We have neglected one of the greatest stories out of B/CS long enough. To get our 12th MC readers up to date, we have brought in one of our most dedicated visitors, Coach Dale:

Let's take a look at what the Aggies have to face in the Midwest Region of the 2008 Women's NCAA Tournament. Most experts will tell you the Oklahoma City regional is by no means the toughest, but the Aggies must march through tough competition that includes defending National Champion Tennessee, perennial power Duke, and the incredibly difficult and familiar Oklahoma. Do the Aggies have a chance to win the regional and make the Final Four? Sure, but so does sixteenth seeded Oral Roberts.

The Aggies Road to the Final Four:

Life is simple in Aggieland these days. If we play defense, we win. If we don't, then we lose. Everything the Aggies are trying to do comes from their defense and their guards. A'Quonesia Franklin and Takia Starks will key the Aggie's run through the NCAA tournament with their defense and their ability to push the ball in transition. If there is one weakness it is the half court offense. We have no one that can consistently score in the half court. Damitria Buchanon has come on as of late, Takia Starks is making everything she shoots, and Danielle Gant is the perfect mismatch. In order for the Aggies to make a run in the NCAA tournament all of the above must continue playing as they have lately. If the Aggies want to beat Tennessee, then all hands need to be on deck. Specifically Morenike Atunruse has to return to the form that made her one of the best players in the country her freshman and sophomore years.

The Favorites in Oklahoma City

• There is Tennessee and everyone else. Tennessee is the defending champ and they have the best player in the country in Candace Parker. Oh, they also have the greatest women's basketball coach of all time.

• Duke has to be considered another favorite in the region based on talent alone. Most of the players on the team are what Coach G left when she jumped on the cash and went to tu. They are very talented and should play a great game against the Aggies in the Sweet Sixteen.

• Many experts are saying Utah maybe the women's version of George Mason. Personally I doubt it because they would have to beat Tennessee in the second round. That ain't gonna happen.

• As long as OU has the Paris twins they are dangerous. There aren't very many girls that are that big, that mobile, and that good. They do what they want, when they want, and how they want. The big question for OU is, will their guards get in the way of the Paris twins?

The Aggies should advance past the second round for the first time under Gary Blair. They will fight hard against the Blue Devils and the odds on winning that one are 50/50. However, it just doesn't matter because Tennessee will go to Tampa and play in the Final Four.

-Coach Dale

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West Region Breakdown

How and why A&M wins the west
Regardless of the seeding, it is hard not to feel like the favorite against BYU. I have been reading Under the Banner of Heaven , and if there is one thing to be taken from this book it is that Brigham Young was not to be messed with. Taking that lesson, I am hoping that the Ags do not take BYU lightly. No doubt it will be a dog fight, but I just can't see A&M losing to BYU.

So, I realize that A&M will be incredibly overmatched against UCLA in the second round. However, let me present some facts that have helped me sleep a little easier at night. Last season, A&M faced a number one rated UCLA team in Aneheim. Enjoy the boxscore here. A&M fell short by three points. I realize that A&M is a much different team now, but there are several major contributors remaining that made this trip and will know what to expect in regards to a similar UCLA team and environment. Hopefully, A&M can look to those players for leadership and guidance and parley that experience into a win.

Farfetched? Sure.

But it could happen. Here are Ben Howland's thoughts about A&M's chances against UCLA:

I will not go into any further rounds today. But let's just say that if A&M knocks off UCLA, they will ride that momentum to San Antonio. If A&M is still standing after this weekend, we will get into more in depth details of what lies ahead.

Frontrunners
Clearly, it is UCLA and Duke. They have great players up and down their rosters. They have two legendary coaches. They have a great legacy of tournament success.

Other Contenders
Xavier is a salty team led by Aggie killer Drew Lavender. UConn is a team that could cause a lot of damage. Purdue has looked great at times, and has several big wins.

