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Jimcs50
02-23-2005, 08:59 AM
The Aggies were favored by 4 points last night against the hottest team in the Big 12. Iowa St had won 7 straight conf games including wins against Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, so it surprised me that A&M would be favored.

But Vegas was right:

Aggies end Iowa State's run
Updated February 23, 2005 2:48 AM
By ROBERT PREMEAUX JR.
Eagle Staff Writer


The Texas A&M men went on a 17-0 run in the second half to defeat Iowa State, 75-59, on Tuesday night at Reed Arena. Texas A&M has now tied San Diego for the nation’s biggest turnaround with a 10-game improvement from last season.

FINAL: Texas A&M 75, Iowa State 59

KEY STAT: A&M held ISU to 28.6 percent shooting from the field. :smokin

RECORDS: A&M (17-7, 6-7), ISU (15-9, 7-6)

NEXT: A&M hosts Texas Tech, Saturday, 3 p.m.

TICKETS: Sold out except for student tickets.
Iowa State was the hottest team in the Big 12 coming into Tuesday’s matchup with Texas A&M, but the Aggies spun the Cyclones into a cold stretch Iowa natives had to appreciate.

A&M held Iowa State to a season-low 28.6 percent shooting performance and got big nights from Antoine Wright, Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk to end the Cyclones’ seven-game winning streak. With the 75-59 victory, A&M won back-to-back Big 12 games for the first time since 2002, and kept alive its outside shot at an NCAA tournament berth.

“It’s crazy,” Wright said. “Coming in, I just wanted to finish .500 overall, or at least be over .500.”

But under first-year coach Billy Gillispie, Wright says the Aggies (17-7, 6-7 Big 12) have made believers out of themselves as well as outsiders. They did it again Tuesday by stopping an Iowa State squad that had won its last three Big 12 road games including overtime victories at Texas and Kansas.

Wright led A&M with 21 points, while Jones had 17 and Kirk had 15. They each pulled down seven rebounds.

A&M smothered Iowa State (15-9, 7-6) with its man-to-man defense. The Cyclones hadn’t shot worse than 33 percent all season, hitting at least 20 field goals in every game but one. Against A&M, Iowa State hit just 14 field goals and had its worst shooting performance since hitting 24 percent in a loss at Texas Tech in 2002.

“I thought we guarded for 40 minutes as good as we can possibly guard,” Gillispie said.

In the second half, A&M’s defense seemed to frustrate Iowa State.

With 15:29 left, Iowa State’s Curtis Stinson cut A&M’s lead to 34-31. The Cyclones then went more than 13 minutes without hitting a basket.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well. We missed a lot of shots. But let’s give Texas A&M some credit,” Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan said. “We didn’t play well, but they played very well.”

After Stinson’s basket, A&M hit Iowa State with a 17-0 run. Iowa State then began a steady march to the free-throw line, and for the game the Cyclones hit 28 of 33. But the free-throw line couldn’t save Iowa State from A&M’s defensive pressure.

“We just contested a lot of shots and tried to rebound, and it worked,” Wright said.

Ironically, it had been Iowa State’s matchup zone defense creating a buzz around the Big 12. The Cyclones lost their first five conference games but rebounded by winning their next seven, including victories over four ranked opponents. Much of their success had been contributed to their quirky three-quarter court zone.

But A&M found ways to beat Iowa State’s defense, especially when Jones was in the game.

Despite playing just 19 minutes because of foul trouble, Jones helped A&M dominate inside. The 6-foot-9 freshman hit 5 of 7 field goal attempts and 7 of 11 free throws while powering A&M’s 34-18 scoring advantage in the paint.

“The biggest key was having Joe in the game,” Gillispie said. “When we got it in there [to him], Joe scored. If he didn’t score, he forced the double team and was able to fan it out, and we made some wide open shots. That’s the way you’re supposed to play. It was fun to watch.”

NOTES — A&M athletics director Bill Byrne said A&M so far has not been contacted by the NIT. Contrary to popular belief, Byrne also said schools, which can host two NIT games on campus, no longer have the power to “buy” games. “They’re getting away from that,” Byrne said, adding that the NIT now relies more on the RPI index to determine home and away teams. ... A&M has been contacted by the WNIT, Byrne said. The WNIT, which allows teams to host three games on campus, still leans toward letting schools outbid each other for home games.

Jimcs50
02-23-2005, 09:01 AM
If A&M can beat Tech and Baylor,(They play at Ok St) and win 1st game in Big 12 tournament they have a shot at a bid, as they will have 20 wins.

Beat Tech!!!

Ginofan
02-23-2005, 05:49 PM
I'll be driving up for the Tech game, my 2nd Aggie basketball game ever! (first was the OSU game).

Supposedly tickets sold out before there was even a student ticket pull so i expect it to be wayyyy packed, probably breaking the attendance record previously set by the TU game earlier in the season.

If we beat tech....good lord it'll be CRAZY! Billy G for coach of the year!

jalbre6
02-23-2005, 06:29 PM
I think if A&M can beat either Okie State or Tech, they're in. Nineteen W's is enough with a .500 conference record in the Big 12.

UT, on the other hand, has to win at least one and probably two of their last three against Mizzou, OU, and OSU. That close loss to Wake was a long time ago, and those three straight losses to KU, Iowa St, and CU are going to linger with the committee.

But who knows this year? Eight teams have realistic shots at winning the conference tourney, and only Baylor has a losing record overall.

Jimcs50
02-23-2005, 09:19 PM
I might be a little naive thinking that the Aggies will be picked even with 20 wins. Teams that are always picked will be chosen over A&M.

2pac
02-24-2005, 02:12 AM
I might be a little naive thinking that the Aggies will be picked even with 20 wins. Teams that are always picked will be chosen over A&M.

If A&M plays like that against TTU OR OSU, they could make an interesting cinderella. With talent like AW and Law IV, plus Kirk, Jones and Walker - they could put up a nice game.

Jimcs50
02-24-2005, 11:14 AM
I am going to Tech game on Sat, but I have not seen the Aggies win in person in football or basketball in 4 of last 5 games. I went to Ok St game(loss) OU game(loss) Texas bball game(win) Cotton Bowl (loss) OU game football(loss)

I am a jinx...but I hope it ends on Sat.

Ginofan
02-26-2005, 07:07 PM
I just got back from the tech game! It was great! Wright owned the entire first half and Walker was playing great defense. We finally pulled away in the second with everyone scoring pretty evenly. Good to see Bobby do well in his last home game.

We had a couple of tech fans in front of us shooting their "guns" the whole time but they left relatively early as expected...lol

Overall a great game and pretty damn loud!