Building Champions
 Aggies Ready to face Samford Friday

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Naji Hibbert

Naji Hibbert

Nov. 19, 2009

College Station, Texas - Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena Friday to play host to the Samford Bulldogs at 7 p.m.

GAME #3
Texas A&M Aggies
(2-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Samford Bulldogs
(0-3, 0-0 Southern Conference)

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
7:05 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989 cap.)
College Station, Texas

TELEVISION: None

RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
http://www.aggieathletics.com/multimedia/aggies-on-the-radio.html
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Sirius Satellite Radio: Channel 125

WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO (Wednesday): http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111809aaa.html

Texas A&M Aggies
Record: 2-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: Receiving votes (AP and Coaches)
Last Game: Beat SMU, 80-68, Monday in Dallas
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas ‘87)
                Record: 204-140 (12th year)
                at Texas A&M: 51-21 (3rd year)
                vs. Samford: 1-3


 

 

Projected Texas A&M Starters
No.         Player                                   Pos.       Ht.          Wt.         Cl.           PPG       RPG       APG
5              Dash Harris                         G             6-1          175         So          6.0          2.5          2.5      
15           Donald Sloan                      G             6-3          205         Sr            19.0       4.0          4.0         
3              Derrick Roland                   G             6-4          190         Sr           16.5        2.5         2.5
45           Nate Walkup                      F              6-7          210         Jr            3.5           4.5          --
0              Bryan Davis                         F              6-9          250         Sr           13.0        6.0          --

Off the Bench
10           David Loubeau                  F              6-8          230         So.          13.5        7.0          --
11           B.J. Holmes                         G             5-11       175         Jr             7.0          2.0          --
22           Khris Middleton                F              6-7          215         Fr           1.0          5.5          --
23           Naji Hibbert                        G             6-6          200         Fr           3.5          0.5          --

Samford Bulldogs
Record: 0-3 (0-0 Southern Conference)
Ranking: n/a
Last Game: Lost to UAB ,55-52, Sunday on Kent, Ohio
Head Coach: Jimmy Tillett (Lady of Holy Cross ‘75)
                Record:  195-164 (13th year)
                at Samford: 195-164 (13th year)
                vs. Texas A&M: 0-0

Series Notes

  1. A&M leads the series, 1-0. Friday’s game will mark the first time the teams have met in College Station.
  2. A&M posted a 106-91 victory over the Bulldogs in Samford’s own Birmingham Classic in 1977. That game was played at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civis Center.
  3. A&M is 4-2 against current members of The Southern Conference. The last time A&M player a member school was in 1996-97, when the Aggies posted a 83-38 win against Georgia Southern at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M plays host to another Southern Conference school, The Citadel, Dec. 19 at Reed Arena.

Key Game Notes

  1. The Aggies have won 57 straight regular-season non-conference home games, including wins against Alabama, LSU and Arizona. The last regular-season non-conference loss at Reed Arena was to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
  2. The Aggies are 78-9 all-time in non-conference games at Reed Arena.
  3. A&M is 2-0 after opening the season with a home win against Aneglo State (88-69) and beating SMU (80-68) Monday in Dallas.
  4. Samford is 0-3 but all three losses were by three points or fewer.

About Samford

  1. Located in Birmingham, Ala., Samford finished 16-16 last season and placed third in the North Division of the Southern Conference.
  2. The Bulldogs are in their 13th year under Head Coach Jimmy Tillette.
  3. The Bulldogs are led by senior guard Trey Montgomery (6-4), who is averaging 16.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
  4. Samford opened its season last weekend with three games in the Hispanic College Funds Classic in Kent, Ohio. The Bulldogs lost to host Kent State (69-66) in the opener before dropping close games to Wisconsin-Green Bay (70-68) and Alabama-Birmingham (55-52).  Montgomery missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the UAB game into overtime.

Sidebars

  1. Samford Coach Tillette is 1-3 in games against A&M Coach Mark Turgeon. Turgeon’s first two years as a head coach were at Jacksonville State (1998-00) when JSU was in the Atlantic Sun Conference with Samford. Turgeon’s only win in the series was in overtime.
  2. Samford has three Texas players on its roster, including starters Josh Davis (Lubbock) and Brian Friday (Grapevine). Reserve Matthew Friday, Brian’s brother, also is from Grapevine.

