September 09, 2003
Five teams that went to the 2003 NCAA Tournament, including national runner-up Kansas, will visit Reed Arena this season as part of the Texas A&M men's basketball team's 16-game home schedule, head coach Melvin Watkins announced on Tuesday.
The Aggies will meet the Jayhawks on Saturday, Jan. 17 in a game to be televised nationally by ESPN. The Aggies also will welcome Final Four participant Texas, along with Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas Tech, which advanced to the semifinals of the 2003 National Invitation Tournament. Other Big 12 home games will be against Nebraska and Baylor.
The Aggies open the season with home exhibition games on Nov. 12 and Nov. 18, followed by the regular-season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 24 at Reed Arena. Other non-conference home games are against Alabama A&M, Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Grambling State and Long Island.
A&M's Big 12 road games will be at Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri, another 2003 NCAA Tournament team.
The non-conference road schedule is highlighted by visits to Tennessee, Houston and Texas-San Antonio at the Alamodome, site of the 2004 NCAA Final Four. The game at Houston on Dec. 27 will mark the first time the Aggies and Cougars have played since the demise of the Southwest Conference in 1996. Other road games are at Oakland (Mich.) and Louisiana-Monroe.
"This schedule will be very challenging, particularly the Big 12 games," Watkins said. "It will make for some exciting basketball for our fans and we know our kids will be looking forward to the competition night in and night out."
For ticket information, contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 888-88-AGGIE or go online at www.AggieAthletics.com.
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