COLLEGE STATION—Texas A&M looks to make it three in a row at home on Saturday when the Aggies (11-8, 2-5) play host to Oklahoma State (10-10, 3-4) at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 3:01 p.m. (CT) and the game will air regionally on the Big 12 Network.
A&M is coming off a hard-fought 64-54 loss to No. 5 Kansas in Lawrence on Monday, while the Cowboys enter the game fresh off a 79-72 upset of No. 2 Missouri Wednesday in Stillwater. The game begins a stretch that will see the Aggies play three of their next four at home.
Texas A&M AGGIES (11-8, 2-5) vs Oklahoma State COWBOYS (10-10, 3-4)
Saturday, January 28, 2012 • 3:01 PM CT • TV: Big 12 Network
Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: Big 12 Network
Brad Sham, Play-by-Play
Reid Gettys, Commentary
Local: CW Texas (KBTX-DT 3.2)
ESPN Full Court: DirecTV 724/Dish 459
Big 12 TV Clearance List
Saturday's game will air regionally on the Big 12 Network. Clearance list is below:
National/Satellite
ESPN Full Court DirecTV 724 Dish 459
Altitude DirecTV 681 Dish 410
MASN DirecTV 640 Dish 432
YES Network DirecTV 631 —
Arkansas
Little Rock/Pine Bluff KARZ MNT
Ft Smith/Fayetteville/Spgdl/Rogers KFTA FOX
California
Los Angeles KDOC IND
Florida
Orlando/Daytona Bch/Melbrn Brighthouse RSN
Tampa/St Pete/Sarasota Brighthouse RSN
Iowa
Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Dubuque KFXA FOX
Des Moines/Ames WOI-DT ABC
Rochester/Mason City/Austin NIMT MNT
Kansas
Pittsburg/Joplin KFJX FOX
Topeka KSNT-DT NBC
Wichita/Hutchinson Plus KSAS FOX
Kentucky
Paducah/C Girardeau/Harrbg/Mt Vn WDKA MNT
Missouri
Columbia/Jefferson City KQFX FOX
Kansas City KMCI IND
St. Louis KPLR 11.2 TTV
Springfield KCZ CW
Mississippi
Meridian WTOK ABC
Nebraska
Omaha KXVO CW
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City KOCB CW
Tulsa KTUL-DT ABC
Rhode Island
Providence/New Bedford COX-NE COX
Texas
Abilene/Sweetwater KIDZ-LP MNT
Amarillo KCPN MNT
Austin KBVO MNT
Beaumont/Port Arthur KBMT ABC
Bryan/College Station CW TEXAS CW
Corpus Christi KIII-D2 MNT
Dallas/Ft Worth KTXA IND
Houston KUBE IND
Lubbock KJTV FOX
Odessa/Midland KOSA-DT2 MNT
San Angelo KIDY FOX
San Antonio KCWX CW
Sherman/Ada OK KXII-DT2 MNT
Tyler/Longview/Lufkin/Ncgd KFXK FOX
Tyler/Longview/Lufkin/Ncgd KFXL-LP FOX
Waco/Temple/Killeen CW TEXAS CW
Wisconsin
La Crosse/Eau Claire KQEG FMN
Milwaukee WMLW IND
West Virginia
Parkersburg WTAP-DT3 MNT
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 85
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
Snapshot: Texas A&M
Record: 11-8, 2-5 Big 12
Ranking: NR
Streak: Lost 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 2-3 / 3-7
at Home: 10-2
Last Game: lost to (#5) Kansas (A), 64-54 (Mon.)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 222-187 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 11-8 (first year)
vs. OSU: 0-2
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
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 171 Sr. 5.8 3.0 4.3 19 / 29.8
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 10.7 4.5 0.5 19 / 26.3
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 14.3 3.5 2.1 19 / 31.9
Snapshot: Oklahoma State
Record: 10-10, 3-4 Big 12
Ranking: NR
Streak: Won 1
Last 5 / Last 10: 2-3 / 4-6
on the Road: 2-8
Last Game: def. (#2) Missouri (H), 79-72 (Wed).
