By ROBERT CESSNAGary Blair can't watch one of his favorite television shows Monday, because he'll be too busy being part of women's college basketball's version of Dancing With the Stars.
Texas A&M's head coach is revved up for the Aggies' showdown against second-ranked Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Blair knows what a big deal it is to be part of the ESPN family of Big Monday telecasts.
"This is gonna be special," Blair said. "National TV two games in a row? We've been looking forward to this all year long."
The 14th-ranked Aggies are coming off a 76-65 victory over Texas on Saturday. The 12th-ranked Longhorns are the highest ranked opponent A&M has defeated this season.
A&M had several special victories last season en route to the school's first Elite Eight appearance, including a trio of upsets over Top 10 teams during a 12-game winning streak.
"I told the kids before [Saturday's Texas' game] that we earned these two games by what we did last year," Blair said. "And I asked the team, 'What have we done this year to deserve this national platform?'"
A&M, which slipped to its lowest ranking of the season after road losses to Iowa State and Texas Tech, could regain Top 10 status with a victory over Oklahoma.
The Sooners (24-2, 12-0 Big 12) are a virtual lock for their sixth regular-season league championship with a three-game lead over Baylor with only four games left.
But OU has bigger aspirations. The Sooners eventually want a rematch with top-ranked Connecticut, which along with North Carolina have beaten OU.
The Sooners are coming off a tough 66-58 victory over Baylor, which let a six-point second-half lead slip away. Oklahoma senior All-American Courtney Paris had 18 points and 15 rebounds, but the big story was the Sooners' defense that held Baylor scoreless for 11 minutes.
Oklahoma also had a 51-31 rebounding edge on the Big 12's best rebounding team. Junior Amanda Thompson added 15 boards for OU with Courtney Paris' twin, Ashley, limited to 21 minutes because of foul trouble.
"As proud as we are of this win and as significant as it is in the position it puts us in for the remainder of Big 12, the weekend's not over yet," OU head coach Sherri Coale said. "We still have Monday night to deal with."
What a Big Monday it should be.
The Sooners have won a school-record 20 straight games. Oklahoma has won at Baylor and Oklahoma State, places where it lost at last season.
"Oklahoma is better this year than when [the Parises] were freshmen and went 16-0," Blair said. "They are doing it in a league that is a lot better this year."
A&M and Baylor were the only ranked teams the Sooners had to beat four seasons ago. This season, OU already is 6-0 against ranked Big 12 teams.
This should be OU's stiffest test. The Aggies have beaten Oklahoma in the last two meetings at Reed Arena, where A&M has lost only once this season.
A&M is expecting its largest crowd of the season because of dollar admission and dollar concession items.
"Hopefully we're gonna give them a good show," Blair said.
If the Aggies do pull off the upset, ESPN2 might be able to show the nation Blair doing the jitterbug during the Aggie War Hymn.
"You know it's always been a dream of mine to be on [Dancing With the Stars]," Blair said. "But all I could do would be the old jitterbug. That's the only thing I can do. I can't two-step. I went to Texas Tech and I can't two step. You were either a slicker or a kicker back in the '60s and being from Dallas, I was a slicker."
The slicker will settle for his team finishing the weekend two-step, which would bode well for the Aggies in the Big Dance ahead.
*
The playing status of A&M senior forward Danielle Gant won't be determined until Monday.
The All-America candidate suffered concussion-like symptoms after colliding with Texas' Ashleigh Fontenette while the two battled for a loose ball on Saturday. Gant didn't play the final 13 minutes, 41 seconds of the game.
"If there's a will, there's a way, and Danielle always seems to find a way," Blair said.
Junior college transfer Tanisha Smith (11 points, 6 assists, 3 steals) and freshman Adaora Elonu (10 points) played well in the absence of Gant, who had a hand in 22 points, but that afforded A&M only a 38-36 when she was hurt.
Blair said Smith and Elonu will have to play well, even if Gant does play.
Oklahoma's defense stifled all but Gant in a 71-59 victory in the first meeting. Gant was 8-of-15 shooting, but the rest of the team was 15 of 44. Takia Starks had 19 points, but she was 6-of-15 shooting and didn't score in the first half.
Oklahoma also had a 43-27 edge in rebounds, and against the Big 12's best 3-point defense hit 6 of 13, including 5 of 6 by freshman Whitney Hand.
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A&M's bid to finish in the conference's top four and earn a bye for the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City on March 12-15 received a big boost from Kansas' victory over Iowa State on Sunday.
Iowa State (19-7, 7-5) dropped into a tie for fifth place with Texas (19-7, 7-5). A&M (20-5, 8-4) is tied with Kansas State (21-4, 8-4) for third, one game back of Baylor (21-4, 9-3).
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A&M will wear its specially-designed pink adidas uniforms Monday in honor of former North Carolina State head coach Kay Yow and the fight against breast cancer. A&M also wore them against Colorado on Feb. 14 in its "Beat The Hell Outta Cancer" game.
A ceremonial tip-off with a pink ball will take place before the game between A&M's La Toya Micheaux and Courtney Paris.
A&M is encouraging fans to wear white.
*
One-dollar game tickets can be purchased in person at the Kyle Field ticket office or the Reed Arena box office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday.
Dollar tickets are not available by phone or online. Tickets purchased online or by phone will be $5-11.
Hot dogs, soft drinks and popcorn will be $1 while supplies last.
Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com
TEXAS A&M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
* Monday's game: No. 2 Oklahoma (24-2, 12-0 Big 12) at No. 14 Texas A&M (20-5, 8-4), 6:30 p.m.
* TV/radio: ESPN2, Ch. 28/KZNE, 1150 AM
A&M-OU LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M (20-5, 8-4)
NAMEPOS.HT.CL.PPGRPG
Takia StarksG5-8Sr.16.04.3
Sydney ColsonG5-8So. 6.0*3.2
Danielle GantF5-11Sr.13.86.8
La Toya MicheauxC6-3Sr. 2.8 7.1
Adaora ElonuF6-1Fr.5.93.9
or Tanisha SmithF6-0Jr.8.83.4
OKLAHOMA (24-2, 12-0)
NAMEPOS.HT.CL.PPGRPG
Danielle RobinsonG5-9So.12.9*6.1
Whitney HandG6-1Fr.9.22.6
Amanda ThompsonF6-0Jr.7.34.9
Ashley ParisF6-3Sr.13.59.5
Courtney ParisC6-4Sr.16.013.9
*assists per game
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