March 16, 2008
Texas A&M is the West Region 9 seed in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship and will face No. 8-seed BYU in first-round action on Thursday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.. Tipoff is set for 4:25 p.m. (PDT)/6:25 p.m. (CDT). The game will be televised by CBS.
The winner of the A&M-BYU game will play the winner of the UCLA-Mississippi Valley State game on Saturday.
All 12th Man Foundation members and season ticket holder requests received by the deadline will be fulfilled. Changes or cancellations to ticket requests must be made in writing to tickets@12thmanfoundation.com by 12 noon on Monday, March 17th.
Tickets will be available to Texas A&M students beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 17th at the Kyle Field Ticket Office. Limit two per student with a valid student id. Tickets are $51 and will be distributed as the site. Students who purchase first round tickets will automatically receive and be charged for second round tickets should the Aggies advance.
A limited quantity of tickets are available for 12th Man Foundation members, season ticket holders and Texas A&M affiliates. Tickets are $51 each plus a per site $20 processing fee. Individuals who purchase first round tickets will automatically receive and be charged for second round tickets should the Aggies advance. All tickets will be distributed at the site.
To place an order, call the Ticket Office during regular business hours at 888-99-AGGIE (992-4443).
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST & SECONDS ROUNDS
Honda Center * Anaheim, Calif.
(listed times are PDT)
Thursday, March 20
No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 11 Kentucky - 11:30 a.m
No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 14 Cornell - 25 minutes following
No. 8 Brigham Young vs. No. 9 Texas A&M - 4:25 p.m.
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Mississippi Valley State - 25 minutes following
Saturday, March 22
Marquette/Kentucky winner vs. Stanford/Cornell winner - 3:45 or 6:15 p.m.
UCLA/Mississippi Valley State winner vs. Brigham Young/Texas A&M winner - 3:45 or 6:15 pm
Notes:
*A&M is making its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and its fourth straight postseason appearance overall (2005 NIT). Prior to this streak, A&M had never played in consecutive NCAA Tournaments and had not appeared in the NCAAs since 1987.
*A&M is making its ninth NCAA appearance and has a 6-9 record, including a 3-2 mark in the last two years.
*Head Coach Mark Turgeon is making his second NCAA appearance. In 2006, he led Wichita State to the Sweet Sixteen, where they fell to eventual Final Four participant George Mason.
*A&M has played BYU just once. The No. 14-ranked Cougars posted an 83-81 victory in the first round of the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City in 1972-73.
*A&M is making its second appearance at the Honda Center. The No. 6-ranked Aggies lost to No. 1 UCLA, 65-62, in last year?â„¢s Wooden Classic.
TEXAS A&M COMMENTS REGARDING
SELECTION TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
HEAD COACH MARK TURGEON:
?We?â„¢re thrilled to get into the NCAA Tournament. The two teams that played for the national championship last year didn?â„¢t make it in this year. BYU has a heck of a basketball team. They almost beat North Carolina early in the year, beat UNLV in Las Vegas and won their league. BYU has a lot of tradition and has had a great year. They are always very tough and skilled and they have a big kid in the middle who has a chance to be a pro. With the game being on the West coast, they will probably have a lot of fans there. We are looking forward to the challenge. We?â„¢ve had a tough week with everything that?â„¢s gone on, but you have to take what life throws at you and deal with it. Things have started to click with us recently and (Donald) Sloan?â„¢s situation has brought us together. We have some confidence now, but we know we have to continue to improve.?
SENIOR FORWARD JOSEPH JONES:
To make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year just shows how far we?â„¢ve come as a program. It feels great because it gives us another opportunity to show what we can do. BYU has some great players and it should be a very good game. We know we?â„¢ll have to have a great defensive effort if we hope to move on.?
FRESHMAN CENTER DEANDRE JORDAN:
?This is my first NCAA Tournament, so I?â„¢m very excited. I?â„¢m probably more hyped than all the older guys because they?â„¢ve been there before. We?â„¢ve just got to relax and take care of business. I know a lot of the BYU players and I know they have a really good team. We are going to focus on them and try to move on from there.?
SOPHOMOE GUARD DERRICK ROLAND:
?We played at the Honda Center last year (vs. UCLA in the Wooden Classic), so we have a good feel for what the atmosphere will be like. We know BYU is good because they are a higher seed that we are. We?â„¢ve got to take it one game at a time.?
SENIOR GUARD/FORWARD BEAU MUHLBACH:
?It was good to hear out named called again. We are just excited to get into the tournament. BYU will probably have a lot more fans there so it will be like a road game for us. They are a good team and they are on a roll right now. It means a lot to the seniors to play in three straight NCAA Tournaments. It just shows that hard work pays off. It?â„¢s all about the team right now, about coming together and trying to win as a team.?
SOPHOMORE FORWARD BRYAN DAVIS:
?It?â„¢s a great opportunity for us. I got to play in all three NCAA games last year and it was great. We control our own destiny now. The seeding made no difference at all to us. BYU is a great team and we know some of their players. We are peaking at the right time and playing together as a team. We?â„¢ll be ready to play on Thursday.?