Head Coach: Travis Ford (Kentucky '94)
Record: 265-193 (15th year)
at OSU: 75-47 (fourth year)
vs. Texas A&M: 2-4
Oklahoma State Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
2 Le'Bryan Nash F 6-7 230 Fr. 13.2 4.9 1.3 20 / 28.8
4 Brian Williams G 6-5 205 RFr. 6.9 3.0 0.5 19 / 21.4
12 Keiton Page G 5-9 165 Sr. 14.7 1.7 2.0 19 / 34.1
20 Michael Cobbins F 6-8 220 RFr. 5.1 4.9 1.4 20 / 23.1
22 Markel Brown G 6-3 190 So. 8.6 5.1 2.0 20 / 27.9
Series History: OSU leads, 30-16
A&M streak: Won 3
In College Station: Oklahoma State leads, 12-10
At Reed Arena: Oklahoma State leads, 7-6
In Stillwater: Oklahoma State leads, 13-4
At Gallagher-Iba Arena: Oklahoma State leads, 13-3
At Neutral Sites: Oklahoma State leads, 5-2
At Big 12 Tournament: Oklahoma State leads, 1-0
Longest A&M Win Streak: 5 games
Longest Oklahoma State Win Streak: 11 games
Largest A&M Win: 23 (71-48, 01/12/11)
Largest OSU Win: 35 (100-65, 01/03/98)
Billy Kennedy vs. Oklahoma State: 0-2
Travis Ford vs. A&M: 2-4
• the series dates back to the 1917-18 season ... Saturday's game will mark the 47th between the schools, making it the 10th most played rivalry in A&M history.
• last year, the Aggies swept the season series with OSU for only the fourth time in school history and the first time since 2007 ... A&M cruised to a 71-48 win at Reed Arena in the home Big 12 opener for the Aggies, then escaped Stillwater later in the year with a 67-66 victory.
• Oklahoma State has won 7 of the 13 all-time meetings at Reed, but has lost 3 straight ... the Pokes' last win in College Station came in 2008 (59-54).
• Billy Kennedy's two meetings with OSU came in the 2005 NCAA First Round, while at Southeastern Louisiana, and in the final round of the 76 Classic last fall while at Murray State.
Last 10 Meetings:
Date AM/Op Rk Site Score
— complete series history can be found in media fact book —
2007 F21 8 /— Stillwater W 66-46
2007 M9 7 /— Oklahoma City L 56-57
2008 J26 16/— Stillwater W 59-56
2008 F16 16/— College Station L 54-59
2009 J10 Stillwater L 61-72
2009 J31 College Station W 76-64
2010 J27 Stillwater L 69-76
2010 M3 23/— College Station W 76-61
2011 J12 13/— College Station W 71-48
2011 F19 17/— Stillwater W 67-66
Tale of the Tape
A&M OSU
62.3 points/game 66.6
59.4 opp. points/game 66.2
+2.9 scoring margin +0.5
.438 field goal % .418
.382 opp. field goal % .395
.322 3-point % .319
37.0 rebounds 34.8
+4.1 rebound margin -3.9
12.5 assists 10.8
14.2 turnovers 13.2
5.4 steals 6.3
2.5 blocks 4.9
Quick Hits
• The Aggies lead the Big 12 in three defensive categories (through Jan. 27): scoring defense, 3-point FG% defense and defensive rebound percentage; A&M ranks second in field-goal percentage defense and third in defensive rebounds.
• Through games of Jan. 22, Texas A&M ranked 12th nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 10th in 3-point FG% defense and 19th in scoring defense.
• A&M held No. 5 Kansas to 64 points on Monday, a low for the Jayhawks this year at Allen Fieldhouse and 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.
• The Aggies tied a Big 12 season high with 7 three-pointers 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 16 nationally, all away from home (#2 Missouri, #5 Kansas, #6 Baylor, #13 Florida, #16 Miss. State).
