Tickets are still available for those looking to attend the game. A limited number of upper-level seats are available for $10 by logging on to tickets.12thmanfoundation.com.
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GAME 21
Texas A&M AGGIES (12-8, 3-5) vs (#6/6) Baylor BEARS (19-2, 6-2)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 • 8:05 PM CT • TV: ESPN2 HD
Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas
Media
Coverage
TELEVISION: ESPN2 HD
Jon Sciambi, Play-by-Play
Fran Fraschilla, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 136
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 12-8, 3-5 Big 12
Ranking: NR
Streak: Won 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 3-2 / 4-6
at Home: 11-2
Last Game: def. Oklahoma St (H), 76-61 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 223-187 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 12-8 (first year)
vs. Baylor: 0-1
A&M Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
2 Naji Hibbert G 6-5 192 Jr. 3.3 2.2 0.9 15 / 17.1
4 Keith Davis C 6-10 231 So. 1.4 4.1 0.7b 19 / 17.5
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 10.7 4.5 0.5 19 / 26.3
13 Jordan Green G 6-4 181 Fr. 3.6 2.1 1.4 20 / 17.2
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 14.3 3.5 2.1 19 / 31.9
Snapshot: Baylor
Record: 19-2, 6-2 Big 12
Ranking: 6th (AP), 6th (USAT/ESPN)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 3-2 / 8-2
on the Road: 8-1
Last Game: def. Texas (H), 76-71 (Sat.)
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler '93)
Record: 166-129 (10th year)
at Baylor: 146-118 (ninth year)
vs. Texas A&M: 8-9
Baylor
Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
1 Perry Jones III F 6-11 235 So. 14.7 7.9 1.2 16 / 31.3
4 Quincy Acy F 6-7 235 Sr. 12.6 6.9 2.4b 21 / 29.0
5 Brady Heslip G 6-2 180 So. 10.0 1.4 1.3 21 / 26.0
30 Quincy Miller F 6-9 210 Fr. 12.8 5.0 1.7 20 / 25.9
55 Pierre Jackson G 5-10 180 Jr. 12.5 3.0 6.0 21 / 28.2
Series
History: Texas A&M leads, 127-77
A&M Streak: Lost 4
In College Station: A&M leads, 74-29
At Reed Arena: A&M leads, 9-4
In Waco: A&M leads, 50-46
At Ferrell Center: BU leads, 13-11
At Neutral Sites: A&M leads, 3-2
At Big 12 Tournament: BU leads, 1-0
Longest A&M Win Streak: 11 games
Longest BU Win Streak: 8 games
Largest A&M Win: 42 (52-10, 1919-20)
Largest BU Win: 52 (97-45, 02/03/02)
Billy Kennedy vs. Baylor: 0-1
Scott Drew vs. A&M: 8-9
- the series is the second most-played in school history, with Wednesday marking the 205th meeting between the long-time conference rivals:
Opponent Games Opponent Games
1. Texas 221 6. Arkansas 147
2. Baylor 204 7. Texas Tech 125
3. Rice 188 8. Houston 83
4. SMU 177 Sam Houston State 83
5. TCU 164 10. Oklahoma State 47
- A&M dropped this season's first meeting, 61-52, to the then 4th-ranked Bears in Waco on Jan. 2.
- The last 6 meetings have been decided by an average of 5.5 points.
- A&M has beaten BU 8 of the last 11 times the two have faced off in College Station ... Baylor's 3 wins over that span have all come in overtime ... the Bears downed A&M 76-74 in OT in last year's trip to Reed.
- the teams have met at least twice in each of the last 81 seasons ... the last time the Aggies and Bears did not play in basketball was the 1929-30 campaign.
- A&M has played 11 overtime games against Baylor, more than any other opponent.
- 88 miles separate the two arenas.
