The The Texas A&M men's basketball team will open up Big 12 play Saturday night against Oklahoma State. Tip-off is set for 8:00pm at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Series Notes

Oklahoma State leads the series, 28-12, with a 12-4 mark in Stillwater and an 11-2 record at Gallagher-Iba.

A&M has won two straight at Gallagher-Iba Arena, the first team to do that since Texas in 2001 and 2002. The last time a team won three straight in Stillwater was Kansas, which won four straight from 1985-88.

A&M has won four of the last six meetings overall.

The Aggies posted a 59-56 win last year in Stillwater, but OSU won the return trip in College Station, 59-54.

Key Game Notes

The Aggies are 2-10 in Big 12 openers but have won two straight (both at home). A&M beat Kansas State (69-65) in 2007 and Colorado (86-69) last season.

The last time A&M opened Big 12 play on the road was in 2005, when it lost a nail-biter at Kansas, 65-60.

The Aggies have won 10 straight – tied for the fourth-longest winning streak nationally – and are coming off a 76-62 win against North Dakota at home on Monday.

Oklahoma State has won six straight and is coming off an 83-56 win against Savannah State at home on Tuesday.

A&M is 2-0 in true road games and is 4-1 in all games away from College Station.

Oklahoma State is 8-0 at home.

Mark Turgeon’s 39-12 record is the second-best coaching start in Big 12 history through 51 games. Kansas’ Bill Self was 41-10 in 2003-05.

Sidebars

A&M assistant coach Alvin “Pooh” Williamson is from Beggs, Okla., which is located just south of Tulsa. He led Beggs HS to two Class 2A state titles before going on to star at Tulsa from 1992-95. Williamson led Tulsa to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994 and 1995. He was an assistant at Tulsa from 2001-05 and served as interim head coach in 2004-05.

Oklahoma State guards Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris are from Dallas and grew up playing against A&M’s Josh Carter, Bryan Davis, Donald Sloan and Derrick Roland. Harris and Carter were teammates as juniors at Lake Highlands HS.

A&M sophomore guard Derrek Lewis is from Tulsa, where he led Union HS to a 26-1 record and the state semifinals in 2007. He led Cascia Hall HS to the state finals as a junior in 2006.

About Oklahoma State

The Cowboys are in their first season under Head Coach Travis Ford, who came to OSU after three seasons at Massachusetts. Ford was a standout point guard at Kentucky in the early 1990s.

Oklahoma State finished 17-16 last season and placed seventh in the Big 12 with a 7-9 mark.

The Cowboys’ three losses this season were to No. 9 Gonzaga (83-71), No. 5 Michigan State (94-79) and at Washington (83-65).

Sophomore guard James Anderson (6-6) ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring with an 18.4 average. Senior guard Terrel Harris (6-5) averages 14.7 points and leads the league in three-point percentage (.489).

Senior guard Byron Eaton (5-10) adds 12.9 points, leads the Big 12 in steals (2.6) and ranks second in assists (6.1). Junior guard Obi Muonelo (6-5) averages 15.4 points and ranks third in the conference in rebounding (9.6)

The Cowboys lead the Big 12 in scoring (85.9), three-point percentage (.424) and three-point field goals per game (10.7). They are second in free throw percentage (.730).

Last Time They Met

COLLEGE STATION (AP, Feb. 16, 2008) - Byron Eaton had 17 points, including two free throws with nine seconds left, to lead Oklahoma State to a 59-54 victory over No. 16 Texas A&M on Saturday, breaking a 19-game road losing streak. The win broke a 16-game conference road losing streak for the Cowboys and snapped a five-game winning streak for the Aggies. Dominique Kirk made one of two free throws to bring A&M within 55-53 with just over a minute to play. Derrick Roland stole the ball from Eaton with less than a minute to play and Donald Sloan looked like he was on the way to an easy layup before Terrel Harris came from behind for the block. Obi Muonelo made two free throws after the Aggies were forced to foul to make it 57-53 with 16 seconds left. Sloan made the second of two free throws with 11 seconds left to cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 57-54, before Eaton ensured the win with his free throws.

Last Year in Stillwater

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP, Jan. 26, 2008) - Dominique Kirk hit the go-ahead free throws with 44 seconds left, and No. 18 Texas A&M snapped their three-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State 59-56. The Aggies held Oklahoma State scoreless after James Anderson’s free throw with 2:52 to play made it 56-53. A&M’s Donald Sloan, who was fouled after grabbing a rebound, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 before Anderson, Oklahoma State’s leading scorer, missed a 3-pointer that could have put the Cowboys on top. Bryan Davis made two free throws for the Aggies with 3.9 seconds left, and Sloan stole Oklahoma State’s inbounds pass after a timeout and tossed it into the rafters to end the game. Josh Carter scored 13 points to lead A&M. Kirk and Joseph Jones added 11 points apiece. Anderson led Oklahoma State with 15 points.

