.ex: Section B
Ofts 2B; Classified 4B; Opinion 5B
day February 6, 2001
Sports
Page IB
THE BATTALION
Bears travel to Reed to face Ags
Aggie 5 search for
first Big 12 win
PATRIC SCHNEIDER/The Battalion
M junior Keith From hits a forehand against his opponent from Trinity College
Jan. 27. From and the Aggies will face the University of Texas today in Houston.
ijMen’s tennis to face off
Jlith ’Horns in Texas Cup
ile D
ngerel
03
only.
■ue Brown
The Texas A&M men’s tennis team will
:e the court against Big 12 rival Universi-
offexas in the inaugural Texas Cup today
he Westside Tennis Club in Houston.
The non-conference meet, which will be-
i i“visiiM an annual event, marks the first time
: two teams have met for a dual match in
1 *uHton.
The Aggies (4-0) and Longhorns (2-0)
t in individual competition in January at
Rice Invitational Indoor Tournament in
•uston. The Aggies posted a 4-1 record in
gles and a 1-0 record in doubles against
; Longhorns.
A&M will enter the contest No. 6 in the
ngspanBank.com poll, the highest ranked
Bin Texas. UT is currently No. 17.
A&M started the season fifth, but slipped
e notch despite winning four matches in
p days. The Longhorns moved up three
ts from their initial ranking of 20th after
posting wins in their first two contests. *
Last season, A&M dominated the Long
horns, winning 6-1 in Austin and 4-0 in the
semifinals of the Big 12 Championships in
Kansas City, Mo.
The Aggies went on to defeat Baylor in
the finals to claim the Big 12 title.
The Aggies have also won three of the last
five meetings between the two schools.
A&M men’s coach Tim Cass is down
playing the Aggies’ recent domination as well
as both teams’ rankings, noting that A&M has
only won seven of the last 84 dual matches
against its counterparts from Austin.
“Even though the tables may be turned
a little, at this point in the season the rank
ings are meaningless,” Cass said. “This
tournament will be more for the spirit of the
rivalry and the competition.”
The first four matches of the Aggies’ sea
son, all played outdoors, were plagued with
high winds and overcast skies, something
See Cup on Page 3B.
By Jason Lincoln
The Battalion
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team
will look for its first conference win when it
plays Baylor tonight at 7:30 at Reed Arena.
Baylor (14-5, 3-5 in Big 12) is the first
team with a losing conference record that the
Aggies (6-15,0-9) have faced in the last eight
games.
A&M is coming off an improved perfor
mance against No. 24 Oklahoma on Saturday.
But the only fact that will matter tonight is the
Aggies finally get to play a team they can
match up with.
“If you can remember, they beat us twice
last year, so we’re going to have our work cut
out for us,” said A&M men’s basketball coach
Melvin Watkins.
Baylor went 11-0 in non-conference ac
tion under the leadership of second-year
coach Dave Bliss. Since then, the Bears have
suffered five losses with just three wins in
conference action.
“Dave Bliss Came into Baylor with a game
plan for the way he wanted to do it,” Watkins
said. “Some people have criticized their early
schedule, but it gave them some confidence.
They have some really good players mixed in
with some young talent.”
At the same time, A&M's young group,
with just two upperclassmen remaining, is
looking for its first conference win after play
ing all but one league game against teams in
the 2000 postseason.
Only three of the Aggies’ last 15 games
have been against teams that did not make an
appearance in the NIT or NCAA tournament
last season.
The Aggies opened the stretch Dec. 12
against No. 12 North Carolina, a Final Four
team last season.
The Aggies shot 47 percent against Okla
homa after consistently posting performances
in the mid-30s during league play. A&M will
look to keep up the accuracy against the Bears.
Part of that philosophy will involve giving
more inside touches to the Aggies’ three big
BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion
A&M freshman forward Jesse King receives pressure from Oklahoma guard Hollis
Price in the Aggies' 72-63 loss to the Sooners on Saturday at Reed Arena.
men — Nick Anderson, Keith Bean and Nolan
Butterfras.
Butterfras made his first career start in
place of Bean on Saturday, as Watkins
looked to keep Bean and Anderson out of
early foul trouble.
While Anderson fouled out after scoring 10
points. Bean came off the bench to have one of
his best games. He scored 10 points and a
team-high six rebounds and only two fouls.
Against Baylor, Watkins wants to take ad
vantage of the improved post play.
“We’ve got to get better guard play,”
Watkins said. “We’re not getting the ball in
side. If we can get some post touches, that can
get our perimeter game going as well.”
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