GAME 17:
Texas A&M AGGIES (10-6, 1-3) at (#5/5) Missouri TIGERS (16-1, 3-1)
Monday, January 16, 2012 • 4:35 PM CT • TV: ESPN HD
Mizzou Arena (15,061) • Columbia, Missouri
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: ESPN HD
Brent Musburger, 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 91/XM 91 (MU feed)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 10-6, 1-3 Big 12 (T-7th)
Ranking: NR
Streak: Won 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 2-3 / 5-5
Away from Home: 1-4
Last Game: def. Texas Tech (H), 67-54 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 221-185 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 10-6 (first year)
vs. Missouri: 0-2
A&M Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
4 Keith Davis C 6-10 231 So. 1.3 4.2 0.8b 16 / 16.8
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 171 Sr. 5.7 2.8 4.2 16 / 28.5
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 10.2 4.4 0.5 16 / 25.1
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 217 Jr. 13.2 5.4 2.8 9 / 27.0
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 13.2 3.4 1.8 16 / 31.0
Snapshot: Missouri
Record: 16-1, 3-1 Big 12 (3rd)
Ranking: #5 (AP), #5 (USAT/ESPN)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 4-1 / 9-1
at Home: 10-0
Last Game: def. Texas (H), 84-73 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Frank Haith (Elon '88)
Record: 145-102 (eighth year)
at Missouri: 16-1 (first year)
vs. Texas A&M: never faced
Missouri Probable
Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
1 Phil Pressey 5-10 175 So. 9.7 3.1 6.1 17 / 30.6
3 Matt Pressey 6-2 195 Sr. 8.5 4.1 1.9 17 / 27.6
10 Ricardo Ratliffe 6-8 240 Sr. 13.7 6.8 0.9b 17 / 24.1
12 Marcus Denmon 6-3 185 Sr. 17.9 5.3 2.6 17 / 32.2
24 Kim English 6-6 200 Sr. 15.0 4.6 1.6 17 / 31.5
Series History: Mizzou leads, 11-10
A&M streak: Won 8
In Columbia: Missouri leads, 5-3
At Mizzou Arena: A&M leads, 3-0
In College Station: A&M leads, 6-3
At Reed Arena: A&M leads, 5-2
At Neutral Sites: Missouri leads, 3-1
At Big 12 Tournament: Missouri leads, 2-1
Longest A&M Win Streak: 8 games (current)
Longest Missouri Win Streak: 6 games
Largest A&M Win: 28 (91-63, 02/05/05)
Largest Missouri Win: 31 (93-62, 01/29/00)
Billy Kennedy vs. Missouri 0-2
Frank Haith vs. A&M never faced
- A&M has won the last 8 meetings between the schools, the longest active streak by the Aggies against any Big 12 foe ... A&M's last loss to the Tigers came in March 2004 at the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas.
- the Aggies swept the Tigers in two meetings last year, in overtime at Reed Arena (91-89 on Jan. 15, 2011) and in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City (86-71 on March 10, 2011).
- in A&M's last trip to Columbia, the Aggies erased an 11-point second-half deficit to post a 77-74 win (Feb. 3).
- the Aggies have never lost at Mizzou Arena, which opened in November 2004 (wins in 2006, 2008, 2010).
Tale of the Tape
A&M MU
62.4 points/game 83.9
57.5 opp. points/game 62.9
+4.9 scoring margin +20.9
.438 field goal % .512
.369 opp. field goal % .415
.300 3-point % .401
38.4 rebounds 34.2
+5.8 rebound margin +2.5
12.9 assists 16.8
14.3 turnovers 10.1
5.5 steals 9.1
2.9 blocks 3.2
Quick Hits
- A&M held Texas Tech to 33.3 percent shooting on Saturday, the Red Raiders' second-lowest output of the year ... Tech did not make a field goal until the 9:43 mark of the first half ... the Aggies also forced Tech into a season-high 23 turnovers ... A&M's 21 points off turnovers in the game were the most by an Aggie team this season.
- The Aggies got 27 points from the bench against the Red Raiders, its second-highest total of the year ... it also marked the most bench points for A&M in a Big 12 game since getting 28 from the reserves against Texas Tech in January of 2010.
- Saturday's win over Tech produced a balanced scoring attack, as for the first time this season the Aggies placed five in double figures (Middleton 12, E Turner 12, Hibbert 12, Harris 11, R Turner 10).
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in three defensive categories (through Jan. 15): scoring defense, 3-point FG% defense and defensive rebound percentage; A&M ranks second in field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebounds.
- Through games of Jan. 12, Texas A&M ranked 12th nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 13th in 3-point FG% defense and 16th in scoring defense.
- A&M held Texas to 61 points in the loss in Austin last Wednesday ... it was the third-lowest UT scoring output against A&M in the Big 12 era (43 in College Station, 2006; 58 in College Station, 2010).
- A&M's losses this year have come to teams with a combined 80-24 (.769) record (thru games of 1/14) ... three of the setbacks have come to teams currently ranked in the top 20, all away from home (#4 Baylor, #19 Florida, #20 Miss. State).
- The Aggies' two conference road losses this year have come to Baylor and Texas, squads that have combined to go 21-0 at home this season.
- Texas A&M has posted a 28-14 Big 12 record over the last 2 1/2-plus seasons (6-0 to close 2009, 11-5 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011) ... it's the second-best record over that span among conference teams, trailing only Kansas (38-4).
- The Aggies have won 50 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 (50-32 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).
- Nearly half of Texas A&M's points this season have come in the paint (476 of 998, or 47.7%) ... 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.
