Spring Break
Road to the Big 12 Championship
Conference win for Aggies would require defeating No. 11 Tech and No. 3 Mizzou
By: David Arno
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Sports
The No. 6 seeded Texas A&M men's basketball team will open the Big 12 Tournament against the No. 11 seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders Wednesday at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
Texas A&M (23-8, 9-7), which has won six straight games after beginning conference play with a 3-7 record, is coming off of a 96-86 win over No. 12 Missouri.
"That shows you what we have in our locker room, we have some serious toughness," said Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "You look at some teams in the past that were pretty good that started out bad and never recovered, and we recovered. That just shows that I've got a lot of really tough kids."
With the victory over Missouri on Saturday, the Aggies likely assured themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but Turgeon says that there is still work to be done before they start thinking about the NCAA Tournament.
"I just want to continue what we've been doing, that's the approach that we've been taking with the players. To be quite honest, we haven't really talked about the [NCAA] Tournament," Turgeon said. "We know Saturday was a big win, and what we've done recently has been huge for us, but we also know that we can get a lot better."
Texas Tech (13-18, 3-13) is coming off a tough 78-76 loss at Iowa State, but beat No. 9 Kansas 84-65 in Lubbock Wednesday.
"If there's a better No. 11 out there I want to see it. They're playing well," Turgeon said. "They haven't had a lot of luck this year, but now they're trying to make the most of their season. They scare me because they can score so easily."
The Aggies and Red Raiders have already met twice this season, with A&M winning both games.
On their first meeting in College Station in January, the Aggies snapped a three-game losing streak in a 79-70 victory. Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes scored 24 points on 7-8 shooting, and was 6-7 from beyond the arc.
Chinemelu Elonu's career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds in February held off a late Red Raider rally to take the season series over Tech in Lubbock, with a final score of 79-73.
"They're an in-state school, so it'll be a tough one. I thought we defended them well during the second game, in their place, up until the last two minutes of the game," Turgeon said. "They have nothing to lose, so they'll come in and play that way. But we'll be ready; we're excited to play them."
Though some say it's difficult to beat a team for a third time in a single season, Turgeon believes that his team benefits from knowing what to expect from the Red Raiders.
"Would I rather be playing somebody else? Maybe," Turgeon said. "But this is what we were dealt. They know exactly what we're going to do; we know exactly what they're going to do. So it's just who plays well on that night."
Texas A&M (23-8, 9-7), which has won six straight games after beginning conference play with a 3-7 record, is coming off of a 96-86 win over No. 12 Missouri.
"That shows you what we have in our locker room, we have some serious toughness," said Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "You look at some teams in the past that were pretty good that started out bad and never recovered, and we recovered. That just shows that I've got a lot of really tough kids."
With the victory over Missouri on Saturday, the Aggies likely assured themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but Turgeon says that there is still work to be done before they start thinking about the NCAA Tournament.
"I just want to continue what we've been doing, that's the approach that we've been taking with the players. To be quite honest, we haven't really talked about the [NCAA] Tournament," Turgeon said. "We know Saturday was a big win, and what we've done recently has been huge for us, but we also know that we can get a lot better."
Texas Tech (13-18, 3-13) is coming off a tough 78-76 loss at Iowa State, but beat No. 9 Kansas 84-65 in Lubbock Wednesday.
"If there's a better No. 11 out there I want to see it. They're playing well," Turgeon said. "They haven't had a lot of luck this year, but now they're trying to make the most of their season. They scare me because they can score so easily."
The Aggies and Red Raiders have already met twice this season, with A&M winning both games.
On their first meeting in College Station in January, the Aggies snapped a three-game losing streak in a 79-70 victory. Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes scored 24 points on 7-8 shooting, and was 6-7 from beyond the arc.
Chinemelu Elonu's career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds in February held off a late Red Raider rally to take the season series over Tech in Lubbock, with a final score of 79-73.
"They're an in-state school, so it'll be a tough one. I thought we defended them well during the second game, in their place, up until the last two minutes of the game," Turgeon said. "They have nothing to lose, so they'll come in and play that way. But we'll be ready; we're excited to play them."
Though some say it's difficult to beat a team for a third time in a single season, Turgeon believes that his team benefits from knowing what to expect from the Red Raiders.
"Would I rather be playing somebody else? Maybe," Turgeon said. "But this is what we were dealt. They know exactly what we're going to do; we know exactly what they're going to do. So it's just who plays well on that night."
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