Spring Break
Turgeon, players prep for Tech
By: Brett Sebastian
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: Sports
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After snapping a three-game losing streak with an 81-66 win Monday against Texas, the Aggies were relaxed going into Saturday's game against Texas Tech.
"We really needed that," said Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "In this business you go right to the next one and you start thinking about what you have to do, and the losses stay with you longer than the wins stay with you. It was a feel-good night though, for a lot of people and Aggie fans. It was a good win for us and a good win for our program."
Before the win, A&M lost to Oklahoma, Kansas State and Baylor. The Oklahoma and Baylor losses were on the road, extending the Aggies road-losing streak to five games.
"I think we've been better on the road the past few games," Turgeon said. "We haven't won. We have played well in those games but not good enough to win. This time of year you should be a good road team because you've done it so many times, but we will see. I do feel better though."
The Aggies have not won on the road since New Year's Eve when they defeated Rice 72-60. A&M will play Tech in Lubbock on Saturday. The Aggies defeated the Red Raiders 79-70 in the previous meeting on Jan. 28 at Reed Arena.
"They were really good the first time we played them," Turgeon said. "I think they are executing on both ends better, they are really hard to guard and they are good. They have good young players and they've gotten better as the season has gone on. They are pretty good at home."
A&M hasn't won in Lubbock since the 2005-2006 season. A&M went to the NCAA Tournament that year under second-year head coach Billy Gillespie.
"The road is a whole different environment," said junior forward Chinemelu Elonu. "We need to stay together as a team, listen to coach and not get rattled. We haven't won there for a while, so going in there if we still want to make the tournament, which we think we still can, we know we need to be ready to go there and give it all we can."
Sitting in eighth place in the Big 12 with a 4-7 conference record, the Aggies need a strong regular season finish to improve their NCAA tournament résumé. With "bracketology" and tournament bubble talk featured in the media, staying focused is becoming an issue for the team said junior guard Donald Sloan.
"You're going to watch it, and see it and hear about all that," Sloan said. "They can say everything about who's off and who's on, who's in and who's not in but what we know what we have to do. Right now we have work to do, take it one game at a time, and worry about ourselves and Texas Tech."
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