I spent this past weekend in New York City and was lucky enough to take in a Knicks game. Now, I would never have agreed to watch the Knicks play horrible basketball, but:

1. It was my first time to NYC and was very interested in taking in Madison Square Garden

2. They were playing the Hawks, and I was hoping Acie would get some minutes

3. The tickets were free

Well, early on the game was a complete blow out, so I was very hopeful that Acie may see the court at halftime (20 point Atlanta lead). But, true to the NBA, no lead is ever safe, and the Knicks came back firing come the fourth quarter, and Acie never saw the court.

But, that doesn't mean that I didn't find some comfort in just being able to see Acie "That's What I Do" Law. At halftime, my buddy and myself moved from our average seats to some prime real estate on the end of the court where the Hawks would be warming up after appearing from the locker room.

What transpired in the next ten minutes, made my night. Acie was taking some "no jumpers", and draining everyone. As a loose ball came his way, he scooped it up. A teammate motioned for him to pass him the ball, but Acie refused to. The teammate approached him to steal the ball, but Acie just walked to the far corner and refused further. At this point, Acie took the extra ball and flicked it one handed from behind the arc...splash.

The teammate decided to D Acie up, and Acie began to put on a clinic. Every shot...splash. Running sky hooks...money.

The people in our new section probably thought we were crazy, as we were going nuts. It was the only time we stood and clapped, or yelled the entire game. Acie fed off of our love and continued even more. This time hitting jumpers off the glass, three's from well behind the line.... Every single one strongly contested by his teammate everything time.

Acie Law. The man, the myth, the legend.

Entry Link :: Comment

As the week tails to an end, and you struggle to stay motivated at work/school, I thought that some random ramblings may be just the thing to hold everyone over.

DeAndre declares for the NBA Draft

What I don't get is when people get all red in the face about how DeAndre isn't ready. Who cares. If a team wants to give him millions of dollars right now so that they can beef him up and get him ready, then I see no problem why he shouldn't go. Trust me, I want DeAndre back just as much as the next guy, but that is just smart business. The NBA is just like any other company. You make investments on employees that show lots of potential, and then you slowly mold them into exactly what you want.

However, if DeAndre wants to be a big time player and be drafted 1-5 in the draft, the obvious decision is to stay one more year. With the wealth of big men in this year's draft, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see him change his mind as the projections solidify and he ends up as a late lottery pick.

NBADraft.net has DJ as #10 to the Nets

CollegeHoops.net has DJ as #9 to the Bulls

DraftExpress.com has DJ as #10 to the Bulls

P.S. In my opinion, Derrick Rose is the best Freshman in the country. He would have put up Beasley/Mayo/Durant like numbers if he had played on any of those teams. I fully expect him to be the best pro out of this year's freshman crop. It isn't a stretch to imagine him playing at the Chris Paul, Deron Williams level in just a few years. He is smooth, has a stroke, is quick enough to defend, and is big and long enough to handle the pro sized guards.

The new Dollar Bill?

This bidding war doesn't bother me anymore. Maybe it should, but it doesn't. And out of all the coaches getting courted by big time programs, when someone has a chance to go home to their Alma Mater, where they met their wife, where their family still resides, it just makes sense, especially when Boone Pickens is willing to pay upwards of $3.5 million/year.

By the way, what do you do with that kind of money in Stillwater, OK? Everywhere he goes people will pick up the tab. Car allowance. House allowance. Where do you spend that money? You work too dang much to vacation. It just piles up. How awesome is that?

This ESPN.com article by Gene Wojciechowski doesn't do it for me. And it bothers me on so many different levels:

1. I don't see OSU as a graveyard. Is it just me, or is that arena not one of the more intimidating venues in all of college ball? In '03/'04 they beat St. Joe's in one of the better NCAA Tournament games to move onto the FINAL FOUR. The next year? They are ranked in the top ten from start to finish, win the Big 12 tourney, and lose in the Sweet 16 by 1 point. Graveyard? Not quite. Any program that can boast 2 national titles, 17 conference championships, and 6 final fours can't be referred to as a graveyard. Is OSU basketball on par with Kansas basketball? Of course not, but it isn't unthinkable that OSU could improve into a feared program again in a few years. In fact, they have much more of a claim to that happening than we do at this point, and we've come quite a long way in 3 short years.

2. Gene Wojmynameistoohardtospell says that "alma maters are overrated. So is money." Oh is that right? Easy for you to say from your free hotel room in San Antonio that ESPN picked up the tab on. And I'm sure everyone over in Knoxville, Tennessee is glad to hear you bash the importance of where you came from. One man should never be able to say what another man should or shouldn't do. Go try on Self's shoes, walk around in them and then get back to me on whether taking money and COMING HOME is a bad idea.

3. The last thing that gets me about this, is the fact that I have a feeling that Gene Wojtoomanyletters has a little bit of conflict of interests in this piece. Why? He is born and raised in Kansas.

