2007–08 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team

2007–08 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball
2007–08 NIT Season Tip-Off Champions
NCAA Second Round vs. UCLA, L 49–51
Conference Big 12 Conference South
2007–08 record 25–11 (8–8 Big 12)
Head coach Mark Turgeon
Assistant coach Scott Spinelli
Assistant coach Pooh Williamson
Assistant coach Byron Smith
Home arena Reed Arena
Seasons
« 2006–07 2008–09 »
2007-08 Big 12 Men's Basketball Standings
  Conf Overall
Team (Rank) W L PCT W L PCT
Kansas (#4) † 13 3 .813 37 3 .925
Texas (#7) 13 3 .813 31 7 .816
Kansas State 10 6 .625 21 12 .636
Oklahoma 9 7 .563 23 12 .657
Baylor 9 7 .563 21 11 .656
Texas A&M 8 8 .500 25 11 .694
Nebraska 7 9 .438 20 13 .606
Texas Tech 7 9 .438 16 15 .516
Oklahoma State 7 9 .438 17 16 .515
Missouri 6 10 .375 16 16 .500
Iowa State 4 12 .250 14 18 .438
Colorado 3 13 .188 12 20 .375
† Big 12 Tournament winner

The 2007–08 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in the 2007–08 college basketball season. The team is led by first-year head coach Mark Turgeon, who replaced Billy Gillispie in April 2007. In 2006–07, the Aggies finished 27–7 (13–3 in the Big 12), advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and finished 9th in the final AP Poll — their first top 25 finish since the 1979–80 season.

The 2007–08 team won the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament. The 98–54 home win against Texas Tech matched the Aggies' largest margin of victory set in 1959 against Texas.[1]

Contents

Leading into the season

Summer games

Six Aggie players participated in summer games during the summer prior to the start of the season. Junior Josh Carter participated in the Kobe Bryant Skills Academy in late June, and tried out for the Team USA basketball team for the 2007 Pan American Games. Though Carter was one of the 14 finalists to play for the team, he was one of the two who got eliminated. He later joined Athletes in Action to play several games in Australia. Incoming freshmen B.J. Holmes, DeAndre Jordan, and Nathan Walkup participated in the Global Games in Dallas in June. Jordan later joined Team USA for the under-19 world championship game in Serbia, where the team lost in the gold medal game. Sophomore Donald Sloan played for a different Athletes in Action team in the William Jones Cup in July. Sloan's team finished with a 5–4 record and tied for third place. Sophomore Bryan Davis played for the East Coast All-Stars, who went on a 10-day tour in Belgium and Holland in August. Against the Dutch national team, Davis scored 16 points and made 11 rebounds. Davis' team finished with a 3–4 record.[2]

Rankings

The preseason Big 12 Coaches' Poll picked the Aggies to finish third.[3] The preseason Coaches Poll ranked the Aggies 14th, tied with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, and the preseason AP Poll ranked the Aggies 16th.[4] ESPN columnist Andy Katz ranked the Aggies 17th in his "pre-preseason" top 25 rankings.[5]

Preseason honors

Joseph Jones was named to the Wooden Award preseason top 50 list,[6] and the preseason all-Big 12 team.[7] Though Jones declared for the NBA Draft in the summer, he withdrew himself prior to the deadline and decided to continue playing for the Aggies his senior season.[2] Josh Carter was the 2007 NCAA leader in 3 point accuracy and currently holds the Big 12 record for career accuracy. Dominique Kirk is a Defensive All-American.[8]

Recruiting

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Denzell Bowles
PF		 Virginia Beach, VA Kempsville 6 ft 9 in (206 cm) 235 lb (107 kg) May 16,
2007 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 78
B.J. Holmes
PG		 Houston, TX Hastings 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 160 lb (73 kg) Jul 31,
2006 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 85
DeAndre Jordan
C		 Houston, TX Christian Life Center 7 ft 0 in (213 cm) 240 lb (110 kg) Jul 27,
2006 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 91
Derrek Lewis
SG		 Tulsa, OK Union 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) 197 lb (89 kg) Jul 5,
2005 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 40
Nathan Walkup
SF		 Deer Park, TX Deer Park 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 185 lb (84 kg) May 4,
2006 
Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 40
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 26
Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:

