Cessna: Cyclones, not Aggies, get trapped Wednesday at Reed
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Story: Aggies beat Cyclones | Reed Arena: Ugliest basketball court?

By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Sports Writer

Texas A&M wasn't looking ahead, just playing ahead. The fear going into Wednesday's game against Iowa State was that the Aggies would be looking to their upcoming matchups against Top 25 teams. And who could blame them?

A&M plays No. 6 Kansas at historic Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. Then on Monday, 22nd-ranked Texas comes to Reed Arena in the second of two nationally televised games.

Those 72 hours could define A&M's regular season, so playing down to Iowa State, a second-division team in the Big 12, would have been understandable. Even A&M head coach Billy Gillispie admitted it a "perfect trap game" for an immature team.

It turned out to be just the opposite. The Aggies scored the game's first 11 points, and Iowa State was never a threat, losing by 24.

And it could have been worse for the Cyclones, whose previous worst loss this season was by 19 points at then-No. 3 Ohio State, a game in which ISU trailed by only a point at halftime.

It was never that close Wednesday. The Aggies dominated inside. They dominated outside. ISU's offense was helpless in the face of A&M's pressure defense, other than guard Wesley Johnson, who had 17 points. The freshman from Corsicana hit 7 of 11 shots. Either he's too young to know he's not supposed to do that against a Top 10 team, or all he remembers about Aggie basketball is all those lousy teams they had when he was in grade school.

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Buy this photo AP Photo Texas A&M's Josh Carter shoots a 3-point-shot over Iowa State's Mike Taylor.

This A&M team is 18-3, which marks the best start in school history, and the best could be yet to come.

Even Gillispie, who frugally hands out compliments, thought his team executed well for much of the night.

Now comes the acid test. Games against Kansas and Texas could determine the Big 12 regular season crown, and it will show everybody if the Aggies are indeed a Final Four contender.

It all starts at Kansas, a program that's synonymous with excellence.

"We're going in facing a team that could win the national championship," Gillispie said.

One writer asked him if Kansas was saying the same thing about the Aggies. Gillispie flashed his boyish smile, saying no as he shook his head.

Gillispie worked with Kansas head coach Bill Self at Tulsa and Illinois, and he added a little more insight.

"Coach [Self] lies more than I do," said Gillispie, adding that the Aggies "have 97 more years to go to get to where they are."

Gillispie knows Aggie math works a little different. A&M's already at the head of the class. It just has to win the next four quarters to stay there.

No A&M starter had to play more than 30 minutes, which should help since A&M has three games in six days. With 12:25 left and A&M holding a 54-35 lead, the Aggies on the court were Bryan Davis, Donald Sloan, Josh Carter, Marlon Pompey and Derrick Roland. Carter was the lone starter.

Another sign that A&M has arrived is Dick Vitale is coming to Reed Arena. The flamboyant ESPN commentator will call the Kansas game Saturday in Lawrence, Kan., and the Texas game Monday at A&M.

Vitale says he is unsure if this will be the first time he's been behind the microphone for an Aggie game. He thinks he might have called the Aggies against Rice in the early 1980s when the Owls had Ricky Pierce.

A&M failed to have its third straight sellout, settling for 11,148 fans, including 4,980 students.

One sign that winning already is old hat in Aggieland: During a TV timeout with 3:49 left and A&M holding a 70-43 lead, several fans headed out to the parking lot.