COLLEGE STATION, Texas- KBTX-News 3 will host a live telecast Friday, March 24 from 5:00-6:00 pm at Wings n More on University Drive featuring Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Coach Billy Gillispie and Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Coach Gary Blair. The broadcast will be hosted by the KBTX Sports Team of Darryl Bruffett, Dwayne Parsons and John Wilson, and will feature interviews with members of the A&M Men and Women basketball teams.

Come join KBTX-News 3 Friday afternoon to support these two well-deserving teams. Aggie fans are invited to be part of the audience at the live broadcast titled, “The Start of Something Big.” The KBTX broadcast partner is Atkinson Toyota-Scion.

“The community caught basketball fever like never before at Texas A&M and it came to end earlier in the tournament than any of us wanted. We saw this as a great way to talk Aggie hoops one more time,” according to News 3 Sports Director, Darryl Bruffett.

“A&M is focused on building champions, and the road to winning championships starts with turning the ship. That’s what A&M coaches and players did this year,” said Mike Wright, General Manager of KBTX. “This is a way for fans to congratulate them for their part in putting A&M basketball back on the map.”

In addition to KBTX-News 3, fans can watch the broadcast worldwide via streaming video on the internet at kbtx.com. CBS Coverage of NCAA March Madness will follow at 6:00 pm on KBTX-TV.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)- Acie Law scored 23 points, including a dozen in the final 2:25, and helped 12th-seeded Texas A&M upset fifth-seeded Syracuse 66-58 Thursday night in the Atlanta Regional.

It was the third loss in as many games for the powerhouse Big East Conference. Wichita State pounded Seton Hall 86-66 in Greensboro, N.C., and Marquette was knocked off by Alabama, 90-85 in San Diego.

It also ended an improbable run for the Orange and senior Gerry McNamara. The star guard carried Syracuse through the Big East tournament last weekend and helped the team secure an automatic berth in the NCAA field. Before the conference tournament, the Orange seemed destined to be left out of the NCAAs.

But the Aggies (22-8) had better fortune in this one -- thanks to Law.

The left-hander scored 14 points in the final eight minutes, almost single-handily delivering Texas A&M into the second round. He finished 7-of-17 from the field and had seven rebounds and five assists.

In the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987, the Aggies advanced to face fourth-seeded LSU on Saturday in Jacksonville. The Tigers beat Iona earlier Thursday.

McNamara was held to two points, tying his career low. He was 0-for-6 from the field and missed all five shots from behind the 3-point line. McNamara was scoreless most of the first half, until he sank two free throws with 36 seconds remaining. But he didn't score again.

Terrence Roberts led the Orange (21-12) with 16 points.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)- Darrel Mitchell's long 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds capped a wild finish and gave fourth-seeded odd-favorite LSU a 58-57 victory over No. 12 seed Texas A&M in the second round of the Atlanta Regional on Saturday.

Glen "Big Baby" Davis scored 21 points, including a key basket in the final minute. But it was Mitchell -- LSU's lone senior starter -- who saved the day after Texas A&M snapped a 55-55 tie with Acie Law's jumper over Mitchell's outstretched arms with 19.3 seconds left.

The Southeastern Conference regular-season champions seemingly were in control when Mitchell made two foul shots for a 53-46 lead with 3:31 to go. But Texas A&M (22-9), in the tournament for the first time since 1987, wasn't ready to go home.

The Aggies wiped out the seven-point deficit over the next 91 seconds, then went ahead 55-53 on Joseph Jones' jump hook in the lane.

Davis, the 6-foot-9, 310-pound SEC player of the year who also had eight rebounds, powered his way to the basket for a layup that tied it for the last time.

The victory sends LSU (25-8) to the regional semifinals against top-seed Duke (32-3) on Thursday night.

Mitchell was 1-for-7 from behind the 3-point line, and LSU was 1-for-11 as a team, before he seemingly launched the 22-footer in desperation. LSU's bench celebrated, but there was still time left -- especially with the speedy Law on the court for Texas A&M.

Law had 23 points, 12 of them in the final 1:25, in the Aggies' first-round victory over Syracuse. But this time, LSU did a good job of keeping the ball out of his hands and Texas A&M didn't get the ball past halfcourt on its final possession.

Law led the Aggies this time with 15 points. Antanas Kavaliauskas added 12. Mitchell joined Davis in double figures for LSU with 16.