SMU Recap
DALLAS (AP)--Donald Sloan scored 24 points and Derrick Roland contributed 21 to lift Texas A&M to an 80-68 victory over Southern Methodist University Monday night. The Dallas natives led the way in the Aggies’ first game at SMU since 1996. The schools are former Southwest Conference rivals. Roland made all eight of his free throws and Sloan hit three 3-pointers for the Aggies (2-0). B.J. Holmes added 11 points with three 3-pointers for Texas A&M. Texas A&M led 36-26 at halftime, and after the Mustangs (0-2) got within four points twice, stretched the lead back out to double digits. Roland scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Mouhammad Faye scored 21 points and Paul McCoy 20 for SMU.
NOTES:
*Seniors Donald Sloan (24) and Derrick Roland (21) each posted career scoring highs in their first game in their hometown of Dallas since they were seniors at Seagoville High School.
*The last time A&M had two players score more than 20 points was against Louisville in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament when Acie Law (26) and Dominique Kirk (21) did it. Law and Kirk also are Dallas natives.

Offense Notes

  1. A&M had 17 fast break points against Angelo State, matching last year’s season high (North Dakota). Under Mark Turgeon, the Aggies have had more fast break points just once (33 vs. Texas State in 2007-08).
  2. Under Turgeon, the Aggies are 20-1 when they have at least 8 fast-break points.
  3. A&M is 18-2 under Turgeon when scoring at least 80 points and are 48-9 when it scores at least 60.
  4. A&M is 40-5 under Turgeon when leading at halftime.
  5. The Aggies made 50.8 percent from the field in the opener. A&M is 22-0 under Mark Turgeon when it makes at least 50 percent  and is 45-11 when it makes better than 40 percent.
  6. The Aggies led the Big 12 in fewest turnovers, averaging just 9.5 per game. They also lead the league in assist-to-turnovcer ratio at 1.68 and are second in turnover margin (+6.5).
  7. A&M is 20-6 under Mark Turgeon when they have fewer than 14 turnovers.
  8. Still Strong in the Post
  9. Although the Aggies are not as deep inside as in recent years, they remain productive. David Loubeau (20 points/9 rebounds) and Bryan Davis (17 points/6 rebounds) combined for 37 points and 15 rebounds in the opener.
  10. A&M scored a whopping 48 points in the paint against ASU, its most in a regulation game since it had 62 against Texas State two years ago. Under Turgeon, the Aggies are 50-15 when they score at least 20 points in the paint.
  11. Four Aggies scored in double figures in the opener while another scored 9 points (Harris). Three A&M players reached double figures against SMU and Bryan Davis added 9.
  12. Turgeon’s teams have always been among the most balanced in college basketball. His first two teams at A&M each averaged more than 70 points per game, but no player averaged more than 14. Each team had at least six players average a minimum of 6.0 points. Turgeon’s seven Wichita State teams were similarly balanced...

Defense Notes

  1. Angelo State had 19 turnovers against the Aggies' quick defense. A&M scored 25 points off turnovers, matching last year’s season high set in season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The last time the Aggies scored more points off turnovers was in the 2007-08 opener against McNeese State (28), Turgeon’s first game as head coach
  2. A&M is averaging 20.5 points off turnovers per game.
  3. Under Turgeon, the Aggies are 32-4 when they have more points off turnovers than their opponent.
  4. A&M held Angelo State to just 37.9 percent from the field in the opener. Under Turgeon, the Aggies are 26-2 when their opponent shoots under 40 percent and are 45-12 when the opponent makes under 50 percent.
  5. A&M is 42-9 under Turgeon when its opponents scores fewer than 70 points and has won six straight.
  6. The Aggies are 46-8 under Turgeon when out-rebounding their opponent. A&M is only 5-13 when being beaten on the boards.
  7. Turgeon said before the season that the smaller but quicker Aggies would have to “rebound by committee.” A&M did that in the opener with five players recording at least 5 rebounds. David Loubeau led the way with 9, followed by Khris Middleton (8), Bryan Davis (6), Nathan Walkup (5) and Donald Sloan (5).
  8. Eight A&M players recorded between 3 and 6 rebounds at SMU.

Through two games, five Aggies are averaging at least 4.0 rebounds.
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