A Look Back at the Detroit Win

Last night the Aggies hammered Detroit by a final score of 79-39 in front of 8,912 fans at Reed Arena. I was able to watch most of the game on-line and a couple of things stood out:

- For the 2nd game in a row, the Aggies' perimeter defensive pressure was simply suffocating. Detroit was 14-of-58 (24.1%) overall from the field and only 6-of-22 (27.3%) from behind the three-point line. The other thing pointing toward their improved defensive pressure was that Detroit only managed 5 assists on their 14 makes. Over the course of their last two games, the Aggies have held opponents to 27-of-121 ( 22.3%) from the field which is simply ridiculous. If you want some perspective, Georgetown is the national leader in FG% Defense allowing opponents to shoot 34.5%.

- I thought DeAndre Jordan played maybe his best all-around game as an Aggie last night. Big #12 scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. His highlight play of the night came when he grabbed a loose ball on the defensive end of the floor, dribbled the ball all the way down the floor, made a flying slam-dunk, and oh yeah, he got fouled in the process (yes, he missed the subsequent free-throw).

- I know I keep bringing it up, but this team continues to struggle wildly from the free-throw line. Last night vs. Detroit, their numbers from the free-throw line were so bad they nearly matched their three-point shooting on the night. The Good Guys were 9-of-17 (52.9%) from the three-point line and only 10-of-20 (50%) from the free-throw line. It's a horrible trend and I sure hope Turgeon is doing something to fix the problem.

After the game, Turgeon commented on his team's defensive effort and what they need to do going forward in saying, "Tonight we made a couple changes on our defensive philosophy, which helped us. We’ve given up thirty-nine and thirty-six points the last two games. So we challenged them to continue that. I’m frustrated with their habits. We don’t have the habits you need to beat good teams yet. So this coaching staff is working on creating those, and tonight’s game was a step to creating those habits. I know that when I look at the film of tonight’s game that it will be good.”

Up next for A&M is a match-up wtih the Cal-Irvine Anteaters (4-6) at Reed Arena on Saturday at 1:00. Cal-Irvine lost to undefeated Sam Houston in Huntsville on Thursday night by a final score of 61-54.

Here are some links from the Aggies' win on Wednesday night:

Aggies whip Detroit by 40
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/
MYSA.122007.BKC_aggies_detroit.EN.2de5b4d.html

Outside shots take away from Aggies' post game
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports
/college/texasam/5392913.html

Kirk leads defense as No. 14 A&M rolls
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl
/sports/college/5392668.html

A&M turns lights out on Detroit shooters
http://www.star-telegram.com/college_
sports/story/370355.html

Aggies run past Detroit
http://www.aggiesports.com/mbasketball
/AggiesrunpastDetroit

We'll talk to you guys after the game on Saturday.

Carry on.
-sb