Last 10 Meetings:
Date AM/Op Rk Site Score
- complete series history can be found in media fact book -
2007 J9 8 /- Waco W 61-51
2007 F24 8 /- College Station W 97-87
2008 J23 16/25 College Station (5 OT) L 110-116
2008 M5 Waco W 71-57
2009 J14 -/21 College Station W 84-73
2009 F14 Waco L 68-72
2010 F6 -/20 College Station W 78-71
2010 F24 22/24 Waco L 66-70
2011 F5 16/- College Station (OT) L 74-76
2011 F26 17/- Waco L 51-58
2012 J2 -/ 4 Waco L 52-61
Tale
of the Tape
A&M BU
63.0 points/game 78.0
59.5 opp. points/game 63.4
+3.5 scoring margin +14.7
.445 field goal % .494
.382 opp. field goal % .396
.319 3-point % .411
36.7 rebounds 37.2
+3.9 rebound margin +5.3
12.8 assists 16.1
14.1 turnovers 15.1
5.5 steals 8.4
2.4 blocks 6.8
Quick
Hits
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in two defensive categories (through Jan. 29): 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. 29, Texas A&M ranked 11th nationally in field-goal percentage defense, eighth in 3-point FG% defense and 25th in scoring defense.
- The Aggie defense held OSU to 37.9 percent from the floor (22-of-58) in Saturday's 76-61 win ... the Cowboys hit 10 of their first 17 shots in opening up a 7-point lead in the first half, but A&M held OSU to 29.3 percent the rest of the game (12-of-41) en route to victory ... 37.9% was Oklahoma State's second-lowest shooting output in Big 12 play.
- A&M shot 58.3 percent from the field against OSU, a Big 12 season high and the second highest this season (65.4 vs Liberty, 11/9) ... it marked the highest FG% by an Aggie team in Big 12 play since 2009 (62 percent vs Missouri, 3/7/09).
- A&M's field goal percentages of 57.1 (first) and 59.3 (second) were the team's two best halves in Big 12 play this year.
- A&M dished out a Big 12-high 18 assists in the win over the Cowboys on 28 made buckets.
- A&M held No. 5 Kansas to 64 points on Jan. 23, a low for the Jayhawks this year at Allen Fieldhouse and (at the time) KU's third lowest scoring output of the season (61 vs Duke, 63 at USC) ... the Aggies held Kansas to 42.6 percent from the floor, KU's lowest output in Big 12 play and its fourth-lowest overall on the year.
- A&M tied a Big 12 season high with 7 three-pointers at KU and were one shy of their season high from beyond the arc.
- Five of A&M's eight losses this year have come to teams currently ranked in the top 20 nationally, all away from home (#4 Missouri, #6 Baylor, #8 Kansas,#11 Florida, #19 Miss. State).
- The Aggies' conference road losses this year have come to Baylor, Texas, Missouri and Kansas, squads that have combined to go 46-3 at home.
- A&M has already played three games against top-5 ranked opponents in Big 12 play-all on the road-through the first seven games of the conference season ... the only other year A&M had three top-5 teams on the Big 12 slate was 2003:
most ranked opponents in single season, Big 12 play:
Category Games (Year)
Top 5 Opponents 3 (2012, 2003); 2 (2011, 2010, 2009, 2002)
Top 10 Opponents 4 (2005); 3 (2012, 2011, 2008, 2002)
Top 25 Opponents 7 (2005, 2004, 2002, 2000); 6 (2010, 2003, 2001)
- Baylor (No. 6) will mark the fourth top-10 team already that A&M has faced in Big 12 play, tying a school record (see above).
- Texas A&M has posted a 30-16 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 (41-5).
- The Aggies have won 52 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 (52-34 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 (558 of 1206, or 46.3%) ... 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).
- 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.
- The Aggies are the only Big 12 team to win at least 15 home games for the last seven consecutive seasons.
- A&M has won 44 of its last 49 home games, including 19 of its last 23 in Big 12 play ... the Aggies are 57-7 at home since the start of the 2008-09 season with a 22-6 mark in conference games.
- The Aggies are 91-12 (.883) at home since the start of the 2006-07 season and are 124-17 (.879) since the start of the 2004-05 campaign.
Scouting
Baylor
- Baylor is 19-2 on the year and sits in second place in the Big 12 at 6-2 ... the Bears are ranked sixth nationally in both major polls ... BU has won 2 straight after suffering its only losses of the year, back-to-back setbacks at No. 7 Kansas and home to No. 5 Missouri ... Baylor is coming off a 76-71 win over Texas in Waco on Saturday.