Fantasy Baseball is Addicting

I never have played before. I normally stick to Fantasy Football, but this year, under the pressure from my newest brother-in-law (the check is in the mail by the way), I decided to join a league. At first it was a little overwhelming, too many stats. Too many pitchers. Too long of a draft. Too many guys with the last name Rodriguez. But then the season started, and now, I can't stop checking the live scoring. I need to contain myself though, this season is too long, and I am in a dead sprint right now. Let's see if I can keep it up. But it looks good so far, especially when my team is belting out 9 home runs against Plunk's over hyped and poorly managed squad.

That's all for today. Enjoy the Masters.

Entry Link :: 8 Comments

All of these things ran through my head as my red-eye flight landed at the Dulles Airport at 7am on Saturday morning. I just spent the college tuition of my first born son on a 32 hour balls-to-the-wall trip to Las Vegas. I am sure most of you have experienced the madness before, but for me, it was my first go with Sin City. 32 hours, and every minute was a "carpe diem" moment. I had to get my money's worth. Sweet Sixteen basketball. Sportsbook. Craps. Blackjack. Slots. All of it, so much to take in.

So I sat there, in seat 11D, waiting to stumble off the plane, thumbing through the remains of my wallet, trying to figure out where it all went. I hit rewind and found myself just a day and half earlier in a line for a taxi cab on my cell phone with Plunk, just minutes from the first tip of Thursday games:

"Give me Xavier plus 1 vs. West Virginia for $50."

The cab arrived, and I began my ride to the Venetian, I was already hooked. I called Plunk right back, "Give me the over in each game for $25 each, too."

As I settled into the hotel and made my way down to the sportsbook to assess the damage, I found Xavier and WVU in a close game, but WVU staying way too close for my comfort level. As the game went down to the wire, I found myself inching closer to the over/under at 136 points. Next thing I know, overtime. Overtime?! What does that do to my bets? The entire book asked the same question. Ends up, all bets stay alive until the final whistle. Great news for me. Xavier pulls out the win, and my cover gets hit. Plus $75. UNC wins big, but a slow start kills my over bet, down to plus $50.

Quick run at the craps table, big wins. Plunk rolls for 10 minutes solid and wins the table about $300/person, while somehow losing himself $50....hilarious difference in moods when we all walked away. Plus $350. Feel bad that Plunk just lost $50, and don't want to hear him complain about how he won me the money, throw him a two $25 chips. Plus $300.

Second round of games are up, I want a more action and bet smaller amounts: $20 on Louisville -1 in the first half (plus $20), $10 Tennesee +3 (lose, plus $10), $20 parlay under for Louis/Tenn and UCLA/WKU (lose, down $10), $10 WKU +8 in the first half (lose, down $20). Plus $280 to date, not a bad start.

Next craps table, a real grinder as I stand for close to an hour and find a way to win another $100. Plus $380. There is always that moment in retrospect you wished that you had just walked away. This was my moment. I never see plus numbers again.

From here on out, I am not going to disclose my losses. But lets just say the craps tables went cold, or my betting did, or both. What started as a nice hot streak, became a very painful first trip to Vegas. I knew I needed to step away when in the middle of the downfall, my phone beeped to remind me that it was payday. Too much temptation, luckily I walked away without dipping into any savings accounts, and $300 in my pocket.

Plunk and I bet enough to have fun, but not enough where we could lose anything of value to us. The rest of our crew? Not the same mindset. There were those that maxed out withdrawal limits. Those that had to visit actual Wells Fargo branches. Those that even dipped into 401K savings. When I feel bad about my losses, I just think about those guys, and I feel a little bit better.
What about Plunk? Well, his luck was a little hotter than mine, and he found some serious wealth in the Sportsbook:

took WV-1 and lost ...$30

took UNC -8.5 and won ...$25

took WKU +12.5 and covered ...$50

took Tenn +3. and lost ..$25

took Wis +4.5 and lost ...$25

took Texas -2 and covered ...$100

took Kansas -12.5 and cov......$50

took memphis -4.5 and covered ...$100

Plus $245 from Sweet Sixteen

took UNC -6.5 vs Louis and won...$100

took UNC/Louis under 154 and lost...$50

took UCLA -6 vs. Xavier and won...$100

took UCLA/X over 131 and won...$25

Plus $175 on Elite Eight

Plunk = Plus $420 total at the Sportsbook.

Plunk still hasn't disclosed his overall winnings/losses from the entire trip, but I think he did okay for himself. He almost lost everone of his Elite Eight bets though. In a Vegas stupor, he made almost $300 in bets, sat the slips down on a table, dropped a $100 bill on the ground and walked away. Luckily he had some friends with him that covered his back, or it would have been a much different weekend for ole Bobble Head.

