Everyone took note of David Loubeau's offensive numbers in Texas A&M's victory over Texas Tech on Saturday, but it was his all-around game -- including his effort on the defensive end -- that kept him in the game for a season-high 30 minutes.
Loubeau scored 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and filled the rest of the stat sheet with nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. The only zero on his line -- 3-point shots aside -- was turnovers.
"Whether it was showing on ball screens, showing on down screens, getting help-side, his defense was really good," A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "That's the encouraging part because the offense we knew he always had, it was just bringing it out."
It was the second straight impressive outing for Loubeau, who was 6 of 7 for 14 points off the bench at Oklahoma State last Wednesday.
Don't expect Loubeau to start at Missouri on Wednesday, though.
Turgeon is still wary of having the 6-foot-8 Loubeau and 6-9 Bryan Davis both start because he's afraid early foul trouble for either of his two bigs could hinder what he wants to do as the game goes on.
Turgeon also likes to play matchups, and with the Tigers' pressing style and smaller lineup, it doesn't fit Loubeau's game as much.
Against OSU he played only 18 minutes for much the same reason. The Cowboys only have one player on the floor at a time taller than 6-foot-6, which makes it difficult for Loubeau to defend.
But if he keeps on improving at the defensive end, it could be Loubeau that creates the matchup dilemma for other teams.
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While Loubeau appears to be securing more minutes, Turgeon is still looking for someone to step up at the wing position.
With 5-11 B.J. Holmes, 6-foot Dash Harris and 6-3 Donald Sloan starting, Turgeon would like a little more height at the position. That means either of the freshmen, Khris Middleton or Naji Hibbert, have to step up and be more consistent.
Turgeon said they both took a step in the right direction last week by the way they practiced.
"We can play the three little guys but at some point we need a bigger wing to step up and help, especially defensively, and one of those two guys can do it for us," he said. "If they can remain over the next six or seven weeks as coachable as they were last week then we'll be OK."
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Don't look for any one specific player to give the Aggies fits when Texas A&M visits Columbia, Mo.
The Tigers have five players scoring in double figures during Big 12 play, with only a 1.8 points per game difference leading scorer Kim English (12.0) and fifth-best Marcus Denmon.
Two of the Tigers' top five scorers come off the bench. The Tigers also have three other players with at least six points a game.
Another stat that shows Missouri's balance is minutes played. Five of the top seven in minutes played are within eight total minutes of each other in Big 12 play. Not one averages 30 minutes a game, and Lawrence Bowers, who comes off the bench and is third in scoring, is eighth on the team in minutes with a 22.3 average.
"They run motion and have confidence in everyone on the floor," Turgeon said. "They just play basketball, try to get steals, try to pressure, five guys working together. They shoot it quick. They just want to play."
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For the first time there is talk from the Aggies about their lack of 3-point production being an issue.
Turgeon likes to say he believes every shot his guys take will drop and although he's still confident, he did take a different angle a couple of times in Monday's press conference.
The first time was when he was discussing how to make Missouri pay when A&M beats the press. Turgeon said his philosophy is to take the wide-open 3 or easy layup, but with the way they've been shooting 3s he might just tell them to take the easy layups.
Turgeon said that a bit tongue in cheek, but he does believe Middleton is starting to press a little bit.
"I do feel Khris feels pressure to make shots because everybody talked about how great a shooter he was coming out of high school, and it's kind of gotten to him," Turgeon said.
Middleton seemed more at ease against the Red Raiders. He also made a couple of hustle plays, including a pass for an assist while on the floor underneath the basket. Those kinds of plays keep a player on the court even when he's not making shots.
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In Monday's Big 12 conference call, Missouri coach Mike Anderson dubbed A&M's Donald Sloan one of the top players in the Big 12. His remarks -- and 27-point and 28-point efforts last week -- still weren't enough to get the Aggie senior the Big 12 player of the week award.
Kansas' Cole Aldrich received that honor by averaging 15.0 points and 13.5 rebounds a game in two victories.
Oklahoma's Tommy Mason-Griffin, who picked his game up a few weeks back when the Sooners visited A&M, was the rookie of the week. The 5-11 (maybe) guard averaged 23.5 points and 5.0 assists in two games.
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Turgeon and the players were still raving on Monday about Saturday's crowd, a Reed Arena record of 13,648.
"We have to build a bigger building for these guys," Turgeon said. "I heard we turned some people away the other night, turned students away, fans away. To walk out there and it's packed before tipoff, that's big-time."
Senior Bryan Davis said he couldn't ever remember walking out before the game and looking toward the top corners and seeing every seat filled.
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