- The Bears have five players averaging double figures: Perry Jones III (14.7), Quincy Miller (12.8), Quincy Acy (12.6), Pierre Jackson (12.5) and Brady Heslip (10.0) ... Baylor is second in the Big 12 in scoring (78.0 ppg) and ranks third in scoring defense (63.4 ppg).
- Scott Drew is in his ninth season in Waco with a record of 146-118, and 10th year overall with 166 career wins.
Aggie
Trends
- The Aggies have improved shot selection and offensive execution over the last 5 games of Big 12 play, and the offensive improvement shows in the numbers ... A&M has seen its shots start to fall on a more consistent basis over that span ... after opening league play 0-3, A&M is 3-2 on the stretch with both losses coming to No. 5-ranked teams on the road (Mizzou, KU).
Offensive Improvement
Big 12 Stretch (Record) FGA FG % 3-Pt % FT % PPG
First 3 Games (0-3) 59.3 32.6 25.0 61.8 51.0
Last 5 Games (3-2) 49.8 47.4 37.8 67.0 65.8
Change -9.5 +14.8 +12.8 +5.2 +14.8
- A&M's defensive effort has been strong through a very tough Big 12 schedule thus far ... the Aggies have allowed just one Big 12 foe to score more points than its season average (Oklahoma, who needed OT to do so) ... A&M has allowed only two teams to shoot higher than their season average from the floor (Iowa State and Oklahoma).
Aggie Defense in Big 12 Play
Opponent FG% (entering) FG% (game) PPG (entering) Pts (game)
@ Baylor 49.0 39.2 77.6 61
Iowa St 46.0 46.7 76.4 74
@ Texas 45.0 43.9 76.7 61
Texas Tech 47.2 33.3 65.3 54
@ Missouri 51.2 40.4 83.9 70
Oklahoma 43.6 49.2 73.3 75*
@ Kansas 48.3 42.6 76.4 64
Oklahoma State 41.8 37.9 66.6 61
* in OT (65 in regulation)
- Texas A&M's starting rotation has seen lots of action in conference play ... in Big 12 games, 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).
- A&M has averaged 18.2 bench points in its last 5 league games (3-2), after averaging just 9 in the first 3 (0-3).
- 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 65.6 percent in Big 12 action ... A&M has connected at a 67 percent clip or better from the charity stripe in 5 of its 8 league contests.
- In its last four games, Texas A&M is shooting 67.1 percent from the free throw line (65-for-97) ... the Aggies began the Jan. 21 game with Oklahoma 1-of-8 from the line but finished making 11 of its final 14 (78.6 percent).
- A&M is shooting 71.2 percent from the line in the second half of Big 12 games (52-of-73) ... the Aggies have shot just 54.3 percent in the first half (25-of-46).
- A&M is averaging 15 assists in its last 3 games, after averaging 7.8 over the first 5 games of Big 12 play.
- A&M is 7-1 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 11-1 this year when leading at halftime (loss at Kansas) and 11-0 when leading with 5 minutes to play.
- A&M is 10-1 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field (loss at 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 8-0 this year when shooting more free throws than their opponent and 9-1 when out-rebounding them (loss is to Texas).
- A&M has already bested last year's total for blocks, and done so in just 20 games ... the Aggies are averaging 2.7 blocks per game this year (53 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 over 70 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (136-53, .720) ... the Aggies are 178-71 (.715) since the start of the '04-05 campaign.
Player
Notables
- joins Phil Pressey (Missouri) and Pierre Jackson (Baylor) as the only players ranked in the top 7 of the Big 12 statistics in both assists and steals.
- over his last 8 games, is averaging 7.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists ... Harris has scored in double figures in 5 of his last 9 outings ... he matched a career high with 14 in the win over Oklahoma (1/21).
- leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in assists (4.3/game) ... he leads the squad, ranks third in the Big 12 and 54th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) ... he was named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list.
- is third in the league in steals in conference games (2.3/game).
