By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Columnist

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The Texas A&M men's basketball team may have lucked out on their Big 12 tournament draw.

Iowa State and Kansas State were 3-9 combined over the final three weeks of the season. The Aggies open with the Cyclones on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo., and a victory would match them up against the third-seeded Wildcats.

It may seem like a favorable route to the semifinals for the No. 6-seeded team, but first-year A&M head coach Mark Turgeon doesn't consider the path so easy.

"Iowa State has the potential to bring a lot of fans," Turgeon said. "If we were a No. 5 seed, we would have been playing Oklahoma, and it wouldn't have been a home game for them, whereas K-State, if we're lucky enough to [face the Wildcats], it will be a home game for them. So I don't think it was a great draw, to be honest with you."

The Aggies have fared well of late on the road, winning four of their last six, including a decisive 69-51 victory over Iowa State on Feb. 5. And even though the Cyclones will have the edge in the stands, it's still considered a neutral site. A&M is 2-0 in neutral-site games this season.

A&M was in the middle of its best Big 12 run when it played at Iowa State. It was the Aggies' fourth victory of a five-game winning streak. At the time, Bryan Davis had been inserted into the starting lineup and was playing his best basketball of the season.

During the win streak and including an overtime loss against Baylor on Jan. 23, Davis reached double figures in scoring four times. He also averaged eight rebounds over that period.

Since that time, though, Davis has not reached double digits, is averaging less that four boards and was replaced in the starting lineup by DeAndre Jordan after the Nebraska game on Feb. 23.

"Bryan Davis was great against them but hasn't played well in a while," Turgeon said. "He's frustrated the way things have gone lately. I thought defensively against KU in the first half was the best he played all season."

Against Iowa State, Davis had 16 points and seven rebounds. He was also an instrumental part of putting the game out of hand early in the second half, as Turgeon made a concentrated effort to go inside against the Cyclones.

Since the Cyclones and Aggies last played, Iowa State 6-foot-10 freshman Craig Brackins has elevated his game. He scored 24 in the regular-season finale against Kansas State on Saturday and had 13 points and five rebounds in the Cyclones' double-overtime loss to Missouri on March 5.

The Cyclones will also have a healthy Wesley Johnson, which was not the case the first time the two teams met, and junior college transfer Bryan Peterson has adjusted to Div. I ball at point guard.

Johnson is second on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and is the most creative offensive player the Cyclones have. Peterson leads Iowa State in assists per game and is tied for the lead in steals.

Iowa State's 6-11 Jiri Hubalek was voted to the Big 12 third team on Monday, and senior Rahshon Clark was named to the all-defensive team.

Mark Turgeon watched as one of the NCAA Tournament at-large bids was taken off the board on Monday night. San Diego upended No. 20 Gonzaga 69-62 for the West Coast Conference's automatic bid. Gonzaga (25-7) and St. Mary's (25-6), who San Diego beat in double overtime, were thought to be the two teams coming out of the WCC, but now the Toreros could make it three if both the Bulldogs and Gaels are awarded at-large bids.

"Would I rather there not be upsets? Yeah, but they're going to happen every year," Turgeon said. "[The teams that are upset] cringe more because it's hard to get in at that level. I've been there."

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.

TEXAS A&M MEN'S BASKETBALL

BIG 12 FIRST ROUND

NO. 6 A&M VS. NO. 11 IOWA ST.

WHEN/WHERE: 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

TV/RADIO: ESPN2, Ch. 28/WTAW, 1620 AM

RECORDS: A&M (22-9), Iowa State (14-17)

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