Spring Break
Surging Aggies face Sooners on Saturday
By: Bryan McAnally
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Sports
Texas A&M has never been more excited to be a .500 team. After arguably the best rivalry game performance, in which the Aggies never trailed and their smallest lead stood at nine points, Texas A&M is back at 3-3. They are happily in the middle of a Big 12 Conference that is beginning to collapse on itself.
Unfortunately for the suddenly successful basketball squad, their next opponent is performing just as well. The Oklahoma Sooners began Big 12 play with a two game skid, only to turn things around with a three game winning streak, putting them at 3-2 in the conference.
The Sooners roster consists of three productive players that the Aggies will need to keep a sharp eye, and defensive body, on. Freshman Blake Griffin, senior Longar Longar and sophomore Tony Crocker average 14.7, 13.4 and 11.3 points a game respectively and lead the Sooners in field goal percentage. They rank among the top in minutes played and free throw percentage.
For best results, the Aggies will need to use their consistent, man-on defense to contain all three of these Sooner stars; a feat which will not be too difficult considering A&M held the Longhorns' best three players to only 26 points in their win Wednesday night.
After suffering two early conference losses to Kansas State and Kansas, the Sooners dealt with the problem by doing their best not to address it. By ignoring the losses, the team focused on the future and the potential successes it could bring.
"I didn't bring guys in for individual meetings," said Head Coach Jeff Capel. "I just told them, 'Let's find a way.' And that's all we talked about in practice."
Capel sums up what must be done to continue with Oklahoma's success.
"We just have to keep playing," Capel said, "and keep fighting."
If it's a fight the Sooners want, it's a fight they'll get. With two technical fouls in Wednesday's game, including a one-sided shoving match against Brian Davis and a stray elbow that somehow made its way to the back of DeAndre Jordan's head, the Aggies are not afraid to get physical; especially in the paint, and especially at home, where Texas A&M has only lost one game this season.
Tip off is at 3 p.m.
Unfortunately for the suddenly successful basketball squad, their next opponent is performing just as well. The Oklahoma Sooners began Big 12 play with a two game skid, only to turn things around with a three game winning streak, putting them at 3-2 in the conference.
The Sooners roster consists of three productive players that the Aggies will need to keep a sharp eye, and defensive body, on. Freshman Blake Griffin, senior Longar Longar and sophomore Tony Crocker average 14.7, 13.4 and 11.3 points a game respectively and lead the Sooners in field goal percentage. They rank among the top in minutes played and free throw percentage.
For best results, the Aggies will need to use their consistent, man-on defense to contain all three of these Sooner stars; a feat which will not be too difficult considering A&M held the Longhorns' best three players to only 26 points in their win Wednesday night.
After suffering two early conference losses to Kansas State and Kansas, the Sooners dealt with the problem by doing their best not to address it. By ignoring the losses, the team focused on the future and the potential successes it could bring.
"I didn't bring guys in for individual meetings," said Head Coach Jeff Capel. "I just told them, 'Let's find a way.' And that's all we talked about in practice."
Capel sums up what must be done to continue with Oklahoma's success.
"We just have to keep playing," Capel said, "and keep fighting."
If it's a fight the Sooners want, it's a fight they'll get. With two technical fouls in Wednesday's game, including a one-sided shoving match against Brian Davis and a stray elbow that somehow made its way to the back of DeAndre Jordan's head, the Aggies are not afraid to get physical; especially in the paint, and especially at home, where Texas A&M has only lost one game this season.
Tip off is at 3 p.m.
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