CROOME: Time to stop the skid

For the fifth time in Mark Turgeon's career at Texas A&M, the Aggies have lost three straight Big 12 games.

The Aggies have avoided a fourth straight loss with a home victory on the three most recent occasions, the last coming in 2009. They will not have the luxury of being at Reed Arena this time, instead traveling to face a Colorado team that has lost only once this season at home -- by four points to No. 2 Kansas.

But Turgeon and the No. 22 Aggies (17-5, 4-4 Big 12) have more concerns than where and who they're playing, and I'm not talking wins and losses. Losing to Baylor at home was the only bad defeat of the three straight losses, as there's no shame in losing to Nebraska on the road and Texas anywhere.

A&M has stopped getting better, and if you've listened to any of Turgeon's press conferences you know his goal for the team is to improve with each practice and game.

"I just feel like all last week, we didn't get anything out of practice," Turgeon said days after the home loss to Texas. "I've been complaining and moping about this team, and it's all coming to a head right now. I know we've taught them how to play, but it just didn't show at times."

The Aggies have shown very few signs of bouncing back from the way they've performed recently, continually coming out slow, getting behind early and not reacting in time or at all after taking the first punch.

Turgeon has said it's not just games, it's practices. Obviously the latter has led to the former. That wouldn't have happened in the past with Donald Sloan, Bryan Davis and Derrick Roland around.

Those three didn't let the Aggies have bad practices, at least not many, and especially not when times were tough.

Roland was thought of as an inspirational leader even after getting sidelined for the second half of last season with a broken leg. Davis and Sloan, three-year starters, were intimidating and respected figures. If they said something had to change, there was a concerted effort to get it done or their might be consequences.

This is not a knock on this year's seniors, particularly starters Nate Walkup and B.J. Holmes. Those two lead in their own way, primarily with their effort on the court and by being there for the underclassmen.

But when it comes to putting a foot down, Davis and Sloan definitely had bigger shoe sizes. They also had the advantage of working their way up to leadership roles from when they were sophomore starters, while Walkup and Holmes have been thrust into the position this season after being in the background to the three seniors they followed.

And, in fairness, sometimes it's not those leading but those following who are to blame.

The players, including the underclassmen, are saying the right things after losses and between games, but there needs to be more than lip service.

"It's a hard team to lead, but I think we're getting there," Turgeon said going into Wednesday's game. "And we're pretty humbled right now, which should make it easier for me to coach and easier for the leaders to lead.

Another problem is that it's been two years since the Aggies have faced this situation, which means four of the players in the nine-man rotation have never experienced what it takes to break out of the doldrums of a three-game losing streak.

Even though the Aggies of the past have stopped their losing streaks there, it has taken them a while to get out of their funk.

In 2009, A&M had two losing streaks of three games. The first ended with a victory over Texas Tech. A win over Oklahoma State was then followed by a second string of three losses. A&M defeated Texas to right the ship that time.

The previous year, a run of three losses was followed by a whipping of Tech, 98-54, but then came an ugly 64-37 loss at Oklahoma in which A&M went 16 minutes without scoring.

A&M followed that with arguably the biggest win in Turgeon's tenure, at Baylor, and a good showing against Kansas before going into the Big 12 Tournament.

If A&M can't find a way to turn it around against Colorado -- and it won't be easy -- the Aggies will have to count on Tech being the medicine to its ills again. That game is also on the road, though.

Amid the gloom, however, there is a silver lining.

The last time the Aggies lost to Baylor (in five overtimes) it produced the team's first three-game losing streak under Turgeon, and they then went on the road to beat Oklahoma State. They face a similar situation now coming off an overtime loss to the Bears at home.

"The outcome was awful Saturday, but man, they showed me some signs that there is some fire in there and they still believe in what they're doing," Turgeon said. "Our execution was really good against the zone [defense] and we got some great looks. Our help defense and rebounding was good there in that stretch when we came back."

*

NOTES -- Tad Boyle, in his first year as head coach at Colorado, was a teammate of Turgeon at Kansas. The two coached together for 11 years at three different universities. ... CU has the best scoring tandem in the conference in senior Cory Higgins and sophomore Alec Burks. The two tall guards combine to average 36 points a game. ... Holmes has picked his scoring up lately, netting a season-high 19 points in each of the Aggies' last two games. Holmes is making 3s, but he also has shown a knack for getting to the rim and finishing with his off hand.