Not a good story? Probably not, but it gives you a view into the confusion that is the Plunk. If you are still thirsty for more (I doubt that you are), this one isn't may be a little better:

Late Friday night our entire crew found itself on Freemont Street at Mermaids participating in a little slot machine tournament. Plunk didn't have a slot machine, and a drunk homeless man was passed out on a machine. What did Plunk do? He called security and had the bum dragged out of the casino....literallly. Belly up, on his arse, dragged straight out of the casino, all so he could put a $20 bill in a slot machine and get free drinks. Well done, Plunk. Well done.

Entry Link :: 3 Comments

Courtesy of AggieAthletics.com

Probable Lineups:

Tennessee	Ht.	Pos.	Yr.	Stats
Shannon Bobbitt	5-2	G	SR	9.8 ppg/ 3.5 apg
Alexis Hornbuckle	5-11	G	SR	10.2 ppg/ 5.7 rpg
Alberta Auguste	5-11	F	SR	5.3 ppg/ 2.7 rpg
Candace Parker	6-4	F/C/G	JR	21.5 ppg/ 8.4 rpg
Nicky Anosike	6-4	F	SR	9.0 ppg/ 7.3 rpg

---

ANALYSIS:

Keys for Tennessee:

The Lady Vols don’t have to do anything special. They have the best player in the country surrounded by the best team in the country and led by the best coach in the history of the game. Tennessee needs to show up, not underestimate Texas A&M and play to their ability. If those things are done the Lady Vols should roll to win over the Aggies.

Candace Parker is possibly the most impressive female basketball player of all time. She has all the skills of a guard, all the skills of a post, and is 6-4. She will be the biggest mismatch for the Aggies. Imagine Danielle Gant five inches taller and you would get close to Parker. Parker is the star but Bobbitt and Hornbuckle drive the Cadillac that is the Tennessee attack. The Vols like to pressure the ball and score in transition. Look for a great matchup between those two and the Aggie combo of Starks and Franklin.

Parker will get her points and look like a superstar no matter what the Aggies do. Therefore the Hornbuckle and Bobbitt have to play their game and control pace and tempo through their defense for Tennessee to stroll into Tampa looking for the national championship.

Keys for A&M:

A&M and Tennessee play similar styles. They both pressure the ball with tremendous defense and rely on superior athleticism in order to score in the half court. We somehow have to neutralize the one thing they have that we don’t. A bevy of 6-4 posts. Tennessee will try to dominate the offensive and defensive boards to pull away from the Aggies. Patrice Reado, LaToya Micheaux, and Dmitria Buchanon will have to play great in order to neutralize Tennessee tremendous advantage. In addition to rebounding, our guards have to outplay and dominate their guards. We have no answer for Candace Parker, but if Starks, Franklin, Atunrase, and Gant can outperform their Tennessee counterparts A&M can stay in the game and possibly win late.

Prediction:

Most of you are probably saying “Notre Dame was up at half time, we have a chance!!!” Let me dispel that rumor. We are not the Fighting Irish. They play an entirely different style than we do and it is a style that gave Tennessee fits until they made adjustments. The same thing would have happened to us if we had played Notre Dame.

If the Aggies want to make the trip to Tampa for the Final Four and play for the national championship they will have to outplay Tennessee at Tennessee’s style. Because of the strength of Franklin, Stark, and Gant this could happen. However, the fact remains no one at A&M can match up effectively with Parker. Micheaux will have to stay out of foul trouble, Franklin will have to pressure the ball like she has the past few games, and Gant/Starks will have to make almost every shot they take.

Keeping Micheaux out of foul trouble will be no easy task since she will be facing more athletic and more aggressive post players than she normally does. For Franklin to control the pace and force turnovers like she needs to, she will have to outplay guards that are better than what we have faced thus far in the NCAA tournament. If Gant/Starks are going to dominate the game offensively they will have to do it against one of the best defensive teams in the country.

If the Aggies can effectively perform each of the tasks listed above they should win. However, Tennessee still has Candace Parker and she is the best player on the court and in the nation. As much as I hate to say it, I am taking Tennessee in a game that should remain close till the final five minutes when the Lady Vols will kick it into overdrive on their way to Tampa. I hope I am wrong. Good Luck Ags!

-COACH DALE

Entry Link :: 10 Comments

Duke Preview - From Coach Dale

By Hildy Section: Basketball
Posted on Sun Mar 30, 2008 at 06:47:24 PM EST

#2 Texas A&M (26-7) v. #3 Duke (25-9)

ANALYSIS:

Keys for Duke:
Every player that steps onto the floor for Duke will have been some sort of All-American in high school. Duke has so many high school All-Americans that some aren't good enough to even get on the court this year. Of course they will be there in future and that is why Duke never rebuilds but only reloads. They like to pressure the basketball, force turnovers, get down the floor quickly, and score in transition. Does that sound familiar to Aggie fans? I think I have seen it a few times this year at Reed Arena. There will be two teams that like to play fast on the court come Sunday night, the one that plays better will win.
On defense Duke pressures the ball with their superior athletes and tries to funnel their opponents into the lane where they have to do with six foot five Chante Black. She maybe the most athletic six foot five players any of us have ever seen. She blocks shots, changes shots, and rebounds the ball. It's her job to get the ball to the guards so they can force the tempo.
On offense Duke wants to force tempo with their playmakers like All-American Abby Waner and uber-athletic Wanisha Smith. When things are forced to slow down the Blue Devils will try to either penetrate and dish or just dump the ball inside Black. The one chink in Duke's armor is their 27% shooting from beyond the three point arc. However, they are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country.

