By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Columnist

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The Texas A&M women's basketball team heads to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country.

The Aggies (23-7, 11-5 Big 12) jumped six places in this week's Associated Press poll to No. 11.

Ironically, A&M is in better shape for the postseason than last season when the Aggies were the top seed for the Big 12 tournament via their regular-season sweep of fellow co-champion Oklahoma.

A&M was 13-3 in Big 12 play last season, which had it ranked only 13th in the country. The Aggies beat Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals but were upset by Iowa State in the semifinals. That dropped them to 15th in the AP poll, earning them a No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

A&M has won 10 of its last 11, which is the same streak it entered last season's Big 12 Tournament on. The difference this season is the improved overall strength of the Big 12.

Oklahoma (No. 11) and Baylor (No. 18) were the only other ranked teams last season heading into the Big 12 Tournament. That proved accurate as Big 12 teams went a combined 5-6 in the NCAA Tournament.

This year the conference has five ranked teams heading to postseason play -- No. 9 Baylor, A&M, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 15 Kansas State and No. 18 Oklahoma State -- matching the Big East for the most Top 25 squads from one league.

The Aggies have a chance to earn a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Big 12 Tournament, which would translate to a better draw.

You might want to get your tickets now for next season's A&M-Baylor men's basketball games.

Baylor coach Scott Drew received a public reprimand Monday from the Big 12 office for his remarks in reference to a screen set by A&M's Joseph Jones on Baylor guard Tweety Carter in the second half of A&M's 71-57 victory over Baylor on Wednesday in Waco.

A groggy Carter had to be helped from the court after running into the clean screen.

Drew told ESPN.com that Jones stood over Carter and said "stay down [expletive.]" Drew also thought Jones dipped his shoulder.

"It was a physical game, but I was pissed for him to say that stuff," Drew told ESPN.com. "It was one intense, physical game."

A&M coach Mark Turgeon denied both claims.

Baylor fans also threw plastic bottles on the court, fans from both teams engaged in shouting matches, and the game featured three technical fouls.

That physical game came on the heels of Baylor's five-overtime, 116-110 victory at A&M on Jan. 23.

The good news is there shouldn't be a rubber game at the Big 12 Tournament, since the teams are on opposite sides of the bracket.

Since both teams each have only three seniors, they should be good again next season, which will only fuel the rivalry.

The A&M women are 3-11 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament. Oklahoma, which will face A&M if it beats 12th-seeded Missouri, has the league's best winning percentage at 17-7 with a league-best four titles.

The A&M men are 1-11 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament.

The A&M men didn't land anyone on the league's top 15 players according to the Associated Press and Big 12 coaches.

Jones made AP honorable mention, while Jones and junior Josh Carter made honorable mention by the coaches.

The media who cover the Big 12 voted senior guard Dominique Kirk onto the all-defensive team, but not the coaches. Meanwhile, the coaches put A&M freshman post DeAndre Jordan on the all-rookie team, but not the media.

Former A&M guard Acie Law IV is averaging 4.6 points, 2.2 assists and 17.1 minutes per game in his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Former Aggie forward Antoine Wright, who was traded from New Jersey to Dallas near the NBA's trading deadline as part of the Jason Kidd deal, is averaging 7.1 points, three rebounds and 24.7 minutes per game.

This is Wright's third season in the NBA.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

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