Darkhorses
My darkhorse has to be Georgia. Sure they are a 14 seed, but after their weekend in Atlanta, nobody has as much momentum as they do.

Hildy's pick
Duke

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Want a little help when filling in your bracket? Here is a breakdown of how the each seed/power conference fair historically since 1987 round by round. Who knows? Maybe there are a few nerds out there that will really dive into all this. Enjoy it one way or the other, and don't forget to sign up for the 12th MC 2008 NCAA Tournament Pool. The winner gets a free dry-fit polo of their choice.

If this isn't enough for you, click Read More below. I have broken down the entire West Region in depth. Good Luck.

Click "Read More" for the rest...

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It is finally here, the best time of the year, March Madness. In the coming weeks, production from students and professionals alike will come to a screeching halt. Workers will go to great lengths to duck out of the office early, or hide CBS Sportsline's March Madness On Demand from their superiors. Each of us will commit to paying $10 to dozens of separate pools, all with the hope of seeing a huge return on our investments. We will toil over the 10 seeds, and sweat out the 8 vs. 9 games. Our loyalties will be stretched as we are overcome with the greed that money brings. This is why we understand that there is never enough action during the tournament and are glad to announce:

• Click here to join our group at ESPN.com
• Password: MANCHILD
• Only one entry per person, all extras will be deleted
• You must have a registered account with 12thMC.com to collect any prize (Click here to join for free now.)
• Enter your 12th MC username as the name of your bracket

The winner will be contacted after the tournament is over and will be able to select an official team dry-fit polo of their choice. This contest is available to any 12th MC member, and the winner may request a polo for the team of their choice.

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Kansas City Redux

As I sit in the airport waiting for my flight back to the Big D, I cannot help but feel pretty good about my trip to Kansas City. This may be bold, but I believe that Kansas City is one of America's best kept secrets (right behind Shreveport, LA... yeah Shreveport). Words won't give it justice, but Kansas City put up several billion dollars to completely redevelop an area downtown called the Power and Light District - apparently named for the building that once provided... well, power and light I suppose. Money well spent, because it is awesome. There is a stage for live music, plenty of sports' bars, a bowling alley, and a great meeting place. Anyhow, you walk right out of the Sprint Center (also awesome) and you are already in the P&L District.

Clearly Kansas fans were prepared and well aware of said district because they excelled at taking advantage of it. Today, they were out in full force. Maybe this is an every game thing, but man do they get excited about every little positive thing they do. If you were to close your eyes during today's game you could be convinced that you were at Lake Placid in 1980 and the Americans were continuously connecting on the go-ahead goal to defeat the Soviets. However my eyes were open, and Kansas was mainly just doing their thing. Kansas is without a doubt the best team in Big XII, although A&M and Texas gave them all they wanted and more.

Aggies, we have plenty to be proud of. I just heard on the TV over my shoulder that we are a 9-seed. Despite the fact that we deserve a much better seed, that is three straight years of dancing. Let us not ever take this for granted because this not the norm, people. Thanks to Turge, Kirk, Beau, Joe, Junior, Sloan, and everybody else for leaving everything you had in Kansas City. I know you made my trip that much better. Good luck and give those mormons hell!

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The Lady Aggies basketball team rebounded from a 1-4 conference start to a blazing finish and a Big 12 Tournament Championship. The Lady Ags have won 9 straight games (3 against top 25 teams), and 13 out of their last 14 games.

After two straight early exits from the NCAA tournament, I look forward to watching Gary Blair's team take a high seed into at least the second weekend of the tournament.

The Aggie baseball team used a couple of explosive innings Saturday to propel them to a huge win over tech, 12-1. The win gives the No. 22 Aggies a 2-0 conference record. As the post is being typed, the Ags are behind 5 runs in the third inning of the 3rd game.