Keys for A&M:
A&M doesn't have the blue-chip recruits, high school All-Americans, or prestige that Duke has, but what they do have can't be measured by quantity. The Aggies are some of the physically and mentally toughest players in the country. They know what it means to take advantage of every opportunity, work hard, and play hard.
On the offensive end of the floor A&M has two choices: play better fast than Duke or slow the game down to a crawl. If A&M can't beat Duke in the up-tempo game they will have to slow everything down to a crawl. This really puts A&M in a bind. Coach Blair has to decide quickly if they will be able to stay with/beat Duke in the up-tempo style he prefers. If they can't keep up with Duke he will walk the ball up the floor and try to beat Duke in the half court. This presents two problems: 1) Blair has to make the decision to slow down before A&M is getting blown out and 2) A&M isn't very good in the half court. Either way A&M is going to rely on Takia Starks and Danielle Gant to shoot a high percentage and score quite a bit. If the Aggies can manage 15 points and 15 rebounds from the Dmitria Buchanon/LaToya Micheaux rotation at center they are controlling the boards and preparing for Tennessee on Tuesday night.
Defensively the Aggies need to do a variety of things in order to keep control of Duke. First and foremost Duke can't get inside the three point lane. The pressure Aquonesia Franklin, Sydney Colson, and Morenike Atunrase put on the ball will have to slow Duke down and control guard penetration. That same pressure will make it difficult to for Chante Black to catch the ball in a position where she can score. Another key for A&M will keeping Duke off of the offensive boards. Duke is not a good three point shooting team, but they will often shoot it just so they can get a rebound and put it back in. If A&M can control the boards, pressure Duke's All-American guards, and keep Black under control A&M should be able to win.

Prediction:
This is the Aggies first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1994 and these girls are under a tremendous amount of pressure. It's been a long time since newspapers from all over the country and ESPN have written feature articles on the girls. On the other end of the spectrum is Duke. They are one of the elite powers in women's basketball that just happens to be having an off year. My prediction is Duke will jump out to an early lead while the Aggies battle back. However, the early lead will be too much and the Aggies will lose a tight one. I hope that isn't the case and I hope the Aggies pull out a victory. I am just not sure Duke is the best match-up for our ladies.

Entry Link :: Comment

Vegas Baby! Vegas!

By J Lou Section: Basketball
Posted on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 04:52:58 PM EST

This weekend, Plunk, and myself are leaving 12th MC to enjoy the greatest city in the world, LAS VEGAS. Can you tell me a better weekend to be in the sportsbooks? The Sweet 16 & Elite 8?! Pure gold. Though, I am sure several things will go untold from our excursion to Sin City, we are going to keep up with every bet, won and lost, and reporting back to you on Monday. Like all aspiring gamblers, we are doing our homework before the big test. Here are our picks for the Sweet 16.

But first, a little Vince Vaughn:

The Lines:

Game:	Favorite:	Total:
West Virginia vs. Xavier	WV -1	136 o/u
Wash St. vs. North Carolina	UNC -8	142.5 o/u
Western Kentucky vs. UCLA	UCLA -13	133 o/u
Louisville vs. Tennessee	Louis -2.5	146 o/u
Davidson vs. Wisconsin	Wis -4.5	127 o/u
Stanford vs. Texas	UT -1.5	135 o/u
Villanova vs. Kansas	KU -11.5	142.5 o/u
Michigan St. vs. Memphis	Mem -4.5	135 o/u

12th Manchild Picks:

