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Law, Texas A&M face Penn in NCAA opener

Mar 15, 2007 - 1:56 PM Penn (22-8) at Texas A&M (25-6) 3:10 pm EDT

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Senior guard Acie Law IV has one last chance to try to get Texas A&M to the Four Final.

One of the top players in the country, Law and the third-seeded Aggies face off against No. 14 seed Pennsylvania on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's South Region.

Known for his crunch-time performances, Law helped carry Texas A&M to its seventh trip to the tournament with an at-large bid, averaging 18.2 points and 5.3 assists this season.

The Aggies finished 13-3 in perhaps the most talented conference in the nation, but they have stumbled some of late, dropping two of three games - including an early exit during the league tourney.

"Our guys are totally excited about getting into the tournament," Aggies coach Billy Gillispie said. "We didn't care what seed we were going to be. I could not care less. We will be prepared and will play as hard as we can. We've played really good basketball this year but we haven't reached out peak."

Gillispie has Texas A&M playing some for the defense in the country, holding its opponents to just 37 percent shooting from the floor.

In their most recent trip to the tournament, the Aggies suffered a heartbreaking 58-57 setback to eventual Final Four team Louisiana State in the second round last season.

The Quakers will be meeting a Big 12 Conference opponent for the third time in their last four NCAA appearances, having lost to Texas last season.

Under first-year coach Glen Miller, the Ivy League squad is making its 23rd NCAA appearance, including third in a row and seventh since 1999.

The Quakers have won 10 straight games and are led by guard Ibrahim Jaaber, who is the two-time reigning conference Player of the Year.

The schools will be meeting each other for the first time.