Mark Turgeon led the men's basketball team off the bubble and firmly placed them not only in the tournament, but possibly from a 10 seed to a 6 seed. After weathering a season full of fan's complaining, whining, and second guessing him, in his first Big 12 Tournament ever, he became the school's best conference tournament coach since joining the Big 12. In just 3 games, Aggie fans went from pessimistic to optimistic.(as displayed in this TexAgs thread)

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Just a few thoughts from Kansas City, Day 3:

-Another great game.
-Had several Kansas fans (there were many at the game) tell me how impressed they were with the Aggies.
-Great atmosphere... Kansas fans are great fans for the most part.
-I asked a guy behind me what rock chalk meant... and he responded with, 'I dont know, it means were going to kick your[A&M's] a$$..." So they got that going for them, which is nice.
-Not much for moral victories, but I'll take one today... proud of my Ags.

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Please see HILDY'S K-State recap and thoughts from KC.

Something to think about - Do we want to keep winning now that we are a lock? --- I think we do but an argument can be made that we don't. The more we win at this point, the closer we are to receiving an 8 or 9 seed which would put us against a #1 seed in the second round, assuming we win our first round game. I would love to see us as a 10 seed.

What are your thoughts on this?

The Lady Ag's play Oklahoma State tonight at 6:00, and the game is televised on Fox Sports Net. This is the first time the Lady Ag's have ever made it to the Big 12 championship game and I really hope they continue their torrid pace. Who would have thought the Lady Ag's would be in this position after a 1-4 conference start.

In what may be the best team on campus, the Aggie softball team posted two great wins Friday at the San Diego Classic, and the Ag's take on Cal State-Fullerton and San Diego State later today. Good luck to them.

Please check out the great diary posted by Coach Dale which we bumped to the main page. (Click here for the full story on Aggie Baseball)

The Ag's play Tech tonight, and for another good Aggie Blog, please check out Texas A&M and Baseball

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vs.

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Kansas	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Russell Robinson	6-1	205	G	SR-3L	New York, NY	7.7	2.9	4.2
Mario Chalmers	6-1	190	G	JR-2L	Anchorage, AK	12	2.9	4.7
Brandon Rush	6-6	210	G/F	JR-2L	Kansas City, MO	12.4	5.1	2.2
Darnell Jackson	6-	250	F	SR-3L	Oklahoma City, OK	12.2	6.9	1.1
Darrell Arthur	6-9	225	F	SO-1L	Dallas, TX	13.3	6	0.8

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TALKING POINTS:

• What's at stake?-A win for A&M likely propels them to a 9 seed or better in my opinion. A win for KU pushes them closer to their 3rd consecutive BIG 12 tournament championship, and perhaps more importantly, a win for KU pushes them closer to a possible #1 seed.

• Key for A&M - Play with the same fire and intensity as yesterday. Josh Carter and D Kirk must score for us to have a chance. Last game, KU killed us inside - Darrell Arthur was unbelievable and I think we need to double him today. We also cannot have horrible spurts where we give up 6 points in 20 seconds.

• Key for KU - play their game. The crowd will be 95% KU - 5% A&M so KU will look to jump on us quick, if they do this, it could be a blowout.

FEEL FREE TO LEAVE YOUR IN-GAME COMMENTS HERE, LETS GO AG'S

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Baseball Begins Conference Play

By Plunk Section: Baseball
Posted on Sat Mar 15, 2008 at 11:47:18 AM EST

Texas Tech v. Texas A&M

AggieAthletics.com

Thanks to COACH DALE for posting this diary, we appreciate his great insight into women's basketball and baseball

The Good Guys have their conference opener tonight against the Classless Clowns from Lubbock. Tech has struggled up to this point, but as always the Tech Tards are a tough match-up for the Aggies.

The primary difference between the two teams comes on the mound. The Tech team ERA is 4.91 while the A&M team ERA is 2.73. Every Aggie weekend starter (Raley, Loux, Migl) have an ERA under 5.00 while only the Sunday starter for Tech is under 5.00. The Aggies will also bring Thebeau (0.57 ERA) and Starling (1.08 ERA) out of the bullpen. Bottom line is our pitching staff is much better than theirs.

