Page 2B
SPORTS
Tuesday,' February6.!'
3B
THE BATTALION
Ags leave tough part of schedult s,
Four of the seven teams the Aggies faced
T he Texas A&M men’s basketball team’s
slide reached nine games last week as it
dropped a pair of games.
The Aggies (6-15, 0-9 in Big 12) fell to
Texas, 81 -61, on Tuesday in Austin, then
were defeated by No. 21 Oklahoma, 72-63,
on Saturday in Reed Arena.
A&M will face Baylor tonight at Reed
Arena, then travel to Lubbock to face Texas
Tech on Saturday.
were ranked in the Top 25, and five of the
seven had winning records in conference
play. The overall record of t^iose teams is
105-38, a .734 winning percentage.
The rest of A&M’s Big 12 schedule
promises to be a little less demanding. Only
two of the five remaining teams have win
ning conference records.
The overall record of those teams, including
a non-conference game with Texas-Pan Ameri
can, is 68-49, a .581 winning percentage.
Another thing in the Aggies’ favor is that
five of the eight remaining games will be
played at Reed Arena.
“Hopefully, our kids can come out with a
little more confidence,” said A&M men’s
basketball coach Melvin Watkins. “They may
say, ‘Well the hill isn’t as big to climb,’ but we
have to make sure we don’t have a letdown.”
In addition to scoring margin, the Aggies
San
The 1
i com
rank last in Big 12 play in scoring offense (ft
points per game), field-goal percentage (36.i
percent), field-goal percentage defense (47.5
percent), 3-point field-goal percentage (241
percent), 3-point field-goal percentage defeu lda ^' /v
(39.3 percent), blocked shots (2.22 per game® 11 " 1
and assists (11.11 per game.)
In fact, the only category in the conferenci
where the Aggies rank in the upper half isfe
throw percentage. A&M is fourth, hitting71; 3en jp
percent of its free throws in conference play
Butter and Bean
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We’re #12
Take a deep breath
BERNARDO GARZA/Thh Battalion
AJkM freshman forward Nick Anderson throws up a hook shot in the Aggies'
72-63 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday at Reed Arena.
With the 72-63 defeat at the hands of the
Sooners, the Aggies brought to an end to their
roughest stretch this season.
A&M started Big 12 conference play 0-9,
but that came at the hands of the cream of the
crop of the conference.
Along with their poor record, the Aggies’
horrendous start has put them at or near the bot
tom of most statistical categories in the Big 12.
In its nine Big 12 contests, A&M has been
outscored by an average of a whopping 17.3
points. The next closest team in scoring margin
is Texas Tech, who has been outscored by an
average of only 6.7 points in Big 12 play.
On Saturday against the Sooners, Watkiiv
shook up his starting lineup, replacing sopho
more forward Keith Bean with freshmancei
Nolan Butterfras, who made his first startai |
A&M.
The decision was,two-fold as Watkinsw
rewarding Butterfras for his improved play
trying to keep Bean out of foul trouble.
The decision worked, as Bean, who has
fouled out a team-high four tim^s in conferet
play, recorded only two fouls in 22 minutes
play against Oklahoma. He scored 10 points
and grabbed a team-high six rebounds against
the Sooners.
A&M
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Aggies continue slide against ranked teams
into Reed Arena Wednesday and handed the Ag
gies their second home loss of the season, 93-70.
On Saturday, the Aggies dropped their fifth
straight conference road game to the Lady
Raiders in Lubbock, by a score of 92-79, in
front of 14,220 fans at the United Spirit Arena.
bock, where the Lady Raiders have not lost on
their home court in 42 games.
Rebound shy
Tough times
T he Texas A&M women’s basketball team
continues its bumpy road down the tough
Big 12 schedule this week as the Aggies
take on the No. 21 Texas Longhorns and the
No. 20 Baylor Bears.
Last week was another tough week for the
Aggies (12-8, 2-7 in Big 12), as the team
dfopped games to No. 10 Oklahoma and the No.
12 Texas Tech Lady Raiders. The Sooners came
The Aggies, who began the season with the
best 11 -game record in team history at 10-1,
have found the win column only twice since
conference play started Jan. 3.
A&M’s schedule has driven it through one
of the roughest conferences in the country. The
Big 12 now has six teams in the Associated
Press Top 25. Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas
Tech, Texas, Baylor and Colorado have all
cracked the Top 25 this season. The Aggies
have faced ranked opponents in five of their
last six matchups, including traveling to Lub-
The Aggies have been plagued by rebound
ing, or lack thereof, for most of the season.
A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in rebounding
defense and rebounding margin.
The Aggies are being outrebounded by their
opponents by an average of 7.6 rebounds per
game, a statistic that skyrockets the opposi
tion’s chance for all-important second-chance
points.
The Aggies’ defense makes up for the lack in
rebounding with solid defense. Peggie Gillom’s
squad is second in the conference in blocked
shots with 100 this season and leads the steals
category with an average of 13.85 per game.
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A&M senior forward Jaynetta Saunders looks to take a shot against Text £■ V
Tech. The Aggies will host the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday. P &
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Consulting
KPMG Consulting
invites all Texas A&M University
Computer Science and MIS juniors to an
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Information Session & Reception
Wednesday, February 7th
5:30 pm
504 Rudder
Dress: Business Casual
Food and Drinks provided