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November 26 Sheet

Texas A&M (+10.5) at Miami - 4:30pm Pacific
Expecting a big year from the Aggies. It is head coach Melvin Watkins 5th year at A&M and this his by far his best team so far. Aggies started last season 5-1, but injuries and suspensions tore the team apart. A combined 69 games were missed by players due to injury or suspension. In most conferences you can still get by with a few wins, but the Big 12 has turned into one of the elite basketball conferences and the team finished with a dismal 9-22 record.

This year 10 lettermen return including all 5 starters from last season. In addition, Watkins has brought in a great recruiting class that ranked top 25 in the nation. 6-7 freshman Antione Wright was named #1 prep shooting guard in the country by ESPN and earned Parade All-American honors. He started and scored 8 points while grabbing 6 rebounds in debut. Coaches son Marcus Watkins (consensus top 100 prospect) tallied 9 points off the bench in debut. JC All-American transfer and new starting point guard Leandro Garcia-Morales had 7 points & 7 assists. He was the only juco player in the country last year to rank top 10 in scoring, steals, and assists. With 5 starters back and two newcomers earning starting jobs the talent and depth has clearly been upgraded here. Senior guard Bernard King (17.2ppg last year, 19 in season opener) is on pace to become the Big 12's all-time leading scorer. He finally is surrounded by enough talent to take some pressure off him. Former NC State transfer power forward Keith Bean, athletic junior Jesse King, and junior Nick Anderson are all quality Big 12 caliber front court players. 7 footer Thomas Ress (slowed by serious staph infection illness in recent years) starts at center and provides a big body presence. JC transfer guard Kevin Turner & point guard Bradley Jackson (33 minutes per game in Big 12 action last year) round out a solid 10 man rotation.

Miami suffered some major losses since last season. G/F John Salmons was the glue of this team the past two years and ended up a first round NBA pick. He could score, get others involved, rebound, played great defense, and possessed great leadership skills. 6-11 center Elton Tyler (11.9ppg, 5.2rpg) had a solid senior season. Then in late August, starting two guard Marcus Barnes (12.3ppg) was kicked off the team for domestic violence. Miami will now have an entirely new backcourt and just two starters back to start the season. The two returnees (Darius Rice & James Jones) are very good players but past that Miami has very little experience, proven scoring, or much else. Starting point guard Michael Simmons did not take a single shot in teams season opener. Little used forward Rafael Berumen and freshman guard Robert Hite make up the rest of the starting lineup.

Miami won by 9 last year in College Station, but A&M held a 6 point lead with 10 minutes left and was without leading scorer King due to injury. A&M will have King today and appears to have improved significantly from last year. Meanwhile Miami, with three double digit scoring starters (including 1st round NBA pick) departed, appears to have digressed at least some if not considerably. The Aggies are good enough to finish near the middle of the pack in a very good Big 12 conference this season. No way is Miami good enough to be giving them double digits in early season contest. Take the points.

Texas A&M  2 UNITS

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