No. 16 Texas A&M (20-5, 6-4 Big 12) righted its season last time it played Texas, and on Monday night against the No. 11 Longhorns (21-4, 8-2) the Aggies look to bounce back from another tough loss.
Texas A&M beat then-No. 10 Texas 80-63 in College Station on Jan. 30 to improve to 3-3 in conference play (after starting 1-3) and start its climb back up the conference and national rankings. The Aggies used the momentum they gained in that win to reel off three more victories before Saturday's 59-54 home loss to the Cowboys ended their five-game winning streak.
"Every game's important, but we've got to bounce back from a loss," senior Joseph Jones said. "We've got to try to come back from Texas and get a win."
During the five-game winning streak, opponents made only 39.4 percent of their shots. Instead of giving up 82 points per game (the previous average), A&M allowed 58.2. And opponents’ rebounding averages dropped to 29.4 from 36.5 per game during the winning streak.
So it was no surprise that A&M lost Saturday to Oklahoma State when it was outrebounded.
"It's disappointing," coach Mark Turgeon said. "We've been a hustle team. We've been guarding well and rebounding well.”
Leading scorer Josh Carter (13.1 ppg) was held to 8 points against the Cowboys; in the first meeting with Texas, he had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Texas has won five games in a row since that loss to the Aggies. A&M made 56.3 percent of its shots against UT; since then, no opponent has managed more than 43 percent."The biggest difference has been our ball pressure," UT coach Rick Barnes said. "We've extended our defense and gotten better on the backside, and when we do break down, we're still making some plays."
Texas has averaged 73.8 points during its five-game winning streak - more than three points below its season average. Star guard D.J. Augustin has shot only 3-of-25 from the field over the last two games, getting held to an average of 9.0 points, but he still leads the team with 18.8 per game. Fellow guard A.J.
Abrams averages 17.5 points, though he's been held below 15 in back-to-back games after a three-game stretch during which he averaged 22.3.
A&M held Augustin and Abrams to just 14 and 8 points, respectively, in the first meeting - when the Aggies jumped out to a 22-point lead.
UT’s Damion James has recorded 53 rebounds in the five games since playing A&M, including three consecutive games with double-digit rebounding performances.
Texas A&M has dropped five straight in Austin since an 80-74 win on Jan. 23, 2002. Since the beginning of the 2004-05 season, neither team has won on the other's home court. The Longhorns have won six straight at home, where they are 13-1 this season. The Aggies, meanwhile, are 3-3 in true road games, but have won their last three.
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