The loss certainly wasn't what Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins wanted. He's seen enough of those -- 77 in his first four years as the Aggies coach.

But when A&M lost at Miami on Nov. 26, there was something different. There were angry Aggies instead of apathetic Aggies. There was a quest to get better and not let another close game get away. For Watkins, it was a big indication that things had started to change.

	Add Texas A&M's Antoine Wright to the list of fabulous freshman making an impact in 2002-03.

"We had guys with the right attitude," Watkins said. "They felt we should've won that game and we had guys upset in the locker room and then we had the right attitude in practice. That's a departure from last year.

"That was a very big statement for our program."

Instead of letting one close loss lead to three consecutive losses, the Aggies responded with two quality victories over SEC schools. First A&M defeated Louisiana State, 79-77, and then on Wednesday night the Aggies defeated Tennessee, 83-66. Now Texas A&M, which is looking for its first winning season since 1993-94, is 4-1.

"After we lost, nobody was happy," Aggies senior Bernard King said. "Everyone said, 'What can we do to get better?'"

Does that mean the Aggies are suddenly top 25 material? Not yet. Does it mean they're better than the last place team in the Big 12? Probably. It certainly is a good start for a team that lost its final 10 games last season to finish 9-22.

"Was this the biggest win? I don't know," Watkins said after the Tennessee victory. "What we want to do is play as well as we can through the season and then we'll evaluate. Right now it's just a very good win for us."

With games upcoming against Prairie View A&M, Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana-Monroe, Princeton and Centenary, the Aggies have a chance equal their win total from a year ago before the Big 12 season even begins.

Much of the reason why is that King doesn't have to do everything himself, now he's getting a little help.

Freshman wing Antonie Wright, a Parade All-American as a high school senior at Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts, has lived up to the hype of being one of the most highly touted recruits ever for the Aggies. In the first five games he's averaged 18 points per game and was recently named Big 12 freshman of the week after scoring 25 in the loss to the Hurricanes and 22 in the victory over the Tigers.

"When I came here, I was pretty much alone," King said. "I feel he's making me better and I'm making him better."

In the win over Tennessee, A&M got offense from junior college transfer Kevin Turner, who made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points.

With other scorers, defenses can't simply key on King at all times. King is a proven scorer. After scoring 19 in the victory over Tennessee, King needs just 216 points to break former Iowa State forward Marcus Fizer's record for most points ever in Big 12 history.

Watkins wants to see the Aggies rebound the ball better and get more production out of their inside game, but while this season is still early and the Big 12 schedule is still rugged, the early indications are that the Aggies are improved.

In attitude, talent and, most likely, in the Big 12 standings.

Games of the Week

Kansas at Oregon, Saturday Kansas at Tulsa, Wednesday While the Jayhawks did defeat Central Missouri State, they still have a two-game losing streak against Division I teams. Things don't get any easier for a Kansas team that lost two games at the Preseason NIT as the Jayhawks have a pair of tough road games. Iowa State vs. Boston College, Tuesday The Cyclones have opened the season with four consecutive victories, but the game against the Eagles is the first tough test. Last season, Iowa State didn't have an answer for BC's Troy Bell. Even at 2-2, BC should be a good indicator of how much Larry Eustachy's team has improved. Michigan at Duke Saturday This is like watching NASCAR to see the wrecks. Over the past two seasons, Duke has won two games against Michigan by an average of 43.5 points. It's not the kind of game an 0-5 Michigan team really needs. Creighton vs. BYU Saturday The Bluejays have looked very impressive from the beginning of the season in defeating both Notre Dame and Northern Iowa. This is another good game for Creighton as Dana Altman's team faces a pretty good, not to mention unbeaten, BYU team. Northern Iowa at Iowa Tuesday A year ago, the Hawkeyes went to the UNIDome and lost to the Panthers. This season, Northern Iowa has to play at Carver Hawkeye Arena. After being pushed at Drake, it's hard to believe Iowa will be able to blow out Northern Iowa.

Blue, Very Blue
Detroit Free Press reporter Michael Rosenberg wondered in print if it was possible for December to be worse than November for the Michigan basketball program. It didn't seem possible that much could compare to a month in which Michigan banned itself from the postseason; lost all three games that Paradise Jam; booted Avery Queen from the team and lost to Western Michigan.

While the month is only a few days old, December hasn't exactly been good for Tommy Amaker's program either.

During a week in which most of the Big Ten teams were in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Michigan was losing to Central Michigan, the Wolverines second loss this season in a sort of Michigan/MAC Challenge. If that wasn't enough, the school announced that Dommanic Ingerson announced he was transferring and Michigan gets to play at Duke on Saturday.

A team that has already set the record for most losses to start the season by gong 0-5 almost seems a lock to become 0-6.

"We need to get a win, there's no other way of saying it," Amaker said after the loss to Central Michigan. "There is no eay to get out of it. It hasn't turned in our favor yet.

The Ingerson transfer was even a little weird. Hours after the school put out a release saying the Santa Barbara, Calif., native was going to transfer, Ingerson was sitting on the Michigan bench in street clothes for the Central Michigan game.

It does appear as if Ingerson is going to leave Ann Arbor. Where will the guard who was ranked as a top 100 player in the country land? Southern Cal appears to be a real possibility. USC is close to home and Kurtis Townsend, the former Michigan assistant who played a large role in Ingerson's recruitment, is now an assistant to Henry Bibby.

Sputtering Sooners
While there has been much dissection of Kansas since the Jayhawks lost back-to-back games in New York, there is another Big 12 power that hasn't looked as sharp as expected.

An Oklahoma team that was ESPN.com's preseason No. 1 pick hasn't looked sharp. There was a season-opening loss to Alabama and Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson was very critical of his team after a victory over Prairie View A&M.

The biggest problem, Sampson said, has been injuries. While his regulars have been able to play in games, Oklahoma's had one practice this season in which every player was healthy.

"It affects team chemistry," Sampson said. "We have a veteran backcourt, but they have been able to practice with the freshmen."

The Sooners have a little more than two weeks to get ready for a stretch in which they play Mississippi State, Michigan State and Connecticut in the span of four games.

"NCAA Tournament bids are handed out in March the last time I checked," Sampson said. "November is a time to define and build your team."

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