Just as it appeared the first half of the Big 12 men's basketball season would come to an end with nothing gained and nothing lost for Texas A&M, the Aggies pulled off one of the biggest victories in conference play.
A&M was one road loss away from entering the second half of conference play all square at 4-4, with all four wins at home. Ending Missouri's 32-game home winning streak Wednesday changed the entire dynamic of the Aggies' final eight league games.
It may not have been as crucial to making the NCAA Tournament as last year's win at Nebraska because of the timing, but in the grand scheme the 77-74 victory -- in which the Aggies were 9-point underdogs -- could arguably be Mark Turgeon's biggest victory at A&M. Remember, he's the one who called a it a "hugger."
What makes the second half of conference play so intriguing from an A&M aspect is that its final four home games should be the toughest four. Baylor, Texas and Kansas are all ranked and Oklahoma State is getting votes in the AP Top 25. Compare that to the first four, which included Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Tech and Nebraska, all of which will finish in the bottom half of the standings.
With the buzz on campus after the Missouri win, Turgeon shouldn't have to tweet, hand out pizza, stand on his head or do anything else crazy anymore to get the kind of crowds they had against Texas Tech, which was a Reed Arena record.
On the flip side, the four road games -- with the possible exception of Baylor -- are all less daunting than any Big 12 trip the Aggies have had to endure so far. Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma State and Missouri far outweigh Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
At the beginning of Big 12 play, predicting a 4-4 mark with all four wins at home and all four losses on the road would not have been a stretch, while a guess on how the second half would play out, probably would have been just that, a guess. That's why 5-3 is so important with 20th ranked Baylor visiting Reed on Saturday.
The magic number for making the NCAA Tournament, talk that was prevalent at the beginning of the week, is likely 8 wins for Big 12 teams. A&M now has a game to play with, and as senior guard Donald Sloan said back in November, "We don't want to have to be worrying about [making the NCAA Tournament] real late in the season as we have the past few years."
What's just as important as their record is the way the Aggies are playing.
Sophomore David Loubeau has emerged as the third, if not second, offensive option after going 21 for 33 from the field over the last three games. The team's 3-point shooting showed signs of turning around at Missouri, with B.J. Holmes, Khris Middleton and Sloan combining to go 6 for 10. Perhaps most importantly, the Aggies are getting the ball into Sloan's hands at the end of games and he's knocking down key free throws.
Also, freshman Ray Turner has to have gained confidence with his showing at Missouri.
The Aggies will need Turner's size against the Bears, who are probably the longest and biggest team the Aggies will have to face.
Two 6-foot-10s and a 7-footer that start and 6-7 super-athlete Quincy Acy off the bench have made Baylor a very good zone team. The length of Ekpe Udoh and Anthony Jones allow the Bears to contest almost every jump shot.
Last season, 6-4 LaceDarius Dunn was often the second biggest player on the court for the Bears. He's now usually the second smallest.
Baylor started flirting with a zone defense in the postseason last season and made the finals of the Big 12 Tournament and NIT. Since that time they are 24-6.
All that said, the key for Baylor is Tweety Carter. A senior, Carter has taken charge of the team from the point, averaging 17 points and a Big 12 best 6.1 assists per game.
Baylor also comes to A&M having won its last road game, an overtime affair against Texas. That and A&M's win at Missouri are arguably the two biggest upsets in the Big 12 this season.
*
NOTES -- Udoh has five more blocked shots than the entire A&M team this season. He is fifth nationally and needs only 10 more to break Brian Skinner's single-season team mark. ... Saturday's game is the 200th between Baylor and A&M, with the Aggies leading 126-73. A&M is 15-12 against BU since the inception of the Big 12. ... BU's 24-6 run is its best since the 1940s. ... Dunn and Carter are ninth and 10th, respectively, in the Big 12 in career 3s.
TEXAS A&M MEN'S BASKETBALL
* Saturday's game: No. 20 Baylor (17-4, 4-3 Big 12) at Texas A&M (16-6, 5-3), 3 p.m.
* TV/radio: CWBCS, Ch. 8/ WTAW, 1620 AM
LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M (16-6, 5-3)
PLAYER POS. HT. WT. CL. PPG RPG
Dash Harris G 6-1 175 So. 5.2* 3.4
Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 Sr. 18.4 4.0
Khris Middleton F 6-7 215 Fr. 5.9 3.6
David Loubeau F 6-8 230 So. 8.5 4.4
Bryan Davis F 6-9 250 Sr. 9.8 7.2
BAYLOR (17-4, 4-3)
PLAYER POS. HT. WT. CL. PPG RPG
Tweety Carter G 5-11 189 Sr. 17.1* 6.1
LaceDarius Dunn G 6-4 205 Jr. 18.5 4.3
Anthony Jones F 6-10 195 So. 7.0 5.7
Ekpe Udoh F 6-10 240 Jr. 13.9 10.7
Josh Lomers C 7-0 280 Jr. 6.4 3.6
Notice about comments:
Theeagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. theeagle.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Aggiesports.com is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends’ recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality and more. If you have posted here before you’ll need to sign up again, and if you’ve never posted start now by signing up! If you've already registered for the new comments on www.theeagle.com then just use your Eagle username to log in and start commenting.