• The Aggies' conference road losses this year have come to Baylor, Texas, Missouri and Kansas, squads that have combined to go 44-3 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)
• Texas A&M has posted a 29-16 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 (41-4).
• 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 (51-34 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 (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 Oklahoma State
• Oklahoma State is 10-10 on the year and sits in sixth place in the Big 12 standings at 3-4 ... the Cowboys pulled off a big upset in their last action, knocking off No. 2 Missouri 79-72 on Wednesday inside Gallagher-Iba Arena ... it was OSU's first win over a team ranked that high since 1995 ... the Cowboys shot a season-best 59.6 percent from the floor and were led by Le'Bryan Nash's career-high 27 points.
• Leading the way offensively for Oklahoma State are senior G Keiton Page (14.7 ppg) and Nash (13.2 ppg) ... the Cowboys are one of the league's top blocking teams, averaging 4.9 per game.
• Travis Ford is in his fourth season at OSU with a 75-47 record, and has amassed 265 victories in 15 seasons as a head coach.
Sidebars
• Aggie associate head coach Glynn Cyprien spent four seasons with Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State (2000-04), helping lead the Cowboys to 97 wins and four straight NCAA Tournaments, including a trip to the 2004 Final Four in San Antonio.
• A&M assistant Kyle Keller spent nine seasons at OSU (1999-2008) on the staffs of Eddie and Shawn Sutton ... he was on the Cowboys' staff for an Elite Eight run in 2000 and a trip to the Final Four in 2004.
Aggie Trends
• The Aggies have improved shot selection and offensive execution over the last 4 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 2-2 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 4 Games (2-2) 50.3 44.8 40.7 65.3 63.2
Change -9.0 +12.2 +15.7 +3.5 +12.2
• 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
* 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 29.5 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 16.5 bench points in its last 4 league games (2-2), 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 64.2 percent in Big 12 action ... A&M has connected at a 67 percent clip or better from the charity stripe in 4 of its 7 league contests.
• In its last three games, Texas A&M is shooting 65.3 percent from the free throw line (49-for-75) ... 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 shooting 70 percent from the line in the second half of Big 12 games (42-of-60) ... the Aggies have shot just 51.4 percent in the first half (19-of-37).
• 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 10-1 this year when leading at halftime (loss at Kansas) 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 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 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 2.5 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 over 70 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (135-53, .718) ... the Aggies are 177-71 (.714) since the start of the ‘04-05 campaign.
Player Notables
Dash Harris
• 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).
Elston Turner
• Over his last 2 games, is averaging 23.5 pts, 5 rebs and 4 assists ... leads the Big 12 in 3-pt FGs in league play (2.7/game).
• In four games against ranked opponents, is averaging 19.5 points and 3.8 rebounds.
• has scored 10-plus points in 8 straight games and in 16 of 19 overall this year ... he did so just 9 times in 66 games in two seasons at Washington ... Turner 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) ... 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.
Naji Hibbert
• avg 6.5 pts over last 4 games ... earned his first start of the season and second of his career at No. 5 Kansas on Monday.
• has hit 10 of his last 22 field goal attempts (45.5%), 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.
David Loubeau
• 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 3 games, Loubeau is averaging 13.7 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 (1,067 points, 521 rebounds).
Ray Turner
• averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds at home (12 games).
• averaging 7 points and 5.7 rebounds off the bench in Big 12 play (6 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.
Daniel Alexander
• matched a season (and career) high with 6 points, coming on a career-best 2 treys, in A&M's game at No. 5 Kansas.
• in his last 4 games, is shooting 57% from the floor (4-for-7) and 67% from behind the arc (4-for-6).
• 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.
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 29-16 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 (41-4).
• 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 (51-34 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. 25, 1997: A&M picks up its first-ever Big 12 victory, downing Kansas State 76-67 inside G. Rollie White Coliseum.
• 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.
Up Next
• Texas A&M continues home action on Wednesday when the Aggies host No. 7 Baylor (8 p.m., ESPN).
