Penn vs. Texas A&M;: Our shot

LEXINGTON, Ky., March 14 - Three days to gameplan, 127 days of practice and an eight-game Tournament losing streak all lead up to 40 minutes today.

The 14-seed Penn basketball team goes up against Texas A&M; in its third straight year in the NCAA Tournament, and is trying for its first win in the Big Dance since 1994.

And while the postseason cards have not come up in Penn's favor recently, those games will be valuable for a team led by three starters who have been here a couple times before.

This time "feels exactly the same as last year except I have a bit more experience now," senior point guard Ibrahim Jaaber said. "I think we have grown and hopefully that will show through this weekend."

Like last year, having played on the road against a current No. 1 seed during the season hasn't hurt the team's poise.

"We're a confident bunch of guys with a lot of tournament experience, so we think we can play with a team like Texas A&M;," Penn coach Glen Miller said.

"I don't think they'll be nervous. They were not nervous when they took the floor against North Carolina."

And as usual, breaking the eight-game Tournament losing streak will have to come against a Final Four contender.

The Aggies (25-6, 13-3 Big 12) hold their opponents to 37 percent shooting, hit 42 percent from three-point range and have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.65 - more than double that of their opponents.

They are led by point guard and All-American candidate Acie Law, who averages 17.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. The senior is known for his late-game heroics this season, and his ability to make the big shot.

"They don't call him 'Captain Clutch' for nothing," junior guard Brian Grandieri said. "We'll have to stop him by getting three or four guys up facing the ball."

"He does some amazing things," Texas A&M; junior forward Joseph Jones said. "It's great because we know if we need a big shot, he'll probably make it."

Law scored 23 points and had seven assists in a huge road win over top-seeded Kansas last month, and then two days later lit up Texas for 21 points and 15 dimes - doing it all with only one turnover.

"There has been very few times this year, especially since the conference started, that he didn't play great," coach Billy Gillispie said. "He's grown as a person and as a leader, which I am most happy about. . His strong will is probably why we're here today."

While Law is the heart of the team, his supporting cast has boosted the Aggies to their spot at No. 9 in the polls. Josh Carter is the number one three-point shooter in the country. Forwards Joseph Jones and Antana Kavaliauskas each shoot over 54 percent from the floor and grab over 6.5 rebounds per game. And guard Dominique Kirk - the defensive specialist - held Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara to just two points in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

If there's one weakness to Texas A&M;, it's depth. The Aggies have a rotation of only seven players, and their starting five (which has made every single start this season) scored 86 percent of A&M;'s points in the Big 12.

But it's hard to find many negatives in a team that has only lost once by more than one basket.

"We have to keep them out of transition, we have to cut down on the easy opportunities [for Texas A&M;], the second-chance opportunities for [them] and have to have a low-turnover game," Miller said. "There's not much margin for error for our basketball team playing against one of the best teams in the country."

It's no doubt a difficult task, but this one game against the Lone Star powerhouse is what's standing between Penn and the end of its notorious eight-game losing streak.

And Grandieri is tired of hearing about 1994.

Playing in the Tournament "never gets old," he said, "but it does get old losing."

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