PLUNK:	WVU vs. Xavier	Wash St. vs. UNC	WKU vs. UCLA	Louis vs. Tenn	Dav vs. Wis	Stan vs. UT	'Nova vs. KU	MSU vs. Mem
Against the Line:	WVU	UNC	WKU	Tenn	Wis	Stan	Nova	Mem
Straight Up:	WVU	UNC	UCLA	Tenn	Wis	Stan	KU	Mem
Over/Under:	Over	Over	Under	Over	Over	Over	Under	Over
HILDY:	WVU vs. Xavier	Wash St. vs. UNC	WKU vs. UCLA	Louis vs. Tenn	Dav vs. Wis	Stan vs. UT	'Nova vs. KU	MSU vs. Mem
Against the Line:	Xavier	Wash St.	UCLA	Tenn	Dav	Stan	Nova	Mem
Straight Up:	Xavier	UNC	UCLA	Tenn	Dav	Stan	KU	Mem
Over/Under:	Over	Over	Under	Over	Under	Under	Over	Over
J LOU:	WVU vs. Xavier	Wash St. vs. UNC	WKU vs. UCLA	Louis vs. Tenn	Dav vs. Wis	Stan vs. UT	'Nova vs. KU	MSU vs. Mem
Against the Line:	Xavier	UNC	WKU	Tenn	Dav	Stan	KU	Mem
Straight Up:	Xavier	UNC	UCLA	Lou	Dav	Stan	KU	Mem
Over/Under:	Over	Over	Under	Over	Under	Under	Under	Over
DWAYNECASTRO:	WVU vs. Xavier	Wash St. vs. UNC	WKU vs. UCLA	Louis vs. Tenn	Dav vs. Wis	Stan vs. UT	'Nova vs. KU	MSU vs. Mem
Against the Line:	WVU	UNC	WKU	Lou	Wis	UT	'Nova	MSU
Straight Up:	WVU	UNC	UCLA	Lou	Wis	UT	KU	Mem
Over/Under:	Over	Over	Under	Under	Over	Over	Over	Under

Who the heck is DwayneCastro, you ask? Just another schmuck that Plunk found panhandling in Houston. They started getting all chummy when DwayneCastro mentioned bobbleheads, cheese, and boxed wine. It turns out that he has some pretty good sports knowledge to him, and in the span of a few weeks has quickly moved up the ranks of 12th MC to author status. Don't blow it DwayneCastro, or it's back to the streets.

If you are a degenerate like me, you may need more movie clips and gambling links. Click more for.....more.

Click "Read More" for the rest...

Read More :: 1 Comment

Lady Ag's Headed to the Sweet 16!

By Plunk Section: Basketball
Posted on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:03:26 AM EST

Texas A&M 63 - Hartford 39

Aggieathletics.com

Initial Thoughts: The women's team is headed to the Sweet 16 after 2 DOMINATING wins this weekend. Tonight, the Lady Ag's handled Hartford easily posting a 64-39 win. It is absoulutely amazing how much our men's and women's team have grown in the past 4 years. Both teams have gone to the tourney 3 consecutive years!

Why we won: (1)The women pulled out to a controlling 34-19 halftime lead which gave them a nice cushion down the stretch. (2) The Lady Ag's forced Hartford into 25 turnovers. (3) We had 34 points in the paint compared to 16 by Hartford

A&M Player of the Game: DANIELLE GANT - Gant scored 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting, grabed 2 rebounds, and also had 3 steals. Gant helped push the Ag's to next weeks Sweet 16 which just happens to be Gant's hometown.

What does it mean? It means the Lady Ag's will face Duke next weekend hoping to advance to the Elite 8. The only other Sweet 16 visit for the Lady Ag's was in 1994. Tonights win also marked the 11th straight for the women.

A&M	Key Stats	Hartford
25	Rebounds	35
(25-55) 46%	FG %	(13-38) 34%
(2-12) 17%	3FG %	(0-6) 0%
(11-15) 73%	FT %	(13-18) 72%
0	Blocks	1
14	Steals	5
11	Turnovers	25

stats courtesy of AggieAthletics.com

Thoughts on the Stats: I like our chances anytime we force 25 TO's and have 14 steals.

Entry Link :: 2 Comments

Foul?

By J Lou Section: Basketball
Posted on Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 01:54:58 PM EST

Plunk has more of a post game break down coming

(probably when he gets over his hangov.....errr out of his Easter service)

but in the meantime, the in between time, this is killing me:

This is a little interesting isn't it?

From the LA Times:

After Collison's final layup gave UCLA a 51-49 lead and after an Aggies timeout, Sloan, a 6-3 guard, drove into the lane and pulled up for the shot. It was knocked away by Shipp and afterward Sloan said he was still waiting for an official's whistle.

"I went up to take the shot," Sloan said, "and I felt maybe a couple of arms pulling me down. I just knew for sure I was going to get a foul call because, hey, everybody could see what it was. And to my surprise they didn't make the call. That kind of shocked me."

Shipp said he made a clean play and Love, who was originally given credit for the block, said he was not surprised there was no whistle.

"It was a tough call and at the end of games sometimes, and this sounds hypocritical after the Stanford game, but you can't call stuff at the end if there's not a lot of contact."

Love was referencing UCLA's Pacific 10 Conference regular-season clinching win over Stanford that was sent to overtime when Lawrence Hill was called for a foul while blocking a last-second shot by Collison.

I hate to spoil a great game with this cheap "what if" talk, but as an Aggie fan, that is a lot of contact Kevin.

Not that it matters, Sloan only hits 67% from the line, plus we would have had to survive overtime, and our offense was starting to sputter, and Love and Collison were taking over.

But still interesting. Thoughts?

Entry Link :: 15 Comments

Round Two: #9 A&M vs. #1 UCLA

By J Lou Section: Basketball
Posted on Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 09:34:00 AM EST

Texas A&M (25-10) vs. UCLA (32-3)

vs.