They will probably have the best individual player on the field. Kieschnick has spent the last two summers playing for Team USA and is currently hitting .417 on the season. More than likely he will be a first round draft pick and possibly Big 12 POY.

Kyle Colligan is still coming back from a hamstring injury. He saw his first action in a while on Wednesday against Centenary as the DH. Luke Anders missed both mid-week games with a wrist injury. Not sure how this is going to affect him today, but if he is out we will see the .182 batting average of Darby Brown in the lineup.

With all things considered, the Ags should take at least 2 out of 3 from Tech if they want to be contenders for the Big 12 title.

**Saturday Update** The Ag's pulled out a 6-5 win against Tech last night in 12 innings. Dane Carter pictured above, hit a homer in the bottom of the 12th to capture the win.

Any win in conference is big, a win against the Tech Tards makes it that much sweeter.

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Live from Kansas City, V.2

By Hildy Section: Basketball
Posted on Sat Mar 15, 2008 at 12:55:58 AM EST

Just a few thoughts from Kansas City, Day 2:

-Wow... awesome game.
-Crowd had was roughly 95% KState or KU fans for the last session. There were hardly any Aggies at the game. I would not say that it was a hostile environment at all, but definitely pro-KState.
-What a game from Dominique Kirk... absolutely cold blooded.
-As a team, A&M played extremely hard. It was not pretty by any means, but, man, the Ags made me proud tonight.
-How crazy is it that we are getting so many great minutes from Junior and Beau... those guys are giving us a lot right now.
-Beasley was as good as advertised. I was surprised that he did not assert himself much in the second half. I thought he was going to go for fifty after the first ten minutes.
-Cant wait for tomorrow... pretty sure I will lose my hair during the A&M game. Apparantly, Lawrence is about 45 minutes from KC, so we are pretty much in their backyard.
-Correct me if I am wrong, but the Ags are 4-0 this year in games played at neutral sites.

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Round Two Preview: Kansas State

By J Lou Section: Basketball
Posted on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 01:02:25 PM EST

Texas A&M (23-9) vs.Kansas State (20-10)

vs.

March 14, 2008 | 8:20pm

---

Sprint Center | Kansas City, MO

Television:

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PROBABLE STARTERS:

Texas A&M	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Dominique Kirk	6-4	185	G	SR-3L	Dallas, TX	7.8	3.4	3.5
Donald Sloan	6-3	205	G	SO-1L	Dallas, TX	9.7	4	3.2
Josh Carter	6-7	200	G/F	JR-2L	Dallas, TX	12.7	4.2	1.5
Joseph Jones	6-9	255	F/C	SR-3L	Normangee, TX	10.7	5.2	1.3
DeAndre Jordan	7-0	260	C	FR-HS	Houston, TX	8.9	6.6	0.4

Kansas State	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Bill Walker	6-6	220	F	FR	Huntington, WV	16	6.5	1.8
Blake Young	6-2	195	G	SR	Orlando, FL	6.2	3.4	1.9
Dominique Sutton	6-5	205	G	FR	Durham, NC	3.4	2.7	-
Michael Beasley	6-10	235	F	FR	Washington, DC	26.5	12.5	2.9
Clent Stewart	6-4	195	G	SR	Tulsa, OK	7.0	3.0	3.2

---

Last Time They Met: Kansas State was completely more athletic than the Aggies and it showed. ``They were quicker to the ball,'' Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon said at the time. ``We looked like quicksand compared to them. (Beasley) was in foul trouble all night and never lost his rhythm, and he draws fouls better than anybody that I've been around.'' Michael Beasley dominated even though playing with early fouls and ended up with 21 points. When Beasley sat, Bill Walker took care of the rest contributing 19 points, including 5 three pointers.