Sidebars
- A&M coach Billy Kennedy is close friends with Missouri head coach Frank Haith ... after eight years as a head coach, including leading Southeastern Louisiana to the NCAA Tournament in 2005, Kennedy joined Haith's staff at the University of Miami as an assistant for the 2005-06 season ... upon helping lead Miami to the quarterfinals of the NIT that year, Kennedy got the head job at Murray State, where he spent five seasons.
- Haith spent four seasons in Aggieland on Tony Barone's staff in the 1990s ... Haith was an assistant for three years (1992-95), helping the Aggies to the NIT in 1994-their first postseason trip in seven years ... he then went to Penn State for one season before returning to A&M as Barone's associate head coach for one year (1996-97), the Aggies' first in the Big 12.
- Aggie junior Khris Middleton spent several days this summer with Missouri's Marcus Denmon and Kim English, as the trio were part of the USA Basketball World University Games Team Training Camp in Colorado Springs.
Running the Big 12
Marathon
- Throughout A&M's recent stretch of basketball success, the power, toughness and top-to-bottom strength of the Big 12 has proved to be a grind ... several of the Aggie teams that have made up the stretch of postseason runs have struggled out of the gate in league play yet continued to battle and improve as the season went along. A look at some of those squads:
Year Head Coach (Year) Big 12 Start Final Big 12 Record Postseason
2004-05 Billy Gillispie (1st) 1-3 8-8 NIT (Quarterfinals)
2005-06 Billy Gillispie (2nd) 0-4 9-7 NCAA (2nd Round)
2007-08 Mark Turgeon (1st) 1-3 8-8 NCAA (2nd Round)
2008-09 Mark Turgeon (2nd) 1-4 9-7 NCAA (2nd Round)
Aggie Trends
- After an 0-2 start in Big 12 play, the Aggies have split their next two games and have shown improvement over that span on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball:
Turning the Corner? A&M improvements, last 2 games:
Gm 1&2 OFFENSE Gm 3&4 Gm 1&2 DEFENSE Gm 3&4
25.5 points per half 29.5 7 blocks 10
9.5 FG made/half 10.3 8 steals 12
31.0 FG attempted/half 23.5 .432 opponent FG% .386
.300 field goal % .436 24 opponent turnovers 35
- Texas A&M's starting rotation has seen an increase in court time of late ... in Big 12 play, A&M starters are averaging 28.9 minutes a game (after averaging 25 a game in non-conference play) ... all five starters played at least 30 minutes against Texas (Jan. 11), the first time that's happened on an Aggie team since March 2007 (Big 12 quarterfinal vs Oklahoma State).
- The Aggies are averaging 4.3 blocks in Big 12 play, third-best in the league (2.4 average in non-conference play).
- A&M has seen its free-throw percentage take a slight up-turn in Big 12 play ... the Aggies shot 61.6 percent from the line in non-conference play, but has shot 63.9 percent in Big 12 action ... A&M has connected at a 67 percent clip or better from the charity stripe in 3 of its 4 league contests.
- 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 10-0 this year when leading at halftime and 10-0 when leading with 5 minutes to play.
- A&M is 9-1 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field (loss to Baylor, who shot 39.2%).
- The Aggies have held 10 of their opponents under 60 points and are unbeaten in those games.
- A&M has held 8 opponents under 35 percent shooting (8-0).
- The Aggies are 6-0 this year when shooting more free throws than their opponent and 8-1 when out-rebounding them (loss is to Texas).
- A&M is averaging 2.9 blocks per game this year (46 blocks), up from last year's average of 1.5 (51 in 33 games)
- A&M has won nearly 75 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (134-51, .724) ... the Aggies are 176-69 (.718) since the start of the '04-05 campaign.
Milestone Watch
- Senior Dash Harris (344 assists, 128 steals) moved into the top 10 in school history in career assists and steals in the win over Texas Tech (Jan. 14) ... he is one of only 8 players in school history to record 300 assists and 100 steals (list on page 9).
- Senior David Loubeau (1,026 points, 506 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.
Player Notables
- Over his last 5 games, senior Dash Harris is averaging 9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists and is shooting at a 41% clip ... Harris has scored in double figures in 4 of his last 6 games.
- Senior Dash Harris leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in assists (4.2/game) ... he leads the squad and ranks third in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) ... he was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list.
- Senior Dash Harris is second in the league in steals in conference games (2.75/game).
- Junior Elston Turner has scored 10-plus points in 13 of 16 games this year ... he did so just 9 times in 66 games in two seasons at Washington ... Turner scored a career-high 21 points against No. 4 Baylor (1/2) ... he is in the top 10 of the Big 12 rankings in minutes, 3-point field goals and 3-point field goal percentage this season.
- Junior Khris Middleton is averaging 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists since returning from surgery to repair a partially-torn meniscus (8 games) ... Middleton recorded his first career double-double (19 pts, 10 rebs) at Texas (Jan. 11).
- Junior Naji Hibbert has hit 5 of his last 11 field goal attempts (45.5%), including 4 of 7 from behind the arc (57.1%) ... Hibbert began the year 9-for-30 (30%) from the field and 1-of-13 (7.7%) from long distance.
- 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 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds at home, both team highs (11 games).
- Junior Ray Turner has scored 10-plus points in 11 of A&M's 16 games this year ... the Aggies are 9-2 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 28-14 Big 12 record over the last 2 1/2-plus seasons (6-0 to close 2009, 11-5 in 2010, 10-6 in 2011) ... it's the second-best record over that span among conference teams, trailing only Kansas (38-4).
- The Aggies have won 50 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 (50-32 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).
- 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.
Up Next
- Texas A&M returns home to face the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday afternoon ... tipoff at Reed Arena is set for 3 p.m. on the Big 12 Network ... the Aggies will then have another Big Monday road game turnaround, as they travel to Kansas to face the Jayhawks on the 23rd (8 p.m., ESPN).