Saturday, March 22, 2008 | 9:15pm(ET)

---

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Texas A&M	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Dominique Kirk	6-4	185	G	SR-3L	Dallas, TX	8.6	3.4	3.5
Donald Sloan	6-3	205	G	SO-1L	Dallas, TX	9.4	4	3.4
Josh Carter	6-7	200	G/F	JR-2L	Dallas, TX	11.9	4.0	1.4
Joseph Jones	6-9	255	F/C	SR-3L	Normangee, TX	10.4	5.1	1.3
Brian Davis	6-9	250	F	SO-1L	Dallas, TX	8.7	5.0	1.3

UCLA	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Kevin Love	6-10	260	C	FR-HS	Lake Oswego, OR	17.2	10.6	1.8
Darren Collison	6-1	165	G	JR	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	14.9	2.7	3.9
Josh Shipp	6-5	220	G	JR	Los Angeles, CA	12.8	3.2	2.3
Russell Westbrook	6-3	187	G	SO	Hawthorne, CA	12.5	3.8	4.4
L.R. Mbah a Moute	6-8	230	F	JR	Yaounde, Cameroon	8.8	5.4	1.5

---

A&M Notes: From AggieAthletics.com

• A&M Coach Mark Turgeon is 3-1 in NCAA Tournament play. His 2006 Wichita State team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with wins against Seton Hall (86-66) and Tennessee (80-73) before falling to eventual Final Four participant George Mason (63-55).

• A&M and Kansas are the only Big 12 schools to record at least 21 wins in each of the last four years.

• A&M’s 25 wins are the third most in school history (27-7 in 2006-07; 26-8 in 1979-80).

• A&M is 52-16 in the last two seasons, ranking it among the winningest schools in the country in that span.

• A&M is 5-1 in neutral site games this season with the only loss being to Kan- sas (77-71) in the Big 12 Tournament.

• n the last six games, A&M’s opponents have made just .296 (34-of- 115) from three-point range.

• A&M has posted 146 blocked shots, the third most in school history and the most since a record 181 in 1989-90.

• In A&M’s last 17 wins, no Aggie player fouled out.

• A&M has had at least 20 points in the paint in all 25 wins. The Aggies have also out-rebounded or equaled their opponent in all 25 victories. A&M is 0-5 when it loses the battle of the boards.

• In the last two games, A&M has averaged a +11.0 rebounding margin. The +10 margin vs. Kansas was the largest against the Jayhawks this year. A&M had a +12 advantage in the first round win against BYU, including a +11 margin in the final 15 minutes of the game.

• A&M is 24-4 when its opponent scores under 70 points, including a 9-1 mark in games away from home (including neutral site games).

• The Aggies have held 13 of their last 16 opponents to 69 points or less. Just eight opponents have crossed the 70-point plateau.

• A&M has beaten a top-10 team in four straight years, but has never had two top-10 victories in a season. The Aggies defeated No. 10 Texas (80-63) on Jan. 30 in College Station, handing the Longhorns their worst loss of the season.

  Prior to 2004-05, A&M had beaten a top 10 team just four times in its history.

• The highest ranked team A&M has ever defeated was No. 5 Texas in 1981-82 in Austin (71-69 in overtime). Kansas was ranked No. 6 when the Aggies won last year in Lawrence (69-66).

• A&M has appeared in three straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history and has won three straight first-round games. The Aggies are 4-2 in NCAA Tournament play in the last three years. Including the 2005 NIT, A&M has made postseason play four straight years.

• A&M is 7-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition.

• The Aggies are 15-0 this season when making at least 50 percent from the field and is 19-1 when making at laset 45 percent. The Aggies’ shot .543 against BYU on Thursday, a school record for NCAA Tournament play.

• A&M is 21-3 when leading at halftime this season.

• A&M is 22-3 when its opponent makes under 45 percent from the field, includ- ing a 16-1 mark when its opponents makes less than 40 percent.

• A&M is 17-4 when it had 13 or fewer turnovers.

---

TALKING POINTS:

• What's at stake?-After a big win over BYU, the Aggies have nothing to lose. In fact, only .9% of the brackets submitted to ESPN have the Aggies beating UCLA tonight. I didn't pick it, Plunk didn't pick it, but Hildy sure did. You have to think that whoever comes out alive tonight is the favorite to get to the Elite Eight after what happened in Tampa yesterday (See Mark Schlabech's article).

• Keys for A&M - (1)Get Josh and Joe involved early.- Even though I don't want to see us get in a shootout with UCLA (they have too many weapons, we need consistency from our best offensive players. Every game I think back to how we opened up at home vs. Texas: feeding Joe the ball the first dozen times down the court. I am not saying he should get our first dozen shots, but I want to see us run our offense through him on the block. Make Kevin Love work on both ends of the court and see if we can't get some easy 3's opened up for Josh by making UCLA collapse on Joe in the paint.

