August 24, 2006
The first Shelby Metcalf Classic, a Wooden Classic match-up against NCAA runner-up UCLA and a rematch with Final Four participant LSU highlight Texas A&M's 2006-07 non-conference men's basketball schedule, the school announced on Thursday.
At least six games will be televised nationally, with others pending, the most in school history. Home games against Texas and Oklahoma and the road game at Kansas will be on ESPN. ESPN's College Gameday will originate from Lawrence while the Texas game two days later at Reed Arena will be part of the network's "Big Monday" lineup.
The home game against Texas Tech and road games at Oklahoma State and Texas will be on ESPN2.
The Aggies will play a total of 14 games against teams that advanced to postseason play last year, including nine against teams that went to the NCAA Tournament and five against teams that went to the NIT.
"We are really excited about playing what I consider a great schedule," third-year A&M Coach Billy Gillispie said. "We have a great deal of experience coming back, but we also have a lot of newcomers who will have to come in and produce right away. This is a very challenging schedule for our team."
A&M opens the regular season on Nov. 10 when its plays host to Prairie View A&M, followed by the Shelby Metcalf Classic Nov. 17-19. The tournament includes Saint Louis, Louisiana Tech and Lamar, all of which had winning records last season. Louisiana Tech finished 20-13 and went to the NIT.
The opening home stand continues with games against Idaho State (Nov. 25), Arkansas-Little Rock (Nov. 27) and defending Big West champion Pacific (Dec. 2). Pacific lost a double-overtime thriller to Boston College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Aggies travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Dec. 5 in a rematch from last year's NCAA Tournament, when the Tigers pulled out a 58-57 second-round victory with a three-pointer in the final seconds. LSU went on to the Final Four with wins against Duke and Texas.
A&M plays UCLA in the prestigious Wooden Classic on Dec. 9, a double-header that also includes a game between Southern California and George Washington. The Bruins lost in the national title game to Florida after beating LSU in the semifinals.
The Aggies return home to play Fordham (Dec. 12) and Jacksonville (Dec. 16) before taking their final non-conference road trip to Auburn (Dec. 22).
A&M closes out it non-conference slate with home games against Grambling (Dec. 28) and Winthrop (Jan. 2). Winthrop is the defending Big South champion and lost a nail-biter to No. 2 seed Tennessee, 63-61, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies open Big 12 play at home against Kansas State on Jan. 6. Other conference home games will be against Oklahoma State (Jan. 20), Oklahoma (Jan. 27), Iowa State (Jan. 31), Texas (Feb. 5), Texas Tech (Feb. 13), Baylor (Feb. 24) and Missouri (March 3).
Conference road games will be at Baylor (Jan. 9), Colorado (Jan. 13), Texas Tech (Jan. 24), Kansas (Feb. 3), Nebraska (Feb. 10), Oklahoma (Feb. 17), Oklahoma State (Feb. 21), and Texas (Feb. 28).
The Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship will be March 8-11 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.