GAME #7
Texas A&M Aggies (5-1, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Arizona Wildcats (5-1, 0-0 Pac-10 Conference)
Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series
Friday, December 5, 2008
8:32 p.m. (CST)
College Station, Texas
Reed Arena (12,989 cap.)
Television
ESPNU (national)
Play-by-Play: Doug Bell
Analyst: Reid Gettys
Radio
Texas A&M Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Dave South
Analyst: Al Pulliam
Sirius Satellite Radio: Channel 126
Network Affiliates
Atlanta KPYN-AM 900
Athens KLVQ-AM 1410
Austin KJCE-AM 1370
Brenham KWHI-AM 1280
Carthage KGAS-AM 1590
College Station WTAW-AM 1620
College Station KZNE-AM 1150
Comanche KCOM-AM 1550
Dallas KFXR-AM 1190
El Campo KULP-AM 1390
Gonzales KCTI-AM 1450
Houston KBME-AM 790
Marshall KMHT-AM 1450
New Braunfels KGNB-AM 1420
San Antonio KSJL-AM 810
San Saba KBAL-AM 1410
Sulphur Springs KSST-AM 1230
Victoria KVNN-AM 1340
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
http://aggieathletics.com
Record: 5-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: Receiving votes (AP and Coaches)
Last Game: Beat Kent State (77-71) last Saturday at South Padre Island Invitational
Head Coach: Mark Turgeon (Kansas `87)
Record: 183-131 (11th year)
at Texas A&M: 30-12 (2nd year)
vs. Arizona: 0-1
PROJECTED TEXAS A&M STARTERS
No. Player P Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
15 Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 Jr-2L 12.0 3.3 4.0
3 Derrick Roland G 6-4 190 Jr-2L 5.2 1.4 2.2
23 Josh Carter F 6-7 200 Sr-3L 14.0 4.5 --
0 Bryan Davis F 6-9 240 Jr-2L 12.0 6.7 --
41 Chinemelu Elonu C 6-10 235 Jr-2L 7.8 4.8 --
ARIZONA WILDCATS
http://arizonaathletics.com
Record: 5-1 (0-0 Pac-10 Conference)
Ranking: n/a
Last Game: Beat Loyola Marymount (84-57) at home on Tuesday
Head Coach: Russ Pennell (Pittsburg State '89)
Record: 5-1 (1st year)
at Arizona: 5-1 (1st year)
vs. Texas A&M: 0-0
PROJECTED ARIZONA STARTERS
No. Player P Ht. Wt. Cl-Ex PPG RPG APG
13 Nic Wise G 5-10 177 Jr-2L 13.8 3.2 6.3
42 Jamelle Horne G 6-6 209 So-1L 7.8 4.0 2.7
34 Chase Budinger F 6-7 218 Jr-2L 21.0 6.2 3.0
1 Fendi Onobun F 6-6 249 Sr-3L 1.8 1.3 --
43 Jordan Hill F 6-10 235 Jr-2L 17.0 13.0 --
Series Notes
* Arizona leads the series, 6-0, but is making its first visit to College Station. Three of the losses have come in Tucson and the other three were at neutral sites.
* A&M is 3-22 against teams from the Pac-10 Conference, with all three wins coming against Washington. The loss at Arizona (78-67) last season marked the last time the Aggies played a Pac-10 team. A&M beat Washington earlier last season in New York, 77-63.
Sidebars
* Arizona's Interim Head Coach Russ Pennell and A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon are both from Kansas and have known each other for many years. Turgeon was an assistant at Kansas when Pennell was at Oklahoma State in the early 1990s.
* Arizona has several Houston ties. Guard Nic Wise is from Kingwood and senior forward Fendi Onobun is from Alief Taylor High School. They grew up playing against the likes of A&M's B.J. Holmes, Chinemelu Elonu and Nate Walkup. Freshman guard Garland Judkins is from Humble but did not make the trip.
Key Game Notes
* The Aggies play host to Arizona on Friday in the Big 12 / Pac 10 Hardwood Series. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
* Both teams are 5-1. A&M is coming off a 77-71 win against Kent State last Saturday in the South Padre Invitational. Arizona has won four straight, including a 74-57 win against Loyola Marymount at home on Tuesday.
* The Aggies have won 50 straight regular-season non-conference games dating back to an 82-80 loss to A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
* Arizona overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the Aggies last year in Tucson, 78-67.
* Mark Turgeon's 30-12 record is the third best start through 42 games in Big 12 history behind Texas Tech's Bob Knight (32-10 in 2001-03) and A&M's Billy Gillispie (31-11 in 2004-06).
About Arizona
* The Wildcats went 19-15 last year and placed seventh in the Pac-10 Conference with an 8-10 mark.
* Arizona is in its first year under Interim Head Coach Russ Pennell, a former assistant at Arizona State and Oklahoma State.
* The Wildcats are led by junior forward Chase Budinger (6-7), an All-America candidate who is averaging 21.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He ranks second nationally in three-point percentage at .654.