What this Game Means: Kansas State is the No. 3 seed in a conference that will get at least 5 teams into the dance, they are playing for pride and a higher seed. Texas A&M all but locked up a bid last night, not because they played that well vs. Iowa State, but b/c 8 Bubble Teams couldn't do what they did, win when it mattered. A win by the Aggies may help them to score an 8 or 9 seed if other Bubble Teams keep slipping up.

What KSU has to do to win: Get Bill Walker involved early. Beasley is going to get his points, it is Bill Walker that will be the difference maker in this one. The Aggies don't have enough scoring power to keep up with the Wildcats if both of these guys score 20 points apiece.

What A&M has to do to win: We need Joe Jones to be a force down low, and as always, we need Donald Sloan to really be able to control the tempo of the game. He has to be steady for us. If he can resist the temptation to force the ball into tight places, we are at our best. Josh Carter hitting shots early and often would be an added bonus as well.

Prediction: Sloan continues on, in what has become a big time story line, as he leads A&M deeper into the Big 12 Tournament as he pays tribute to his fallen mother. He plays the game of his life, and Josh scores 15+ as the Aggies find a way to win an ugly game.

**** The 12MC sends out our thoughts and prayers to Donald and his family****

Our own "HILDY" is in KC as we speak and he will be providing some insight throughout the weeekend?

THIS WILL SERVE AS OUR OPEN GAME THREAD SO PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

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A&M 60 vs. Iowa State 47

By J Lou Section: Basketball
Posted on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:31:50 AM EST

Initial Thoughts: It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. This time of year, that's all you need. It isn't about how you do it. When your season is on the line you have to win games. Tonight we did just that. Early on, we established ourselves in the paint and ended up with an impressive 16 point advantage. I am not sure that we outplayed ISU, but we were and are better than the Cyclones, end of story.

Why we won: Because ISU was overmatched. The Cyclones only got points from 5 players, and two of those players only contributed 2 points a piece. The Cyclones only hit 27% of their shots, and some how found a way to shoot even worse from the foul line than the Ags(50% to 62%) The Aggies shot their normal 43% from the field and struggled from long range (3-12), but got timely points from a key components when Donald Sloan began attacking the basket, and Josh Carter and Dominique Kirk hit timely jumpers. It's hard to say what the difference was when you know that you are absolutely better than your opponent, but looking forward, getting any points from Junior Elonu, Beau Muhlbach, and BJ Holmes will be crucial, especially if we are without Deandre Jordan.

ISU Player of the Game: Brackins was the best player on the court tonight. The freshman showed why he will be a staying force in the Big 12 as he owned the Aggie big men down low scoring 20 points and snagging 12 rebounds.

A&M Player of the Game: Donald Sloan was a rebound and an assist from the rare triple-double with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. Even when Sloan is good there is so much room for improvement as he was only 4-11 from the field and a par for the course 4-9 from the charity stripe.

What does it mean? I would like to say that it means we are dancing next week, especially with the following Bubble teams losing: Baylor, Oregon, UMass, Arizona State, UF, Ole Miss, Dayton, Villanova, and Maryland. We don't have to be great, just let the conference focus on their losses and don't do anything to bring negative attention to ourselves (aka play a solid game tomorrow and win or lose we are in the dance).

A&M	Key Stats	Iowa State
42	Rebounds	39
(21-49) 43%	FG %	(17-62) 27%
(3-12) 25%	3FG %	(7-23) 30%
(15-24) 63%	FT %	(6-12) 50%
8	Blocks	3
6	Steals	4
12	Turnovers	12
15	Pts off TO	11
4	2nd Chance	1
2	Fastbreak Pts	-
30	Pts in Paint	14

oh, and remember when Baylor football lost a game when they should have been kneeling the ball? Being the Big 12's first No. 5 seed to bow out to a No. 12 seed may be the basketball equivalent in terms of making the NCAA tournament. Thanks for being Baylor guys, thanks for being Baylor.

Be sure to check out Hildy's "Live from KC" post below. A full KSU preview is coming tomorrow.

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