Players

Honors

Roster

Name Number Position Height Weight* Year Hometown
Davis, Bryan 0 F/C 6–9 250 So.-1L Dallas, Texas
Lewis, Derreck 2 G 6–5 197 Fr. Tulsa, Oklahoma
Roland, Derrick 3 G 6–4 190 So.-1L Dallas, Texas
Graham, Bryson 5 G 6–3 190 spmJr.-1L San Antonio, Texas
Bowles, Denzel 10 F/C sm=n6–10 250 Fr.-HS Virginia Beach, Virginia
Holmes, B.J. 11 G 6–0 175 Fr.-HS Houston, Texas
Jordan, DeAndre 12 C sm=n7–0 255 Fr.-HS Houston, Texas
Darko, Andrew 14 G 6–0 165 Fr. Conroe, Texas
Sloan, Donald 15 G 6–3 205 So.-1L Dallas, Texas
Kirk, Dominique 22 G 6–4 185 Sr.-3L Dallas, Texas
Carter, Josh 23 F 6–7 200 spJr.-2L Dallas, Texas
Schepel, Shawn 24 G 6–3 200 Fr. Dallas, Texas
Jones, Joseph 30 F 6–9 255 Sr.-3L Normangee, Texas
Chapman, Chris 31 G 5–11 170 So. Houston, Texas
Muhlbach, Beau 32 G/F 6–5 205 Sr.-2L Lufkin, Texas
Elonu, Chinemelu 41 F/C sm=n6–10 235 So.-1L Houston, Texas
Walkup, Nathan 45 F 6–6 195 Fr.-HS Houston, Texas
Chan, Gary 14 G 5–9 160 Fr.-HS Houston, Texas
Carrell, Marshall 50 F 6–8 200 Fr. Paris, Texas