  (2) Milk the clock. - UCLA has four players that average double digits, we have two. Tonight is not the night for Sloan to get carried away. If he plays within himself and gets us in our half court set every time down the court, we may have a chance to do the unthinkable tonight.

  (3) Rebound. - Davis, Jordan, Junior, and Joe need to locate a body and box out tonight. Even if they don't get the rebound, it could open up lanes for Josh and Sloan to crash in on the loose ball. Getting bodies on Love and Mbah a Moute early and forcing them to get some stupid fouls could be huge in the long run.

• Prediction - This isn't uncharted territory for the Aggies. Most of our team suited up against Louisville in the round of 32 last year. We have played teams as good as UCLA this year. We beat Texas by 17. We played Kansas relatively close twice. I think UCLA, out of all the #9's, would want to play us the least. We have talent, size, athleticism, and are battle tested. UCLA has everything to lose, we have everything to gain. What more could you ask for. I predict that this game comes down to the final two minutes, but free throws jump up and bite us in the pants: UCLA 64 - A&M 59.

  WE DEFINITELY HAVE OUR HANDS FULL TONIGHT.

  ---

  PLEASE LEAVE ALL YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT SATURDAY'S GAMES BELOW

Entry Link :: 2 Comments

Women's Basketball: UTSA Preview

By J Lou Section: Basketball
Posted on Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 06:32:08 PM EST

Texas A&M (26-7) vs.Univ. of Texas-San Antonio (23-9)

vs.

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 | 11:00am

Pete Maravich Assembly Center | Baton Rouge, LA

Television:

---

TALKING POINTS:

• Keys for UTSA-The Road Runners are making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance following their first ever Southland Conference Title. However, this is not their first taste of success. They appeared each of the last three years in the Southland Conference tournament final before breaking through this season. This team also posted a school record 23 wins and the second twenty win season under head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair.

  First team all conference junior guard Monica Gibbs is the key cog in the UTSA lineup. She is the schools all-time leader in assists, second leading rebounder, and third leading scorer. Every UTSA bucket will either be created by Gibbs or scored by Gibbs. Onika Anderson has been the primary beneficiary of the playmaking ability of Monica Gibbs. Anderson made second team all-conference this season as the leading scorer and rebounder for Road Runners. Whitney York is another interesting piece for UTSA. Last season she led Bryan High to the Regional Final, falling to eventual state champion Rockwall, after transferring to Bryan from Huntsville. Out of high school she wanted to play for Coach Blair at A&M but chose to sign with UTSA in the end. Watch for her to play with a little motivation against the hometown team.

• Keys for A&M -

  For some second seeded teams, keys to victory include getting off the base and not oversleeping. This probably isn’t the case for Texas A&M. Facing an in-state school like UTSA and playing against girls many of our players played against in high school could create and interesting dynamic in this game. Both teams should come out highly motivated. It is important for the Aggies to come out and have a great start. If the Aggies can put away the Road Runners early in the ball game this could turn into a rout. However, if A&M allows UTSA to stay in the game the Road Runners will gain confidence and the Aggies will be ripe for the upset.

  Defense is going to be the name of the game in this contest and every contest for the rest of the season. Lucky for the ladies from Aggieland, they have superior athletes, talent, and coaching. There are variety of players that will match up with Gibbs are will be charged with keeping her out of the lane. You will see Franklin, Gant, Starks, Colson, and Atunrase defend Gibbs throughout the game. A bevy of fresh bodies should wear Gibbs down. That leaves York to do the creating. Franklin should defend her most of the game and she is way to physical for York to stay with her for 40 minutes.

• Prediction -

  Look for the Aggies to win big. They are tired of listening to people say they don’t deserve a second seed. A&M should jump out to a big lead and coast to victory. Even if the game does stay close for a half, A&M’s guards are too big, too experienced, and too physical for UTSA to keep up. Offensively watch out for Danielle Gant. There isn’t a single Road Runner that can effectively defend Gant. She should have at least 20 (if she plays enough minutes). In summation, there isn’t a single Road Runner fast enough, tough enough, or strong enough to stay with the Aggies.

Entry Link :: Comment

Texas A&M vs BYU Game Recap

By Plunk Section: Basketball
Posted on Fri Mar 21, 2008 at 10:40:50 AM EST

Texas A&M 67 - BYU 62

Initial Thoughts: Like any A&M game, I was expecting us to blow it at any moment. We built an early lead only to give it back before halftime. It was encouraging to see the Ag's make a comeback and they did not get rattled when the stormin mormon's made their runs. Josh Carter is the reason we won that game.

Why we won: See Above (Josh Carter) - If Josh does not play out of his mind, we don't win. He kept us in the game with his 3's and key rebounds. I was really impressed by his rebounding last night and I really hope we see this Josh on Saturday.

A&M Player of the Game: JOSH CARTER. See above. 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting, plus 5 boards says enough.