Davis made his first two shots Saturday, helping LSU get off to a 15-3 lead. But the Aggies made him work for everything he got.

Texas A&M overcame its slow start with a 17-0 run, with Dominique Kirk making a pair of 3-pointers and Law also scoring six to lead the surge. It was 29-29 at the half after the 6-10 Kavaliauskas rose above the rim to catch Law's errant 3-point shot and lay the ball in at the buzzer.

The Aggies were in the second round of the NCAA tournament for only the third time, and their victory over Syracuse was their first in the NCAAs since their only trip to a regional semifinal in 1980.

Despite the loss, the Aggies clearly have a program on the rise under coach Billy Gillispie, the former Bill Self assistant who inherited a team that was winless in the Big 12 and won seven games overall two years ago.

LSU's run to the round of 16, meanwhile, is something the Tigers felt they needed to put a stamp on the climb they made in the SEC over the last two seasons. It's their first trip to the regional semifinals since 2000.

NCAA ODDS!!!

CANYON, Texas (AP) - NFL bust Ryan Leaf returned to football far from the spotlight Tuesday, joining Don Carthel's West Texas A&M staff as quarterbacks coach.

"I feel very honored to be a part of Coach Carthel's staff and a part of an up-and-coming successful program," Leaf said. "About a year after I retired from playing, I decided that I wanted to get back to college, where I had the greatest time of my life, and to get involved with college football."

Leaf, the former Washington State star drafted second overall by San Diego in 1998, spent five seasons in the NFL. His career was plagued by injuries and interceptions, along with numerous off-the-field problems.

After winning seven games in the four previous seasons, the Division II Buffaloes were 10-2 last season in Carthel's first year. Leaf takes over for Wes Phillips, who left along with offensive coordinator Lee Hays to take the same positions at Baylor.

"Ryan brings a great deal of football experience and knowledge to our quarterbacks. We're excited about him further developing our quarterbacks Dalton Bell and Keith Null," Carthel said Tuesday.

Acie Law IV scored 18 points and sank two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining, clinching Texas A&M's 64-60 win over Baylor on Saturday.

Josh Carter and Joseph Jones each added 14 points for Texas A&M (16-7, 6-6 Big 12). Carter's layup with 8.9 seconds left put the Aggies ahead 62-58, but Tommy Swanson's tip-in cut the Baylor deficit to two.

Bears put dent in Aggies´ plans for a strong run

COLLEGE STATION - With four games left in the Big 12 regular season, No. 21 Texas A&M appears to be headed toward its best finish in the league.

But Sophia Young and No. 12 Baylor momentarily derailed the Aggies on Wednesday night, stopping a three-win streak with an 84-59 victory in front of 11,088, a record for an A&M women´s crowd.

Coach Gary Blair afterward offered no alibi at Reed Arena, only a pithy description for what happened.

"Baylor just flat outplayed us, OK?" he said. "(In) every aspect of the game. It was just a butt-kicking. That´s all it is. And I can take it, and we´ll be better because of it."

Baylor, trying to atone for an 81-77 overtime loss to Big 12 leader Oklahoma on the road on Saturday, hit the Aggies with a beautiful combination that was impossible to combat.

Young and Abiola Wabara turned up the heat on the Lady Bears´ inside game. Guards Angela Tisdale and Chameka Scott conducted a clinic on the proper art of 3-point shooting. And tThe Aggies found themselves trailing by 42-23 at halftime and by 29 points in the second period.

With the Aggies down by only 16 points (64-48), Blair challenged an official´s call in the second half, picked up two technical fouls and was ejected from the game in what he said was a first for his career.

"I thought it was a charge, the referee (Clarke Stevens) thought it was a block. How many times am I going to win that? I deserved the first ´T.´ I didn´t deserve the second ´T,´ but they thought I did. But I didn´t say a word to get that second ´T.´ "

What Blair saw from deep in one of the tunnel areas leading away from the floor was more of the same overwhelming basketball the Bears displayed in disrupting the usual fast-break attack of the Aggies for most of the night.

Change on defense

A&M tried in vain to use its full-court press to whittle the huge Baylor lead.

"We haven´t had to press," said Blair. "We haven´t been behind like this all year. That´s the first thing.

"So this was a first. We hadn´t been like that. We didn´t respond very well. I didn´t like the looks in the eyes of my kids. We´ll grow from that."

