The game already marks A&M's third on the road in league play against a top-10 foe, as the Aggies have played at fourth-ranked Baylor and fifth-ranked Missouri.
KU, meanwhile, is the lone unbeaten left in Big 12 play and is coming off a 69-66 win over Texas in Austin Saturday afternoon.
GAME 19:
Texas A&M AGGIES (11-7, 2-4) at (#7/7) Kansas JAYHAWKS (16-3, 6-0)
Monday, January 23, 2012 • 8:05 PM CT • TV: ESPN HD
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) • Lawrence, Kansas
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: ESPN HD
Brent Musburger, Play-by-Play
Bob Knight, Commentary
Holly Rowe, Sidelines
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 91 (KU feed)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 11-7, 2-4 Big 12
Ranking: NR
Streak: Won 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 2-3 / 4-6
on the Road: 1-5
Last Game: def. Oklahoma (H), 81-75 (OT) (Sat.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 222-186 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 11-7 (first year)
vs. Kansas: never faced
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 4.3 0.7b 18 / 17.3
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 171 Sr. 5.9 2.7 4.1 18 / 29.4
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 10.5 4.4 0.5 18 / 25.9
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 217 Jr. 12.4 5.4 2.4 11 / 26.1
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 13.7 3.3 1.6 18 / 31.5
Snapshot: Kansas
Record: 16-3, 6-0 Big 12
Ranking: 7th (AP), 7th (USAT/ESPN)
Streak: Won 9
Last 5 / Last 10: 5-0 / 9-1
at Home: 10-0
Last Game: def. Texas (A), 69-66 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Bill Self (Oklahoma State '85)
Record: 492-156 (19th year)
at Kansas: 269-51 (ninth year)
vs. Texas A&M: 9-3
Kansas Probable
Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
0 Thomas Robinson F 6-10 237 Jr. 17.7 12.1 1.1b 19 / 30.6
5 Jeff Withey C 7-0 235 Jr. 8.0 6.2 3.1b 19 / 22.4
10 Tyshawn Taylor G 6-3 185 Sr. 16.5 1.8 5.2 19 / 32.3
15 Elijah Johnson G 6-4 195 Jr. 9.4 3.0 3.7 19 / 30.8
24 Travis Releford F 6-6 210 Jr. 9.7 4.3 1.7 19 / 30.8
Series History:
Kansas leads, 17-1
A&M streak: Lost 6
In Lawrence Kansas leads, 8-1
At Allen Fieldhouse Kansas leads, 8-1
In College Station Kansas leads, 7-0
At Reed Arena Kansas leads, 6-0
At Neutral Sites Kansas leads, 3-0
At Big 12 Tournament Kansas leads, 2-0
Longest A&M Win Streak 1 game
Longest Kansas Win Streak 11 games
Largest A&M Win 3 (69-66, 02/03/07)
Largest Kansas Win 40 (85-45, 02/26/03)
Billy Kennedy vs. Kansas never faced
Bill Self vs. A&M 9-3
- Monday marks the 19th meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1967.
- A&M's lone win in the series came at Allen Fieldhouse in a battle of top-10 teams back in 2007 ... the Aggies topped KU, 69-66.
- the Aggies battled with the second-ranked Jayhawks in last season's trip to Lawrence before KU pulled away late in a 64-51 victory.
- Kansas will make a return trip to Reed Arena later this season (Feb. 22) ... then No. 1-ranked KU escaped Reed with a 59-54 win in its last trip in 2010.
Date AM/Op Rk Site Score
1967 D16 -/ 4 Lawrence L 52-78
1997 J22 -/ 1 Lawrence L 60-89
1998 J14 -/ 3 College Station L 65-83
1999 J2 -/14 Lawrence L 57-95
2000 J17 -/ 7 College Station L 57-78
2001 J20 -/ 5 Lawrence L 70-100
2002 J26 -/ 2 College Station L 74-86
2003 F26 -/ 7 Lawrence L 45-85
2004 J17 -/12 College Station L 65-71
2005 J5 -/ 2 Lawrence L 60-65
2006 J25 College Station L 73-83
2007 F3 8 / 6 Lawrence W 69-66
2008 M8 -/ 5 College Station L 55-72
2008 M15 -/ 5 Kansas City L 71-77
2009 J19 Lawrence L 53-73
2010 F15 23/ 1 College Station L 54-59
2010 M12 23/ 1 Kansas City L 66-79
2011 M2 22/ 2 Lawrence L 51-64
Tale of the Tape
A&M KU
62.8 points/game 76.4
59.2 opp. points/game 60.4
+3.6 scoring margin +16.0
.439 field goal % .483
.380 opp. field goal % .370
.310 3-point % .354
37.6 rebounds 38.9
+4.5 rebound margin +7.6
12.6 assists 16.1
14.1 turnovers 13.7
5.4 steals 7.6
2.7 blocks 5.6
Quick Hits
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in several defensive categories (through Jan. 22): scoring defense and 3-point FG% defense; A&M ranks second in field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebound percentage and third in defensive rebounds.
- Through games of Jan. 19, Texas A&M ranked seventh nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 13th in 3-point FG% defense and 15th in scoring defense.
- Last Monday, A&M held then No. 5 Missouri-who came into the game ranked second nationally in shooting-to 40.4 percent from the floor, MU's second-lowest output of the year ... Missouri shot just 30 percent from the floor in the second half ... the Aggies held Texas Tech to 33.3 percent shooting on Jan. 14, 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.
- Texas A&M has placed 12 players in double figures over the last three games, including a season-high five vs Texas Tech.
- A&M's losses this year have come to teams with a combined 103-32 (.763) record (thru games of 1/21) ... four have come to teams currently ranked in the top 15, all away from home (#3 Baylor, #5 Missouri, #14 Florida, #15 Miss. State).