- moved into the top 10 in school history in career assists and steals in win over Texas Tech (Jan. 14) ... ranks ninth in both categories (358 assists, 133 steals) ... he is one of only 8 players in A&M history to record 300 assists and 100 steals (list on page 9).
- Over his last 3 games, is averaging 23.3 pts, 4.3 rebs and 4.3 assists ... scored a then career-high 23 points against Oklahoma (1/21) then bested it 2 days later with 24 at No. 5 Kansas (1/23) and poured in 23 vs Oklahoma State (1/28) ... became the first Aggie since Acie Law in 2007 to score 20-plus in three straight Big 12 games (31 vs Baylor on 2/24/07, 33 at Texas on 2/28, 20 vs Missouri on 3/3).
- In four games against ranked opponents, is averaging 19.5 points and 3.8 rebounds.
- averaging 17.5 points per game in Big 12 play, fourth-best in the league.
- has scored 10-plus points in 9 straight games and in 17 of 20 overall this year ... he did so just 9 times in 66 games in two seasons at Washington ... 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.
- avg 6.2 pts over last 5 games ... has started last 2 games ... earned his first start of the season and second of his career at No. 5 Kansas (1/23).
- has hit 12 of his last 25 field goal attempts (48.0%), including 7 of 12 from behind the arc (58.3%) ... Hibbert began the year 9-for-30 (30%) from the field and 1-of-13 (7.7%) from long distance.
- After averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds through the first 4 games of Big 12 play, has benefitted from A&M's improved offensive execution ... in his last 4 games, Loubeau is averaging 13.5 points and 5 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 (1,080 points, 526 rebounds).
- averaging 12.4 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds at home (13 games).
- averaging 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds off the bench in Big 12 play (7 games).
- has scored 10-plus points in 12 of A&M's 19 games this year ... the Aggies are 9-3 in those contests.
- 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.
- strong 31 minutes of play against OSU after getting the starting nod ... scored 8 points on 4-of-6 shooting, a personal best in Big 12 play ... primary focus was limiting Cowboys' guard Keiton Page (entered 14.7 ppg), and held him to 2-of-13 from the floor and 9 total points.
- scored a career-high 11 against Oklahoma State on 5-of-6 shooting, while leading team with 6 rebounds ... in his last 5 games, is shooting 69.2% from the floor (9-for-13) and 62.5% from behind the arc (5-for-8).
- matched a then season (and career) high with 6 points, coming on a career-best 2 treys, in A&M's game at No. 5 Kansas.
- 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.
- reserve senior walk-on point guard played 21 minutes against OSU in lieu of injured Dash Harris, dishing out 3 assists, posting 0 turnovers and grabbing 4 rebounds ... took the floor against the Cowboys with a total of 6 career minutes of action in 8 games played.
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) thru 7 games Final Record Postseason
2004-05 Billy Gillispie (1st) 3-4 8-8 NIT (Quarterfinals)
2005-06 Billy Gillispie (2nd) 2-5 9-7 NCAA (2nd Round)
2008-09 Mark Turgeon (2nd) 3-4 9-7 NCAA (2nd Round)
Big
12 Bullets
- Texas A&M has posted a 30-16 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 (41-5).
- The Aggies have won 52 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 (52-34 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. 30, 1982: Texas A&M upsets No. 5 Texas in Austin, 71-69, marking the program's first-ever win over a top-5 ranked team.
- FEB. 2, 2000: A&M connects on a school-record 13 3-pointers against Baylor.
- FEB. 3, 2007: The Aggies record one of the biggest wins in program history, knocking off No. 6 Kansas 69-66 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
Aggie
Basketball Reunion
- The Aggie basketball team will be holding a reunion for all former players and letterwinners Feb. 17 and 18 in conjunction with the Missouri game ... interested parties are asked to log on to the men's basketball page at aggieathletics.com for more information or contact Cathy Capps in the Lettermen's Association at ccapps@athletics.tamu.edu.
Up
Next
- Texas A&M heads to Manhattan for a Saturday showdown with Kansas State (3 p.m., Big 12 Network) ... the Aggies then have another quick turnaround for their fourth and final Monday game of the Big 12 season, against Texas (8 p.m., ESPN) at Reed Arena.