Baylor dominated on the inside, scoring 30 points in the paint to eight for A&M. Young finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Wabara had 11 points and seven boards.

The Bears shot 55 percent from the floor and recorded a season-best 64 percent from behind the 3-point arc (7-for-11).

"When you´re hitting from the three, you win a lot of games," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, "especially when Sophia and Abbie are getting so much attention inside."

´A lot of energy´

"Baylor´s a great ballclub, they came out with a lot of energy," said A&M guard A´Quonesia Franklin. "They should have been matching our intensity, but we had to match their intensity. And they came out pretty tough.

"They did a pretty good job of getting the ball inside. Our ball pressure wasn´t as good as it usually is."

A&M earlier this year defeated several upper-echelon Big 12 teams for the first time, including Kansas State, Kansas, Texas Tech and Colorado. They are now tied with Baylor and Missouri for second place in the Big 12.

A&M has never finished higher than ninth.

"Every game, there´s something to learn," said Aggies sophomore Morenike Atunrase, who had 17 points.

"We always go in after a game looking at our mistakes so we can work on them. And yes, this does show us where our weaknesses are."

College Station, TX -- (Sports Network) - Joseph Jones scored with two second left on the clock to lift the Texas A&M Aggies over the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 46-44, in a Big 12 Conference battle at Reed Arena.

Acie Law chipped in eight points and dished out seven assists as the Aggies (15-7, 5-6 Big 12) won their second game in a row.

JamesOn Curry tallied 13 points as Oklahoma State (13-11, 3-7) dropped its second-straight decision.

Texas A&M shot 52.2 percent from the floor in the first half and the Aggies carried a 29-25 advantage over the Cowboys into the intermission.

Oklahoma State held the Aggies to just 26.3 percent shooting from the field in the second half and they outscored Texas A&M 19-17 in the frame but it was not enough as Jones´ heroics gave the Aggies the two-point victory.

The Aggies shot 40.5 percent from the floor in the contest while Oklahoma State shot just 30.8 percent. The Cowboys connected on 17-of-18 shots from the charity stripe in the ball game.

Oklahoma State was without head coach Eddie Sutton who was involved in an automobile accident on his way to the airport on Friday. He did not suffer serious injuries and has since been released from the hospital.

Publicly, Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie is just like any other good coach. Mention anything beyond the next game, and it´s as if it doesn´t exist. So, when asked to measure up the chances for his team, now 13-5 and 3-4 in the Big 12, as it hits the road for games at No. 18 Oklahoma tonight -- marking the conference season´s halfway point-- and at No. 7 Texas on Saturday, Gillispie quickly waved off any speculation. "We´ve got one game twice," Gillispie said. "They´re both on the road. We´ll take them one at a time and see what happens." Privately, there is more urgency for a team with long-shot hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth and a strong opportunity for a second consecutive NIT appearance. "Coach," point guard Acie Law IV said, "was just telling us that this will be one of the toughest weeks we will experience throughout the season." This week won´t break the Aggies if they come away winless, but a split, let alone upsetting two ranked teams on the road, could provide a serious boost heading down the stretch. "That´s a hefty task to ask for," forward Chris Walker said. "I don´t think that we have to win both these games, but we´re definitely going to prepare and shoot for the moon." A&M has the same conference record at this point as last season´s team, and that squad lost three of the next four before winning four of its last five to finish the Big 12 at 8-8, the first .500 conference record since 1994-95. In a league jammed up by parity -- 10 of 12 teams have between two and four losses -- speculation is that perhaps only four Big 12 teams will make it into the NCAA Tournament. "Last year we were playing closer to our peak than this year´s team is," Gillispie said. "We definitely haven´t peaked. I think we´re heading toward that. This team is going to have to win games in the [Big 12] tournament to get in the [NCAA] tournament. We knew that before practice ever started." The Aggies came within a last-second slip of beating Oklahoma in College Station two weeks ago. Forward Joseph Jones broke free in the final seconds but slipped as he went in for the game-winning basket. A&M can also feed off a 69-65 near-miss in Norman last season, and the Aggies stunned then-No. 9 Texas in College Station. So, they´ve proved to themselves at least that they can compete with the conference´s best, which is still something a bit new for Law and forward Marlon Pompey, the only players left from the Aggies´ 0-16 team two years ago. "We´re trying to get to that level," Law said of OU and Texas. "We have to go out there with a little chip on our shoulder and try to prove that we can play at their level.