BYU Player of the Game: No one specific stuck out but Trent Plaisted played well in the 2nd half. BYU had their balanced scoring w/ Plaisted putting up 13, Cummard putting up 12, and Tavernari putting up 15.

What does it mean? It means that the Ag's have WON a NCAA tournament game three years in a row. Right now, every Aggie needs to chill out, and say "Thank You" because Aggie Basketball has come a long, long way. Teams such as Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, and Kansas have not won a tourney game 3 straight years. I still can't believe how far our basketball program has come in such little time. Ok, now we play UCLA, a #1 seed who many have coasting into San Antonio for their 3rd straight final four (which is crazy).

A&M	Key Stats	BYU
37	Rebounds	25
(25-46) 54%	FG %	(24-54) 44%
(8-16) 50%	3FG %	(7-22) 32%
(9-17) 53%	FT %	(7-14) 50%
0	Blocks	1
2	Steals	6
13	Turnovers	7

Thoughts on the Stats: It scares me that we shot 54%, out rebounded them by 12, and shot 50% from beyond the arc, yet we barely won that game. Hope this changes before Saturday.

Entry Link :: Comment

BYU vs. Texas A&M Preview

By Plunk Section: Basketball
Posted on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 10:24:29 AM EST

Texas A&M (24-10) vs. BYU (27-7)

vs.

March 20, 2008 | 6:25 (CT)

---

Honda Center (17,608) | Anaheim, CA

Television:

---

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Texas A&M	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Dominique Kirk	6-4	185	G	SR-3L	Dallas, TX	8.6	3.4	3.5
Donald Sloan	6-3	205	G	SO-1L	Dallas, TX	9.4	4	3.4
Josh Carter	6-7	200	G/F	JR-2L	Dallas, TX	11.9	4.0	1.4
Joseph Jones	6-9	255	F/C	SR-3L	Normangee, TX	10.4	5.1	1.3
DeAndre Jordan	7-0	260	C	FR-HS	Houston, TX	8.2	6.2	0.4

BYU	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Lee Cummard	6-7	185	G	JR	Mesa, AZ	15.8	6.4	3.5
Sam Burgess	6-3	190	G	SR	Alpine, UT	8.8	3.6	2.0
Ben Murdock	6-2	185	G	SR	Bountiful, UT	4.0	2.4	3.7
Jonathan Tavernari	6-6	215	G/F	SO	San Bernardo, Brazil	13.1	5.3	1.5
Trent Plaisted	6-11	245	F/C	JR	San Antonio, TX	15.6	7.8	1.5

---

A&M	Key Stats	BYU
71.5	Points PG PG	74.1
46%	FG %	46%
36%	3FG %	38%
64%	FT %	66%
4.2	Blocks PG	4.5
4	Steals PG	6
12.8	Turnovers PG	14.2
39.3	Rebounds PG	42

---

TALKING POINTS:

• What's at stake?-A Saturday matchup against #1 seed UCLA. All the speculation of what a win would do for the Aggies is over...it is simple, lose and the season is over.

• BYU Season Recap - BYU won the mountain west conference regular season title, and the cougars also were undefeated at home this season. I hope Aggie fans are not taking BYU for granted and alredy looking ahead to UCLA because this team could easily beat the Ags if we are not careful. The cougars are an extremely balanced team with 3 players averaging over 13 points per game. Balance like this is huge come tourney time because if one player is off, they have 2 others to pick up the slack. The cougars are led by their center Trent Plaisted who is from Clark HS in San Antonio. He averages 15 and 8 and can also shoot from the outside. One thing that scares me is how well their guards rebound so the Ags will have to be strong on the glass. BYU is a very good and patient team and I have no doubt this game will come down to the wire.

• Keys for A&M - (1) defend the permiter - BYU's big guys can all step out and hit a jumper and this has been a problem for A&M (see Texas Tech for example), so A&M MUST play tough nose defense all over the court.

  (2) Push the ball - A huge advantage I see for A&M is the fact that we are more athletic than they are and I think we must try to push the ball and finish on the fast break.

  (3) Josh Carter - to be blunt, he must score for us to win. He has to break out of his slump and I think he needs to get to the FT line more often. As Josh goes, the Ags go so we need him to step up.

• Keys for BYU - (1)Force TO's - one of the Ag's biggest weakness is our tendency to turn the ball over. BYU will look to win the TO battle and if they do so, it could result in a first round exit.

  (2) Keep A&M off the offensive glass - Brian Davis, Joe Jones, and DJ have made a killing on the offensive glass and BYU must win the boards battle.

  (3) Shoot the 3 - BYU shoots tons of 3's and in order to win they must shoot the ball well.

• Prediction - A&M wins 62-58 in a tough battle. I think this game could go either way but A&M brings its A game and pulls out a tough victory.
  PLEASE LEAVE ALL YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THURSDAY'S GAMES BELOW

Entry Link :: 5 Comments

Next 12 >>