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Feb. 15, 2009

Complete notes

TEXAS (17-7, 6-4 Big 12) at Texas A&M (17-8, 3-7 Big 12)
State Farm Lone Star Showdown
Monday, Feb. 16, 2009 • 8 p.m. Central
Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas

GAME DAY QUICK FACTS
TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Ron Franklin (pxp), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter) will call the action.  
RADIO: The Longhorn Sports Network and KVET (FM 98.1/1300 AM Sportsradio The Zone) broadcast every UT game on the statewide network and on XM Satellite Radio Ch. 231. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
INTERNET AUDIO: Listen to Texas Basketball games on subscription-based Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
SERIES: Texas leads, 131-83. Last meeting: Texas 67-58 (Jan. 24, 2009; Austin).

Series vs. Texas A&M
Monday's contest marks the 215th meeting between Texas and Texas A&M. UT owns a 131-83 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to Feb. 23, 1917 (a 38-16 Texas win in Austin). The Horns are 17-5 against the Aggies during the Rick Barnes era entering Monday's contest, including a 67-58 win in Austin earlier this year (Jan. 24). Since the beginning of the 1989-90 campaign, UT has won 36 of the last 43 meetings between the two schools. Texas A&M holds a 53-50 advantage in games played in College Station.

State Farm Lone Star Showdown
The 2008-09 academic season marks the fifth year of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown, the all-sports athletics competition between Texas and Texas A&M. UT has won three of the first four Showdowns. The Longhorns claimed the inaugural Showdown in 2004-05 by a 14.5-4.5 point margin, recorded a 14.0-5.0 victory in 2005-06 and posted a 10.5-8.5 win in 2006-07. The Aggies registered a 10.5-8.5 victory last year. Texas holds a 6.0-2.0 lead in points in this year's Showdown standings heading into Monday night's contest in College Station. The winning school in Monday's game receives 0.5 point. In order to win the Showdown, a school must acquire 10.0 points during the year.

Lone Star State Dominance
Since Rick Barnes arrived in Austin, the Longhorns have emerged as the dominant college basketball program in the state of Texas. The Horns have posted an 91-9 (.910) record against in-state foes during the Barnes era, including marks of 23-0 against Baylor, 17-5 against Texas A&M and 20-3 against Texas Tech.

Texas-Colorado Game Notes
• The Longhorns set a team season high in field goal percentage (.574).
• The Horns posted a 29-27 advantage on the glass. This marked the 19th time in 24 games this year that Texas had outrebounded its opponent.
• A.J. Abrams (29 points) reached the 20-point mark for the 10th time this year and 33rd time in his career (133 games). He reached double figures in scoring for the 18th time this year and 86th time in his career. Abrams tied his career high in field goals made (11-of-19) and played all 45 minutes during the contest.
• A.J. Abrams (5-of-11 threes) tied his season high in three-pointers made. This marked the fifth time this year that Abrams has hit five 3-pointers in a contest. He converted at least four 3-pointers in a game for the 11th time this year.
• Damion James (21 points, 14 rebounds) recorded his 10th double-double of the year and 31st of his career (97 games). He reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season and eighth time in his career. James reached double digits in scoring for the 22nd time this year and 60th time in his career. He reached double figures in rebounds for the 11th time this season and 41st time in his career.  
• Dogus Balbay tied his career high in assists (seven) and set a career high in minutes (37). He recorded a 7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the second consecutive game.
• Varez Ward tied his career high in minutes (28).

Abrams Climbs UT, Big 12 Career Scoring Lists
A.J. Abrams continues his steady climb up the UT career scoring chart. He currently sits in sixth place on the school's career points list (1,803 points). Abrams also enters Monday's game in 12th place on the Big 12 Conference career scoring list.

Abrams Set to Tie UT Career Games Played Mark
With an appearance on the court during Monday's game in College Station, A.J. Abrams will tie the school record for most career games played (134). Abrams has played in 133 contests entering Monday's game. Brian Boddicker (2001-04) and James Thomas (2001-04) currently share the mark with 134 games played.

James Sees Double
Damion James enters Monday's game with a team-best 10 double-doubles through the first 24 games this year. He rests in sole possession of fourth place on UT's all-time career double-doubles list (31). James recorded his 10th double-double of the year with 21 points (9-of-14 FG) and 14 rebounds during the overtime win at Colorado on Saturday. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds during the win at Baylor (Jan. 27), before posting 19 points and 12 boards against Kansas State (Jan. 31). James had 15 points and 10 rebounds (four offensive) against No. 19/22 Michigan State (Dec. 20). He returned to post 18 points and a season-high 15 rebounds in the win at Wisconsin (Dec. 23). James had 11 points and 12 rebounds against No. 8/8 Notre Dame (Nov. 25). He posted 21 points and 12 rebounds against Oregon (Nov. 26) and added 13 points and a game-high 13 boards against No. 12/9 UCLA (Dec. 4).

Balbay Impressive in Two Starts
Sophomore guard Dogus Balbay has made the most of his first two career starts. In the two games, Balbay has averaged 8.0 points per contest while recording 14 assists against just two turnovers. During the home win against Oklahoma State, he posted a career-high 10 points (5-of-9 FG), seven assists against just one turnover and two steals in 33 minutes. Balbay returned to post six points (3-of-4 FG) and seven assists against just one turnover in a career-high 37 minutes.

Balbay Better in Big 12 Play
In his first collegiate season, Dogus Balbay has been much more productive and efficient since the start of Big 12 Conference play. During UT's first 10 league contests, Balbay has posted 34 assists against just eight turnovers (a 4.3-to-1 ratio). He also has averaged 4.2 ppg and 2.4 rpg while hitting 18-of-29 (.621) field goals in 22.0 minutes per contest. In the loss at No. 6/5 Oklahoma (Jan. 12), he registered eight points (4-of-5 FG), seven rebounds and six assists against just one turnover in 28 minutes. During the win at Baylor (Jan. 27), Balbay had eight points (3-of-3 FG), four rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes.

Ward Making Improvements
Varez Ward has put together solid performances in five of the last six contests heading into Monday's game. In these last six contests, Ward has averaged 6.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game while hitting 20-of-25 (.800) free throws. During the win at Baylor (Jan. 27), he tallied eight points (6-of-6 FT), four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes. Ward followed with nine points (5-of-7 FT) and four rebounds in 24 minutes against Kansas State (Jan. 31). Ward tallied nine points (5-of-5 FT) in 12 minutes against Oklahoma State (Feb. 10) and recorded eight points and three boards in 28 minutes at Colorado (Feb. 14).