- The Aggies' conference road losses this year have come to Baylor, Texas and Missouri, squads that have combined to go 32-2 at home this season.
- A&M has already played two games against top-5 ranked opponents in Big 12 play-both on the road-through the first five games of the conference season ... the most top-10 foes the Aggies have ever faced in a Big 12 season is two ... A&M's next road venture is against another likely top-5 team in Kansas on Monday.
- Texas A&M has posted a 29-15 Big 12 record since February of 2009 (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 (40-4).
- The Aggies have won 51 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 (51-33 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 (528 of 1130, or 46.7%) ... 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.
Scouting Kansas
- Kansas is 16-3 on the year and is the only remaining unbeaten team in Big 12 play at 6-0 ... the Jayhawks are ranked No. 7 nationally in both polls (as of Jan. 16) ... KU has won 9 in a row, most recently a 69-66 win at Texas Saturday ... Kansas has won 16 in a row at Allen Fieldhouse, including a 10-0 home mark this season ... the Jayhawks have won seven straight Big 12 regular-season titles.
- KU leads the Big 12 in rebound margin (+8.4) ... the Jayhawks have outrebounded all but three teams this season ... Kansas is led by national player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson, who is the only player in the Big 12 Conference to average a double-double (17.7 points, 12.1 rebounds) ... Robinson ranks second in the league in scoring, with Tyshawn Taylor (16.5 ppg) ranking fifth.
- Bill Self is in his ninth season at KU with a 253-49 record, and is 460-154 in his 19th season overall ... Self has led the Jayhawks to 13 championships (seven Big 12 regular-season titles, five Big 12 Championships and one NCAA).
Sidebars
- A&M assistant Kyle Keller spent the last three seasons on Bill Self's staff at Kansas.
- Aggie director of operations Stephen Gentry is a native of Fort Scott.
Aggie Trends
- Texas A&M has come out of the gate well in its last four games ... over the first 10 minutes of games against Texas Tech, Missouri, Texas and OU, the Aggies have combined to out-score their foes 58-47 ... a closer look at the numbers:
A&M in first 10 minutes of play (last 4 games):
Opponent A&M FG% Opp FG% Opp TOs
@ Texas 40.0 (4-10) 22.2 (2-9) 4
Texas Tech 54.5 (6-11) 0.0 (0-8) 6
@ Missouri 46.7 (7-15) 30.8 (4-13) 4
Oklahoma 46.2 (6-13) 52.6 (10-19) 2
TOTAL 46.9 (23-49) 32.7 (16-49) 16
- Texas A&M's starting rotation has seen an increase in conference play ... in Big 12 play, A&M starters are averaging 29.1 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).
- A&M has averaged 20 bench points in its last 3 league games (2-1), after averaging just 9 bench points in the first 3 (0-3).
- The Aggies are averaging 3.2 blocks in Big 12 play (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 64.3 percent in Big 12 action ... A&M has connected at a 67 percent clip or better from the charity stripe in 4 of its 6 league contests.
- In its last three games, Texas A&M is shooting 65.6 percent from the free throw line (42-for-64) ... the Aggies began Saturday's game with Oklahoma 1-of-8 from the line but finished making 11 of its final 14 (78.6 percent).
- A&M is 6-1 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 7-0 this year when shooting more free throws than their opponent and 9-1 when out-rebounding them (loss is to Texas).
- A&M is averaging 2.7 blocks per game this year (48 blocks), up from last year's average of 1.5 (51 in 33 games).
- The Aggies have won 4 of their last 5 overtime games dating back to last season.
- A&M has won nearly 75 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (135-52, .722) ... the Aggies are 177-70 (.717) since the start of the '04-05 campaign.
Milestone Watch
- Senior Dash Harris (351 assists, 131 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 (1,052 points, 514 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 7 games, senior Dash Harris is averaging 8.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists ... Harris has scored in double figures in 5 of his last 8 outings ... he matched a career high with 14 in the win over Oklahoma (1/21).
- Senior Dash Harris leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in assists (4.1/game) ... he leads the squad, ranks third in the Big 12 and 43rd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) ... he was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list.
- Senior Dash Harris is second in the league in steals in conference games (2.3/game).
- Junior Elston Turner has scored 10-plus points in 15 of 18 games this year ... he did so just 9 times in 66 games in two seasons at Washington ... Turner scored a career-high 23 points against Oklahoma (1/21) ... he is in the top 10 of the Big 12 rankings in points, minutes, 3-point field goals and 3-point field goal percentage this season.
- In three games against ranked opponents, junior Elston Turner is averaging 18 points and 3 rebounds.
- Junior Naji Hibbert has hit 9 of his last 19 field goal attempts (47.4%), including 6 of 11 from behind the arc (54.5%) ... 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 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds off the bench in Big 12 play (5 games).
- Junior Ray Turner is averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds at home (12 games).
- Junior Ray Turner has scored 10-plus points in 12 of A&M's 18 games this year ... the Aggies are 9-3 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.
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)
Big 12 Bullets
- Texas A&M has posted a 29-15 Big 12 record since February of 2009 (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 (40-4).
- The Aggies have won 51 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 (51-33 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.
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. 23, 2002: Texas A&M upsets No. 24 Texas in Austin, 80-74 ... it marked the Aggies' first road win over the Horns since 1987.
- JAN. 25, 1997: A&M picks up its first-ever Big 12 victory, downing Kansas State 76-67 inside G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Up Next
- Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena to play three of its next four at home ... the Aggies will next play host to Oklahoma State on Saturday at Reed (3 p.m., Big 12 Network).
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