Jan 31, 2007, 16:10 GMT
College Station, TX - The 10th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies may be the best team in the Big 12 Conference, and they welcome the Iowa State Cyclones to College Station for a league clash tonight.
Iowa State has to be considered one of the nation's most inconsistent teams. The Cyclones, who are 11-9 overall and 2-4 in league play, reeled off four straight wins from the end of December through the early part of January. Unfortunately, the squad has suffered four consecutive defeats since, including a 62-50 setback to Oklahoma State on the road this past Saturday.
As for Texas A&M, it has only lost one game since the second week of December, as the club dropped a two-point decision to Texas Tech last Wednesday. Fortunately for the Aggies, they were able to bounce back strong with a 70-61 decision over Oklahoma on Saturday. They figure to enter tonight's game with a wealth of confidence, especially considering that they are 14-0 at home.
Iowa State owns a 7-4 edge in the all-time series with Texas A&M, but the Aggies have won the last two meetings.
Iowa State isn't exactly explosive at the offensive end, as the Cyclones are netting 66.2 ppg on 41.4 percent overall shooting, including 33.7 percent from three-point range. Fortunately, they have been able to limit opponents to 64.5 ppg on 41.9 percent efficiency from the field. The top offensive performer for Iowa State is Mike Taylor, as he is posting 16.6 ppg despite his 38.1 percent shooting from the field. Wesley Johnson is contributing 12.1 ppg and 9.2 rpg for the Cyclones, and Jiri Hubalek adds 10.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg to the mix. In the 12-point loss to Oklahoma State over the weekend, ISU connected on only 32.2 percent of its field goal attempts, including 4- of-16 from three-point range, and the fact that the club finished with four more turnovers than assists didn't help matters. Taylor was the only starter to reach double figures in scoring, as he tallied 13 points.
Antanas Kavaliauskas came through with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor to lead Texas A&M to the hard-fought victory over Oklahoma last time out. Acie Law pitched in 19 points for the Aggies, and he also dished out three assists. The third starter to reach double figures in scoring was Josh Carter, as he finished with 13 points for A&M. After shooting a mere 38.5 percent from the floor in the first half of that contest, the Aggies rallied to knock down 56.5 percent of their shots in the second half. Also, a 21- of-27 effort from the foul line certainly contributed to the victory, as did a low total of seven turnovers. So far this season, Law leads the club in scoring with 16.6 ppg, and he is tops with 4.9 apg as well. Joseph Jones is posting 13.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg, while Kavaliauskas (12.3 ppg) and Carter (11.8 ppg) add balance to the lineup.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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