Mark Turgeon opened his weekly press conference on Monday with a state-of-the-union statement.

"Even though the sun isn't out today," the A&M men's basketball team coach said, "it still comes up. And this isn't the end of the world."

Well four days later, the sun still hasn't come out, literally or figuratively, for the Texas A&M men's basketball team. The Aggies opened the season winning 15 of their first 16 games but have since suffered two lopsided road losses and played fairy godmother to Baylor's Cinderella story at Reed Arena.

While the Bears can't get much more love -- Baylor coach Scott Drew has spent more time on his cell with ESPN than Curtis Jerrells did on the free-throw line Wednesday night -- than they are receiving back in Waco and for the first time in forever nationally, the Aggies are in dire need of a good old-fashioned hug.

It may not seem like it now, but as time passes, Wednesday night's historic 116-110 record-setting, five-overtime game will be remembered as a classic that included two teams, not just the victor. Many people at Reed Arena on Wednesday couldn't remember who won the triple-overtime game between Texas and Oklahoma State last season.

But for A&M in the present, the forecast appears to be growing unfavorable for Turgeon and the Aggies, who, despite a 15-4 overall record are dangerously close to the always dreaded must-win game -- maybe within 48 hours.

Even though Turgeon said he would be able to sleep better Wednesday night after seeing his Aggies improve in some areas, the bottom line is A&M dropped serve at home, in effect losing more ground in the Big 12 race with one loss to the No. 25 Bears than the Aggies lost in either road loss to unranked Texas Tech and Kansas State.

A&M showed marked improvement on the defensive end, holding the Bears to 64 points in regulation, Baylor's lowest total since losing to Washington State in November.

The Aggies also got more than half their points in the paint, and their starting post players got to the free-throw line 30 times, fouling out the Bears' four big men. Fourteen turnovers in 65 minutes is also very manageable if not commendable, especially in comparison to 34 in the previous 80 minutes.

But even amidst those positive numbers, holes abound -- holes that Turgeon had said were being filled in nonconference play because of a home-cooked schedule.

Baylor countered A&M baskets a handful of times by scoring before the Aggie players had barely crossed midcourt.

The Aggies fell behind by nine late because they stopped doing what had been working for them: pounding the ball inside to Davis and Jones.

And in the fifth and final overtime period, the Aggies couldn't take advantage of a Bears lineup down to only two starters, its sixth man and two players that had a combined 14 minutes in three previous Big 12 games.

A&M's heavy percentage of points in the paint had as much to do with the Aggies' lack of outside shooting as it did their inside play. The Aggies were 4 of 23 from behind the arc and their four guards were a combined 18 for 55 from the field overall.

No one expects Josh Carter to shoot 3-pointers at a 50 percent clip as he did last season, but A&M's 6-foot-7 sharpshooter is struggling, making only 5 of 20 treys in the Aggies' three Big 12 losses.

He's not alone. Getting a few more shots to fall might not be the only answer for A&M, but it could put a cloak over some of the other holes. A&M is shooting 36 percent over the last three games.

As for the free-throw shooting, well ... I'll follow Turgeon's lead and just not talk about it.

NOTES: In Wednesday's five-overtime game there were 17 ties and 20 lead changes. ... The 116 points set a Big 12 record, breaking Kansas' mark of 114 against Colorado in 1997. The Jayhawks scored the 114 in regulation ... A&M's Josh Carter and Donald Sloan each played a Big 12 record 57 minutes. ... A&M shot a Big 12 record 59 free throws. ... The teams combined for a Big 12 record total points at 226. The previous mark was 221 in Missouri's 112-109 quadruple-overtime victory over Iowa State in 2001. ... Baylor's 70 rebounds and A&M's 64 both bettered the league mark of 62 set by Colorado against Texas Tech in 1998. ... The 20 made free throws by Baylor's Curtis Jerrells broke the previous Big 12 mark of 18 set four times.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.