-9 232 Jr. 11.4 6.6 0.4 14 / 23.5
Snapshot: Texas
Record: 11-4, 1-1 Big 12 (T-4th)
Ranking: NR
Streak: Won 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 3-2 / 8-2
Last Game: def. Oklahoma St (H), 58-49 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne '77)
Record: 535-261 (25th year)
at Texas: 333-127 (14th year)
vs. Texas A&M: 23-7
Texas Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
1 Sheldon McClellan G 6-4 200 Fr. 12.1 3.7 0.4 15 / 25.8
2 Jaylen Bond F 6-7 224 Fr. 4.5 5.0 0.5 15 / 16.2
12 Myck Kabongo G 6-1 169 Fr. 10.1 3.7 5.5 15 / 28.3
14 J'Covan Brown G 6-1 197 Jr. 18.4 3.3 3.9 15 / 33.0
53 Clint Chapman C 6-10 245 Sr. 5.8 5.7 1.7b 15 / 19.6
Series History: Texas leads, 135-85
A&M streak: Lost 3
In Austin: Texas leads, 78-27
At Erwin Center: Texas leads, 27-8
In College Station: A&M leads, 54-51
At Reed Arena: Texas leads, 8-5
At Neutral Sites: Texas leads, 6-4
At Big 12 Tournament: Texas leads, 2-0
Longest A&M Win Streak: 8 games
Longest Texas Win Streak: 18 games
Largest A&M Win: 44 (73-29, 01/16/59)
Largest Texas Win: 45 (81-36, 02/23/44)
Billy Kennedy vs. Texas: never faced
Rick Barnes vs. A&M: 23-7
- series is the most-played in school history, with Wednesday marking the 221st meeting between the long-time conference rivals:
Opponent Games Opponent Games
1. Texas 220 6. Arkansas 147
2. Baylor 204 7. Texas Tech 124
3. Rice 188 8. Houston 83
4. SMU 177 Sam Houston State 83
5. TCU 164 10. Oklahoma State 46
- the series began in 1917 and the squads have met at least twice every season since then (2012 marks the 95th straight year).
- Texas swept the season series last year, including a meeting in the Big 12 semifinals.
- The Aggies' last win at the Erwin Center came in 2002 (80-74), while the Longhorns have won at Reed Arena just once since 2004 (last season).
- Wednesday will mark just the second time since 2005 that neither team is ranked entering the game.
Last 10 Meetings:
Date AM/Op Rk Site Score
2007 F28 6 /15 Austin (2 OT) L 96-98
2008 J30 23/10 College Station W 80-63
2008 F18 22/ 7 Austin L 50-77
2009 J24 -/14 Austin L 58-67
2009 F16 College Station W 81-66
2010 J16 -/ 1 Austin (OT) L 67-72
2010 F27 22/21 College Station W 74-58
2011 J19 10/10 Austin L 60-81
2011 J31 16/ 3 College Station L 49-69
2011 M11 21/10 Kansas City L 58-70
Tale of the Tape
A&M UT
62.9 points/game 76.7
57.5 opp. points/game 63.7
+5.4 scoring margin +13.0
.438 field goal % .450
.368 opp. field goal % .377
.300 3-point % .323
39.5 rebounds 38.8
+6.6 rebound margin +4.6
13.4 assists 13.4
14.0 turnovers 13.1
5.4 steals 7.4
2.6 blocks 4.3
Quick Hits
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in four defensive categories (through Jan. 8): scoring defense, 3-point FG% defense, defensive rebounding and defensive rebound percentage; A&M ranks second in field-goal percentage defense and third in rebound margin and rebounding.
- Through games of Jan. 8, Texas A&M ranked ninth nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 11th in 3-point FG% defense and 15th in scoring defense.
- Texas A&M has posted a 27-13 Big 12 record over the last 2 1/2-plus seasons (6-0 to close 2009, 11-5 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011 and 0-2 in 2012) ... it's the second-best record over that span among conference teams, trailing only Kansas (36-4).
- The Aggies have won 49 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 (49-31 since 2006, 43-116 from 1997-2006).
- A&M has finished .500 or better in Big 12 play in each of the past 7 years, one of just 3 teams to do so (Kansas, Texas).
- Half of Texas A&M's points this season have come in the paint (442 of 882, or 50.1%) ... by comparison, last season 40 percent of A&M's points came in the paint (973 of 2192, or 40.1%).
- 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).
- 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, Kansas and Texas are the only Big 12 schools that have won at least 20 games in each of the last 7 seasons.
Aggie Trends
- After averaging 15.8 turnovers through the first 6 games, A&M has done a better job of protecting the ball of late ... the Aggies have averaged just 12.6 turnovers over their last 8 games ... A&M had a season-low 9 turnovers against Rice (Dec. 22) and Iowa State (Jan. 7).
- A&M is 5-1 this year when dishing out 15 or more assists (loss is to Florida) ... the Aggies totaled 23 in the win over Arkansas Tech (Dec. 29), the most by an A&M squad since December 2007.
- The Aggies are 9-0 this year when leading at halftime and 9-0 when leading with 5 minutes to play.
- A&M is 8-1 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field (loss to Baylor, who shot 39.2%).
- The Aggies have held 9 of their opponents under 60 points and are unbeaten in those games.
- A&M has held 7 opponents under 35 percent shooting (7-0).
- The Aggies are 6-0 this year when shooting more free throws than their opponent and 8-0 when out-rebounding them.
