In a game that may have set offensive basketball back 50 years, Texas A&M took down Texas Tech, 47-38, in Lubbock last night. The Aggies trailed by 9, 26-17, at halftime, but held Tech to only 12 points in the second half to engineer a comeback and secure the win. The Aggies shot 28% from the field in the first half, 39% from the field in the second half, and 34% from the floor in the game. A&M was missing two out of every three shots they took last night. Tech shot 48% from the field in the first half, but was held to 5-19 shooting (26%) in the second half while A&M made their comeback.

Elston Turner led the Aggies with 16 points, while Khris Middleton scored 9. The big advantage for the Aggies came on the boards, where they outrebounded Tech 41-23, including a 20-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Neither team shot a free throw in the second half, and A&M shot 11 free throws to Tech's 2 in the second half, as the refs let'em play.

Tech's 38 points was the fewest by an A&M opponent in a conference game since we held texas to 29 points in a 73-29 win in G. Rollie White in 1959. The win moves the Aggies to 13-12 on the season, 4-9 in conference play. The win was A&M's fourth consecutive win in Lubbock, and sixth consecutive win over Tech overall. This was the last game against Tech for the forseeable future, as the Aggies begin play in the SEC next season. The Aggies play again on Saturday, when they welcome Missouri to Reed Arena.

Elston Turner, David Loubeau, and Daniel Alexander all scored in double-digits as the Aggies knocked off Oklahoma State to move to 3-5 in conference play so far this season. Turner led the team with 23 points, 5 assists, Loubeau had 13 points and 5 rebounds, and Alexander contributed 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. With Dash Harris sitting out this game, freshman Jordan Green ran the point, and the Aggies responded with their highest point total in regulation in a conference game this season. Green point up 8 points, had 3 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers in 31 minutes on the floor. With Harris out, Green's backup was walk-on Zach Kinsley, who had 8 points, 2 rebounda, and 1 steal in 18 minutes of action. The comination of Harris and Tinsely was effective at point, because despite State's attempts to trap and press the ball, the Aggies were able to move the ball around well enough to get several easy baskets, including an alley-oop dunk by Daniel Alexander.

Alexander had himself a nice little game. Even though he only had two blocks, he also caused some altered shots on other attempts. His defense is an underrated part of his game, and he is active on the boards, too. Alexander is doing well off the bench, but is making an argument for a starting spot. Loubeau is smoother on the offensive end, but Alexander is more active on defense.

Today's performance makes the third game in a row in which Elston Turner has scored over 20 points - he had 23 against Oklahoma, 24 against Kansas, and now 23 points against Oklahoma State. Turner is really turning it on now that we're hitting the halfway point of the conference schedule.

The Aggies held Oklahoma State to 38% shooting from the floor, including 4-21 from three-point range. The defense helped fuel our win, as OSU was just jacking up shots from three-point range as they game score got out of hand. Considering the fact that A&M was playing without three starters today, this is a very nice win.

The win moves A&M to 3-5 in conference play and 12-8 on the season. The Aggies host Baylor at Reed Arena next Wednesday night.

Elston Turner scored a career-high 23 points, David Loubeau added 16, and Dash Harris scored 14 points and dished out 6 assists as the Aggies defeated Oklahoma, 81-75, in overtime today at Reed Arena. In a game where Khris Middleton went down after re-injuring his knee, Naji Hibbert came off the bench to play 28 big minutes and scored 9 points and 3 rebounds. Ray Turner was also a key reserve, as he put up 8 points and snagged 5 rebounds, all of them on the offensive end.

The Aggies were able to employ a zone defense for much of the game, and Oklahoma only shot 28% from beyond the arc, hitting 4 three-pointers. Oklahoma's inability to score from the outside was key, as they shot 49% from the floor. A&M was able to shoot a hot 52.5% from the floor in the game, and they needed every one of those points, as they were a mediocre 12-22 from the free throw line.

Elston Turner was huge in this game, with no shot bigger than the three he hit with 40 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 65, and forcing overtime. The Aggies outscored OU 16-10 in overtime, with a garbage three by Stephen Pledger making the final outcome look closer than it was. After Khris Middleton went down in the first half, the Aggies ended the half on a 14-6 run to overcome an eight-point deficit, and tie the game up. It wasn't pretty most of the time, but there were moments of good basketball being played by A&M today. The players came together after their star player went down, and used a group effort to overcome OU. The win moves the Aggies to 11-7 on the season, 2-4 in conference play. The Aggies travel to Lawrence to take on Kansas on Monday.

