About the Aggies

So, next up is an unexpected opponent — theTexas A&M Aggies.

The Aggies flew under my radar this season. I knew very little about them. Here is what I've learned in the past few days.

The Aggies are a strong defensive team. They're led by All-American forward/center Danielle Adams and a pair of speedy aggressive guards — Sydney Carter and Sydney Colson. They're not very tall, but lack of height didn't keep them from disrupting Brittney Griner. They lead the nation in turnover ratio, with 13.9 per game to their opponents' 22.2.

Tara evaluates them as a very athletic team that is most like (in the Pac-10) Arizona State, "... but they're more athletic and have a lot more offense."

For other evaluations from the experts, see Cardinal (not UConn) a unanimous pick and Is Stanford favorite in wide-open Indy?.

The Aggies are in the Big 12 conference. They finished in the #2 spot this season, second to Baylor, and lost to Baylor in the tournament title game. Their only losses this season were to Baylor (three times), Duke and Kansas State.

This is the Aggies' first trip to the Final Four. They advanced with wins over #15 McNeese State (87-47), #7 Rutgers (70-48 ), #6 Georgia (79-38) and #1 Baylor (58-46).

I don't think statistics matter a lot at this point. All four contenders for the championship are athletically skilled, excellent teams. Victory will hinge on determination, focus, experience and perhaps a bit of luck. That said, here is how the Cardinal and the Aggies match up statistically — in their entire seasons and in their four NCAA tournament games:

	All Games		NCAA Tournament
	Stanford	Texas A&M	Stanford	Texas A&M
Points per game	79.8	78.1	79.0	73.5
Scoring margin	+24.6	+21.3	+20.8	+28.8
Field goal %	0.491	0.451	0.494	0.455
3-pointers per game	6.3	4.9	8.0	5.5
3-point %	0.360	0.339	0.405	0.349
Free throw %	0.744	0.696	0.721	0.788
Rebounds per game	43.6	39.7	42.5	41.5
Rebounding margin	+11.7	+6.5	+12.8	+8.5
Assists per game	17.8	16.5	18.0	16.0
Turnovers per game	14.0	13.9	12.5	12.3
Assist/turnover ratio	1.27	1.19	1.44	1.31
Steals per game	7.0	10.8	4.0	9.0
Blocks per game	3.5	4.2	3.5	5.3
Win-loss record	33-2, 18-0	31-5, 13-3	4-0	4-0

Here are the Aggies' 2010-11 statistics and their roster.

The probable starters are:

• #23, 6'1" senior forward/center Danielle Adams, a two-time All-American (AP and USBWA), is the Aggies' centerpiece. She is their leading scorer (22.3 points per game, which is seventh-best in the nation) and their strong presence in the paint (8.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game). She picked up a couple of fouls early in the Elite Eight game and sat out most of the first half — the Aggies won with only six points, four rebounds and no blocks from Adams.


• #4, 5'6" junior guard Sydney Carter averages 10.5 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. She is the Aggies' best 3-point shooter, averaging 1.3 per game. She overachieved in the Elite Eight victory over Baylor with 22 points and three steals.


• #51, 5'8" senior guard Sydney Colson runs the point. She averages 5.8 assists per game with an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3. She ranks 9th in the nation in both those statistics. She is the Aggies' most adept ball thief (2.3 steals per game) and averages eight points per game.


• #20, 6'0" junior guard Tyra White is the Aggies' second-best scorer with 13.6 points per game. She averages 5.2 rebounds per game.


• #21, 6'1" junior forward Adaora Elonu is the Aggies' second-best rebounder with 5.8 per game. She averages 8.5 points and 1.3 steals per game.

The Aggies have nine reserve players. These five play, on average, at least six minutes per game:

• #34, 6'5" freshman center Karla Gilbert is the only Aggie taller than 6'1". (Standout rookie Kelsey Bone, who transferred from South Carolina, is not playing this season.) She plays about 12 minutes per game and averages 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.


• #15, 5'10" senior guard Maryann Baker sat out her sophomore year with a shoulder injury and was hampered by shoulder problems as a junior. This season she has played about 17 minutes per game and contributed 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds.


• #32, 5'7" sophomore guard Adrienne Pratcher plays for almost ten minutes per game and scores 2.5 points.


• #40 6'1" junior forward Kelsey Assarian averages 2.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in nine minutes per game.


• #05, 6'1" sophomore forward/guard Kristi Bellock averages 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds in six minutes per game.