Saturday/Sunday - Big 12 Recap

Apparently I sent out Saturday’s note three times – wow – sorry about that. I kept getting an error message that said “your message was not sent, please try again later.”

The Aggie Hoops Report – Brought to you by G-Mail!

Anyway.

Let’s take a quick look back at Saturday’s and Sunday’s action in the Big 12 semifinals and finals.

#1 Texas 77
#4 Oklahoma 49

This was actually a very entertaining game in the first half as both teams were playing to their strengths. Texas was dropping in three point buckets like it was no problem. Oklahoma was getting a great performance from freshman sensation Blake Griffin.

At some point around the 16 minute mark of the second half, Oklahoma decided that they did not want to be taken seriously anymore. The game was tied at 36 a piece when OU shut things down for the weekend.

Texas went on a 41-to-13 run to close out the game and march right into Saturday’s championship game against the second seeded Kansas Jayhawks.

Texas was led by AJ Abrams who had 24 points including 7 of 12 from behind the arc. Oklahoma was led by Blake Griffin who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

#2 Kansas 77
#6 Texas A&M 71

I will say this about Saturday afternoon’s game - the Aggies have absolutely no reason whatsoever to hang their heads after the performance they put forth in front of what equated to a home crowd for the 5th ranked Jayhawks.

Turgeon’s Aggies came out and played their guts out and actually had great energy for a group of guys playing their third game in three days.

It makes what they did on Saturday night even more impressive when you consider that Donald Sloan, who still has to be reeling from the death of his mother on Thursday, injured his ankle and did not play for nearly the entire second half on Saturday.

Furthermore, do not forget to take into account that DeAndre Jordan only played 4 minutes on Saturday as he was still feeling the effects of the stomach virus that plagued him all weekend.

What happed over the weekend was that we saw two guys in particular step up in a major way. Junior Elonu and Beau Mulbach both were simply outstanding for three straight games, and without the efforts of either of them the Aggies would not have been able to show nearly as well as they did.

Elonu notched 5 points and 4 rebounds on Saturday, but he was also very effective on the defensive end of the floor in helping to slow down the Kansas big men.

Mulbach had one of his best games as an Aggie against KU by adding 11 points including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Mulbach also should receive some credit for his efforts on the defensive end of the floor where he spent time guarding Kansas guys that played all three perimeter positions.

Bryan Davis was also very impressive on Saturday when he knocked down 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Davis also hit the shot of the tournament when he grabbed the ball in front of the Aggie bench and threw up a blind one handed fall away three pointer that banked in off the glass. It was pretty funny. Davis trotted down the floor like it was exactly how he drew it up.

Good stuff.

Anyway – The Aggies’ effort on Saturday afternoon was spoiled by Brandon Rush’s career high 28 points. Rush and the Jayhawks were just too much for the Aggies.

In the end, as we said above, I think the Aggies showed that when they are on top of their game, they have the horses to run with just about any team in the nation.


#1 Texas 74
#2 Kansas 84

In Sunday’s final, Kansas ended up knocking off Texas in a very entertaining game.

Kansas was led by Mario Chalmers’ 30 points on a very impressive 10-of-15 shooting from the field. Brandon Rush also added 19 points on 6-of-9 from behind the arc.

DJ Augustin paced the ‘Horns with 20 points and 9 assists.

Rush was named the tournament MVP with Mario Chalmers (KU), DJ Augustin (UT), AJ Abrams (UT) and Damion James (UT) rounding out the All-Tournament Team.



It was a great weekend in Kansas City. If any of you guys ever get the chance to go, do not let that opportunity pass. It is always a great time, and Kansas City put on a heck of a show this year.

On Wednesday night or Thursday morning we will have a full preview of the A&M / BYU game. The Aggies got a very tough draw by being slotted as the 9th seed in the west. If the Aggies can get past BYU they will have a date with UCLA in Anaheim. YIKES!!!

Have a great week – this is one of the best weeks of the year!!!!!

Carry on.
-sb