Khris Middleton had 13 points with 7 rebounds, Elston Turner scored 13, David Loubeau scored 10, and Ray Turner put up 11 points and 9 rebounds in a losing effort in Columbia, as the Ags fell by 19. The Aggies are now 1-4 in conference play, and 10-7 on the season. The Aggies were able to stay in the game and play with Missouri at times, but lack of depth inside really hurt us, as Missouri was able to out-rebound us 38-26 for the game. Missouri also got hot from outside, hitting five treys in a first half that included a 28-2 run that built a lead we wouldn't be able to overcome.

The big story in this game was the play of Ray Turner, who was all over the court on offense and defense, working hard on the boards grabbing rebounds, and contesting shots on defense. He wasn't credited with any blocks in the game stats, but he blocked at least one shot, and forced the Tiger players to change several others. He also had a nice reverse dunk that is going to be on Youtube soon, if it isn't already.

At this point in the season, the Aggies are what they are. We still miss Kourtney Roberson inside, so we're at a disadvantage when we play teams with any size inside. We have the talent to play with the other teams in this conference and compete, but I don't see the depth inside for us to win games. We also play a deliberate style that keeps the scoring down, which means we're prone to being run out of the gym when the other team gets hot. We are a team that is worth watching in the sense that these guys are out there working hard and giving it all they have. Earlier in the season, I couldn't say that much about this team, but now the guys seem to have bought in and are playing hard. It remains to be seen if that is enough to bring us a winning season this year.

The Aggies used a strong defensive effort in the first half to open up a big lead, and played well enough in the second half for it to stand up, as they won their first conference game of the 2011-2012 basketball season. The Aggies led 34-17 at halftime off a strong defensive effort that kept Tech scoreless from the floor for the first 11 minutes of the game. Tech didn't hit their first shot from the floor until there was 9:43 left in the first half. Meanwhile, the Aggies were hot, racing out to a 20-8 lead led by Khris Middleton and Elston Turner. The Aggies had five players finish the game in double figures, with Turner, Middleton, and Naji Hibbert putting in 12, Dash Harris scoring 11, and Ray Turner finishing with 10. The unsung hero of the game may be Daniel Alexander, who had 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 16 crucial minutes of playing time. Alexander came off the bench to replace Ray Turner and Keith Davis, both who had three quick fouls each in the first half due to some ridiculously tight officiating.

The Aggies may have played their best game of the season so far, but they were also playing against the worst team in the Big 12, so this performance needs to be kept in perspective. With Kourtney Roberson still out for the next two weeks at least, the Aggies lack size and depth inside, and it will show against better teams than Tech. However, the Aggies forced 23 turnovers today, and held Tech to 33 percent shooting from the floor, so the defensive effort was there. We are nowhere near where we need to be to become a good team, and we still have many of the same issues we had entering the game today, but it was nice to get a conference win. The team was playing hard in the first half and most of the second half before we emptied the bench, so that was a nice change from some games earlier this season.

The Aggies travel to Columbia, MO to play at Missouri Monday in a game that will be televised on ESPN's Big Monday. The Aggies improved to 1-3 in conference and 10-6 on the year with the win today.

Live game thread for Iowa State at Texas A&M in the Aggies' Big 12 opener for this season. We're losing by ten right now, 22-12, and not looking good doing it. Feel free to throw in any moments of rage or thoughtful clarity in the comments.

I'll have a preview for the Northwestern game going up later, but for now, this is your Friday open thread. It is the last Friday of 2011, and some of us are relaxing at work. The women's basketball team will be taking on McNeese State later tonight at Reed Arena. The men's basketball team beat up on Arkansas Tech last night but freshman point guard Jamal Branch is leaving the team. There are bowl games between BYU-Tulsa, Rutgers-Iowa State, Mississippi State-Wake Forest, and Iowa-Oklahoma today and tonight. There is plenty to talk about today, so have at it.

In a story broken on TexAgs premium, it was announced that freshman point guard Jamal Branch is leaving the Texas A&M men's basketball team. A top recruit at point guard from Arlington Grace Prep, Branch was one of the most anticipated recruits we've had in a few years at A&M, and he was exciting to watch on the floor. While he made his share of freshman mistakes, he also showed flashes of brilliance that revealed the player he could become. Unfortunately, if he matures into a star player, it will be somewhere else besides Texas A&M.

I don't know Branch's reason for leaving the team, but this is a real blow to Billy Kennedy and his basketball squad, which is really struggling right now. Our team has been underachieving on the court, and with one of the star freshmen leaving so quickly, it is going to make people wonder what is going on in our program. Before today, I would have said the chances of this team making the postseason are slim. With Branch transferring, giving us only one scholarship point guard on the roster in Dash Harris, we are left with virtually no depth at the position. It looks like any chances we had of extending our streak of six consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament just disappeared.

Branch played in 11 games this season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.5 assists in 18.6 minutes per game.