North Dakota Recap

COLLEGE STATION (AP) - Chinemelu Elonu scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds as Texas A&M defeated North Dakota 76-62 Monday night. Josh Carter scored a game-high 18 points for the Aggies (14-1). Donald Sloan and B.J. Holmes had 14 each. A&M, which led throughout, made 23 of 28 free throws. North Dakota (8-6) pulled within four at 37-33 three minutes into the second half on Derek Benter’s 3-pointer. But Holmes responded with two 3-pointers over the next two minutes to shove the Aggies’ lead back to double digits at 43-33. Following Benter’s 3-pointer, the Aggies outscored the Fighting Sioux 19-5 over the next 10 minutes to put away their 10th consecutive victory. Travis Bledsoe led North Dakota with 13 points. The Aggies led by 14 with 3:46 remaining in the first half, but North Dakota outscored A&M 10-2 down the stretch to only trail 33-27 at halftime.

Inside Dish

Senior Josh Carter owns the school record for career three-point field goals with 254, which ranks eighth in Big 12 history. The old A&M mark was 232 by Bernard King (1999-03). Carter is the most accurate three-point shooter in school history, making 41.9 percent. He led the nation in 2006-07 by making 50.0 percent.

Carter leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.877, 57-65), 11th-best nationally among players with at least 65 attempts. The school record for a season is .865 by Mike Floyd in 1974-75. A&M is 69-11 when Carter scores in double figures.

Carter has had three 20-point games this season, and scored 19 in the win against LSU. He is averaging a team-best 13.9 points. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, he was a second-team preseason selection.

Carter has started in 85 straight games -- every game since the start of his sophomore season. He has played in 116 career games and is on track to break the school record of 132 by Dominique Kirk (2004-08).

Carter and Oklahoma State’s Terrel Harris were teammates as juniors at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas.

Junior Bryan Davis scored 18 points with 10 rebounds in the win at Rice. He ranks second on the team in rebounds (6.5) and blocks (20). Davis was named to the all-tournament team at the South Padre Island Invitational. A&M is 20-3 when Davis scores in double figures.

Junior Donald Sloan has started in 51 straight games since the start of his sophomore year (2007-08). He has scored in double figures in eight of the last 11 games and tied his career-high with 21 points against Florida A&M. Sloan leads the team in assists (3.6). A&M is 34-4 when Sloan hands out at least 3 assists.

Junior Chinemelu Elonu has had a team-high four double-doubles this season and in the last seven games has averaged 12.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Elonu’s season field goal percentage of .679 ranks fourth nationally (min. 80 FGA). A&M is 19-0 when Elonu scores at least 6 points and is 21-0 when he has at least 5 rebounds.

Sophomore B.J. Holmes has averaged 10.3 points in the last 12 games while making 43.6 percent (24-55) from three-point range. Holmes hit a rainbow three-pointer with two seconds left to send the Alabama game into overtime. He scored a career-high 16 points against Alabama and added 14 against Arizona. A&M is 10-0 in his career when he scores at least 8 points and is 20-2 when he makes at least one three-pointer. He’s made a three-pointer in 13 straight games.

Junior Derrick Roland had scored at least 7 points in four straight games before playing just 10 minutes against McNeese State and missing the North Dakota game because of an elbow injury. Roland is regarded as one of the country’s top defenders and held Arizona’s Chase Budinger to just 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting in the second half of A&M’s come-from-behind victory. A&M is 15-3 when he scores at least 6 points in his career.

Sophomore Nate Walkup has become the Aggies’ new “Mr. Clutch” for making big shots in tight games. His trey against Arizona with 20 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. He hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left at Alabama, which set up B.J. Holmes trey at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime. Walkup also hit key baskets late in close games against Stephen F. Austin, SMU and Rice.

Freshman Dash Harris has had 14 assists with just three turnovers in the last three games and scored a career-high 6 points against North Dakota. He has averaged 21.5 minutes in the last two games.

In the last seven games, A&M’s opponents are averaging just 56.9 points per game on 40.0 percent field goal shooting, including only 32.5 percent from three-point range.

The Aggies made just 64.5 percent from the free throw line through the first five games but have made 76.0 percent in the last 10 games. A&M ranked last in the Big 12 last year at .633 but are fourth this season at 71.7 percent. A&M set Big 12 and A&M records for free throw percentage by making 20-of-20 against Florida A&M.

The Aggies are 38-of-42 (.905) from the free throw line in the last two minutes of “close games,” which are defined as games within 10 points. In the last eight games, the Aggies are 29-of-32 (.906) in “crunch time.

A&M has posted an average scoring margin of +9.9 points per game. The Aggie are out-scoring their opponents by an average of 7.8 points per game from the free throw line, the most in the Big 12.

The Aggies rallied from 14-point deficits to beat Arizona and Alabama. A&M was five points down with 15 seconds left in regulation against Alabama, but came back to win in overtime.

A&M had just 4 turnovers (16 assists) against Arizona, a school record for fewest in a game. A&M is averaging just 12.0 turnovers per game, second fewest in the Big 12. A&M is 11-0 when it has 15 or fewer turnovers this season.

A&M’s 77 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (82).

A&M is 66-19 (.777) in the last three seasons, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country in that span.

A&M has scored at least 22 points in the paint in all 15 games, averaging 31.5 points in the paint per game.