* Junior forward Jordan Hill (6-10) adds 17.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, and is making .599 from the field.
* The Wildcats' only loss was at home against against UAB (72-71) on Nov. 18 in the second round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.
* Arizona is making 53.0 percent from the field, including 43.3 percent from three-point range.
Last Year's Game
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP, Dec. 2, 2007) -- Jerryd Bayless scored a season-high 26 points, and Arizona rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to defeat No. 9 Texas A&M 78-67, handing the Aggies their first loss. Chase Budinger added 19 points and Jordan Hill had 13 for the Wildcats (5-2). Trailing 60-59 with 6 minutes to play, the Wildcats scored 12 of the next 16 points to take command. The Aggies scored one basket in the final 4:10. Josh Carter scored 17 points and Joseph Jones had 13 for A&M (7-1). The Wildcats took a quick 5-2 lead but then went more than six minutes until their next field goal. The Aggies went on a 17-1 run during that stretch to take a 19-6 lead midway through the half. Texas A&M stretched its lead to 32-12 before Bayless began to assert himself. He scored seven straight points to spark 16-6 run and cut the Aggies' lead to 40-28 at halftime.
Kent State Recap
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) - Bryan Davis had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Josh Carter sank a big 3-pointer for Texas A&M in a 77-71 win over Kent State at the South Padre Invitational on Saturday. B.J. Holmes added 15 points for the Aggies (5-1). Carter's 3-pointer with 35 seconds left pushed A&M's lead to five. Al Fisher scored 17 of his 24 points for Kent State (3-2) in the second half. A&M outrebounded Kent State 35-19.
Aggie Notes
* Senior Josh Carter has set the school record for career three-point field goals with 236. The old mark was 232 by Bernard King (1999-03). Carter is the most accurate three-point shooter in school history, making 42.4 percent. He led the nation in 2006-07 by making 50.0 percent.
* Carter scored 25 points against Jackson State, one shy of his career-high, and made 5-of-9 three-pointers. He has had two 20-point games this season and is averaging a team-best 14.0 points. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, he was a second-team preseason selection.
* Carter has started in 76 straight games -- every game since the start of his sophomore season. He has played in 107 career games and is on track to break the school record of 132 by Dominique Kirk (2004-08).
* Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes has averaged 11.7 points and 3.0 assists in the last three games while making 50.0 percent from the field and 57.1 percent (8-14) from three-point range. He scored a career-high 15 points against Kent State and has 13 vs. UNCW. Holmes had missed his first 12 field goal attempts this season and was 1-of-15 through the first three games.
* Junior Bryan Davis is averaging 12.0 points and leads the team in rebounds (6.7) and blocks (10). Davis was named to the all-tournament team at the South Padre Island Invitational after scoring 15 points with 13 rebounds against Kent State. He scored 16 points vs. SFA, tying his career-best for a regulation game, and has had at least 14 points four of six games this season.
* Junior Donald Sloan has started in 42 straight games since the start of the 2007-08 season. Sloan scored a season-high 17 points against Jackson State and leads the team in assists (4.0). He ranks third in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (3.4).
* Freshman David Loubeau was a preseason honorable mention Freshman All-American by CollegeHoops.net. He has averaged 8.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in the last four games, including a career-high 12 points and 8 rebounds against Kent State in his first career start. He scored 6 points with a career-best 9 boards against Tulsa.
* Sophomore Denzel Bowles averaged 6.0 points in just 11.5 minutes per game at the South Padre tournament and got his first starting nod against Kent State.
* Freshman Dash Harris has posted a career-best 4 assists in two of the last three games and already has established himself as one of the team's top defenders.
* The Aggies placed fifth in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll and received votes in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
* A&M's 71 home wins in the last four years are the second most in the nation in that period behind Memphis (76).
* A&M is 57-19 since the start of the 2006-07 season, ranking it among the winningest teams in the country in that span.
* A&M is allowing just 62.7 points on 39.5 percent field goal shooting. SFA was 0-of-13 from the field from inside the three-point line in the second half. They were just 4-of-26 inside the three-point line for the game. SFA's 6-foot-9 Matt Kingsley was the only Lumberjack to make a shot inside three-point range, finishing 4-of-16 from the field.
* Turgeon's teams are known for their balance and the 2008-09 Aggies are no different. Three players (Carter, Sloan and Davis) are averaging in double figures in scoring, with five more (Elonu, Walkup, Holmes, Loubeau and Roland) averaging at least 4.3.
* A win against Arizona would hand A&M a 6-1 start for the second straight year.
* The Aggies are averaging 26.7 free throw attempts per game and have had more attempts than their opponent (17.0 attempts) in all six games.
* The Aggies are 5-0 this season when out-rebounding their opponent. A&M ranks third in the Big 12 with a +8.8 rebounding margin. The Aggies are out-scoring their opponent by an average of 6.3 second-chance points.
* A&M has scored at least 22 points in the paint in all six games, averaging 32.7 points in the paint per game.
* In the last four games, the Aggies are averaging 30.5 bench points
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