- A&M is averaging 2.6 blocks per game this year (34 blocks), up from last year's average of 1.5 (51 in 33 games).
- The Aggies totaled 23 assists in the win over Arkansas Tech (12/29), the most in a game since December 2007.
- A&M held four straight opponents under 50 points per game (A&M-Corpus Christi, Alcorn State, SFA, Sam Houston) for the first time since 1959.
- A&M blocked 8 shots against Sam Houston (12/7), the most since February 2009 ... the Aggies also held SHSU to 25.0 percent from the floor, the lowest since December 2007.
- A&M has won nearly 75 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (133-50, .727) ... the Aggies are 175-68 (.720) since the start of the '04-05 campaign.
Milestone Watch
- Senior David Loubeau (1,012 points, 502 rebounds) became only the 16th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds ... Loubeau reached the points milestone against Arkansas Tech and the rebounds milestone against Iowa State ... he is the 32nd member of the school's 1,000-point club and the 22nd of the 500-rebound club.
- Senior Dash Harris (336 assists, 121 steals) needs 8 assists and 6 steals to move into the career top 10 in both categories ... Harris is one of only 11 players in school history to dish out 300 assists and is one of just 8 to record at least 300 assists and 100 steals (list on page 9).
Player Notables
- Over his last 4 games, senior Dash Harris is averaging 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists and is shooting at a 39% clip ... Harris has scored in double figures in 3 of his last 4 games.
- Senior Dash Harris leads the team and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in assists (4.4/game) ... he leads the squad and ranks third in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.27) ... he was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list.
- Over his last 7 games, junior Elston Turner is shooting 44% from 3-point range (21-for-48) ... he has scored 10-plus points in 11 of 14 games this year.
- Junior Elston Turner is averaging 15.4 points and 3.4 rebounds over his last five games ... Turner scored a career-high 21 points against No. 4 Baylor (1/2) ... Turner is in the top 10 of the Big 12 rankings in scoring, 3-point field goals and 3-point percentage this season.
- Junior Khris Middleton is averaging 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists since returning from surgery to repair a partially-torn meniscus (6 games).
- Junior Ray Turner has posted three double-doubles-the first of his career-including a 13-point, 12-rebound effort against Iowa State (1/7) ... his 15 boards vs Arkansas Tech (12/29) were a career high and the most by an Aggie in a game since March 2010.
- Junior Ray Turner is averaging 10 points and 10.3 rebounds over his last 3 games.
- Junior Ray Turner has scored 10-plus points in 10 of A&M's 14 games this year ... the Aggies are 8-2 in those contests.
- Junior Elston Turner and senior David Loubeau each scored 20 points in a Dec. 17 loss to No. 13 Florida, marking the first time this year the Aggies have had two players score 20 in a game ... that happened just once last year, in the Big 12 quarterfinals vs Missouri (David Loubeau and BJ Holmes, 20 each).
- Redshirt freshman Daniel Alexander shined against Arkansas Tech (12/29) after getting the first significant action of his young career, setting personal bests in points (6) and rebounds (8) in just 16 minutes of action.
- Freshman guard Jamal Branch (#11/Arlington, Texas/Grace Prep) left the team in late December and decided to transfer ... Branch played in 11 games, averaging 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Big 12 Bullets
- Texas A&M has posted a 27-13 Big 12 record over the last 2 1/2-plus seasons (6-0 to close 2009, 11-5 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011 and 0-2 in 2012) ... it's the second-best record over that span among conference teams, trailing only Kansas (36-4).
- The Aggies have won 49 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 (49-31 since 2007, 43-116 from 1997-2006).
- A&M has finished .500 or better in Big 12 play in each of the past 7 years, one of just 3 teams to do so (Kansas, Texas).
- The Aggies are coming off back-to-back 10-plus win seasons in Big 12 play for just the second time ever (2006, 2007 and 2010, 2011) ... it is only the second time in the last 25 years that an A&M team has accomplished that feat ... prior to '06-07, the last time an Aggie squad recorded consecutive 10+ win seasons in conference play was in 1985 (10) and 1986 (12).
- 2011 was A&M's third consecutive winning season in Big 12 play, the first time the Aggies have accomplished that feat in the Big 12 era (9-7 in 2009, 11-5 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011) ... it marked the first time since the late 60s (1967-70) that a Texas A&M team finished above .500 in league action for three straight seasons.
Aggie Hoops Turns 100
- The Aggies are in the midst of the 100th season of basketball at Texas A&M University ... the first team was fielded for the 1912-13 campaign.
- The inaugural team was coached by F.D. Steger and won its first ever game (date unknown) over Marlin (Texas) High School, 78-8 ... the first "collegiate" opponent for the program was later that season with a pair of games against Sam Houston Normal Institute (now Sam Houston State University).
This Week in History
- JAN. 10, 1979: The Aggies hold Houston to a school-record low 5 points in the second half en route to a 69-43 win in the Bayou City.
- JAN. 11, 1997: Jerald Brown sets a school record by draining 8 three-pointers at Nebraska.
- JAN. 11, 2006: Acie Law IV scores 35 points in a game at Oklahoma State, the most points by an Aggie player in the Big 12 era.
- JAN. 12, 1960: A&M achieves the first top-10 ranking in school history, #8 in the AP poll ... the Aggies stayed in the top 10 for one month that year.
Up Next
- Texas A&M returns home to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday ... tipoff at Reed is set for 12:45 p.m.