Information from 2007–08 roster and,[14] subject to change.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
11/01/2007 7:00 pm Emporia State #14-T Reed Arena • College Station, TX W 85–73  8,521[15] 0–0
11/05/2007 7:00 pm Tarleton State #14-T Reed Arena • College Station, TX W 71–62  8,224[16] 0–0
Regular season
11/09/2007* 7:00 pm McNeese State #14-T Reed Arena • College Station, TX FSN-SW W 73–50  9,276[17] 1–0
11/13/2007* 8:00 pm Oral Roberts #15 Reed Arena • College Station, TX
(NIT Season Tip-Off)		 ESPNU W 67–53  8,442[18] 2–0
11/14/2007* 8:00 pm UTEP #15 Reed Arena • College Station, TX
(NIT Season Tip-Off)		 ESPNU W 81–76  8,429[19] 3–0
11/17/2007* 7:30 pm Ouachita Baptist #15 Reed Arena • College Station, TX W 85–59  8,237[20] 4–0
11/21/2007* 6:00 pm vs. Washington #15 Madison Square Garden • New York City
(NIT Season Tip-Off)		 ESPN2 W 77–63  N/A 5–0
11/23/2007* 6:00 pm vs. Ohio State #15 Madison Square Garden • New York City
(NIT Season Tip-Off Championship Game)		 ESPN2 W 70–47  N/A 6–0
11/28/2007* 8:00 pm Alabama #9 Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPNU W 76–63  10,328[21] 7–0
12/02/2007* 5:00 pm at Arizona #9 McKale Center • Tucson, AZ
(Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series)		 FSN L 78–67  14,598[22] 7–1
12/08/2007* 7:00 pm Texas State #14 Reed Arena • College Station, TX FSN-SW W 109–73  9,879[23] 8–1
12/16/2007* 1:00 pm Arkansas–Pine Bluff #12 Reed Arena • College Station, TX FSN-SW W 64–37  7,789[24] 9–1
12/19/2007* 7:00 pm Detroit #11 Reed Arena • College Station, TX W 79–39  8,912[25] 10–1
12/22/2007* 1:00 pm UC–Irvine #11 Reed Arena • College Station, TX W 88–66  8,064[26] 11–1
12/29/2007* 1:00 pm Florida A&M #11 Reed Arena • College Station, TX FSN-SW W 83–54  8,089[27] 12–1
12/31/2007* 1:00 pm Rice #10 Reed Arena • College Station, TX FSN-SW W 68–41  8,702[28] 13–1
01/05/2008* 7:00 pm LSU #10 Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPNU W 79–53  12,255[29] 14–1
01/12/2008 3:00 pm Colorado #10 Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPN Plus W 86–69  12,634[30] 15–1 (1–0)
01/16/2008 8:30 pm at Texas Tech #9 United Spirit Arena • Lubbock, TX ESPN L 68–53  11,268[31] 15–2 (1–1)
01/19/2008 7:00 pm at Kansas State #9 Bramlage Coliseum • Manhattan, KS ESPN L 75–54  12,528[32] 15–3 (1–2)
01/23/2008 7:00 pm Baylor #16 Reed Arena • College Station, TX
(Battle of the Brazos)		 L 116–110 5OT 12,234[33] 15–4 (1–3)
01/26/2008 1:00 pm at Oklahoma State #16 Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, OK ESPN W 59–56  12,452[34] 16–4 (2–3)
01/30/2008 8:00 pm #10 Texas #23 Reed Arena • College Station, TX
(Lone Star Showdown)		 ESPN W 80–63  13,555[35] 17–4 (3–3)
02/02/2008 3:00 pm Oklahoma #23 Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPN Plus W 60–52  13,158[36] 18–4 (4–3)
02/05/2008 7:00 pm at Iowa State #18 Hilton Coliseum • Ames, IA ESPN Plus W 69–51  11,955[37] 19–4 (5–3)
02/09/2008 12:30 pm at Missouri #18 Mizzou Arena • Columbia, MO ESPN Plus W 77–69   [38] 20–4 (6–3)
02/16/2008 2:30 pm Oklahoma State #16 Reed Arena • College Station, TX ABC L 59–54  13,584[39] 20–5 (6–4)
02/18/2008 8:00 pm at #7 Texas #22 Frank Erwin Center • Austin, TX
(Lone Star Showdown)		 ESPN L 77–50  16,755[40] 20–6 (6–5)
02/23/2008 3:00 pm Nebraska #22 Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPN Plus L 65–59  11,207[41] 20–7 (6–6)
02/27/2008 7:00 pm Texas Tech Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPN Plus W 98–54  10,032[42] 21–7 (7–6)
03/01/2008 1:00 pm at Oklahoma Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, OK ESPN L 64–37  12,202[43] 21–8 (7–7)
03/05/2008 8:00 pm at Baylor Ferrell Center • Waco, TX
(Battle of the Brazos)		 ESPN W 71–57  10,545[44] 22–8 (8–7)
03/08/2008 3:00 pm #7 Kansas Reed Arena • College Station, TX CBS L 72–55  12,054[45] 22–9 (8–8)
Postseason
03/13/2008 8:30 pm vs. Iowa State Sprint Center • Kansas City, Missouri
(Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament)		 ESPN Plus W 60–47  18,758[46] 23–9
03/14/2008 8:20 pm vs. Kansas State Sprint Center • Kansas City, Missouri
(Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament)		 ESPN Plus W 63–60  18,897[47] 24–9
03/15/2008 3:20 pm vs. #5 Kansas Sprint Center • Kansas City, Missouri
(Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament)		 ESPN Plus L 77–71  18,897[48] 24–10
03/20/2008 6:25 pm vs. BYU Honda Center • Anaheim, California
(NCAA Tournament)		 CBS W 67–62  N/A 25–10
03/22/2008 8:15 pm vs. #2 UCLA Honda Center • Anaheim, California
(NCAA Tournament)		 CBS L 51–49  N/A 25–11
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from Coaches Poll. All times are in Central Standard Time.

References

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External links