Ticket Info: Click Here
COLLEGE STATION-No. 22 Texas A&M puts its six-game win streak on the line this weekend when the Aggies (8-1) battle No. 13 Florida (7-2) in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.
Tipoff at the BankAtlantic Center, home of the NHL's Florida Panthers, is set for 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT) and the game will be televised by SUN Sports and broadcast to a good part of the country by FOX Sports Net (listings below).
The matchup, which will be the first between A&M and UF since 1992, will pit one of the country's best defensive teams in the Aggies-who rank fourth nationally with just 51.4 points allowed per game-against one of the nation's top offensive squads in the Gators-who rank third nationally with 86.8 points per game.
Viewers in Texas can find the game on FOX Sports Southwest Plus/FOX Sports Houston Plus. Check local listings for station and air time nearest you. Texas satellite subscribers can watch on DirecTV Channel 677 and Dish Network Channel 444.
GAME 10:
(#22/22) Texas A&M AGGIES (8-1) vs (#13/13) Florida GATORS (7-2)
Saturday, December 17, 2011 • 2:30 PM ET • TV: Sun Sports/FOX Sports Net
BankAtlantic Center (20,737) • Sunrise, Florida • 2011 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic
2011 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic Schedule
12 p.m. ET: Miami (5-4) vs Florida Atlantic (4-6)
2:30 p.m. ET: (#22) Texas A&M (8-1) vs (#13) Florida (7-2)
Media Coverage
TELEVISION: Sun Sports/FOX Sports Net
Rich Waltz, Play-by-Play
Mark Wise, Commentary
Frank Forte/Allison Williams, Sidelines
Satellite: DirecTV 653/Dish 422 (in Texas, DirecTV 677/Dish 444)
in B/CS: Suddenlink Digital Ch 22, DirecTV 677, Dish 444
RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW-AM 1620
Satellite Radio: Sirius 92
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: aggieathletics.com
TV Information
Saturday's MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic doubleheader will be broadcast by SUN Sports HD, with Rich Waltz and Mark Wise calling the action. In Texas and surrounding areas, the broadcast will be available on FOX Sports Southwest Plus, due to high school football state championships airing on FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Houston. Cable TV customers are advised to check with their cable system for availability of FSSW Plus in their area. Satellite TV customers can watch the game on DirecTV channel 677 and Dish Network channel 444. In addition, the following stations are scheduled to air the game live:
Comcast Sports Net New England
Comcast Sports Net Mid-Atlantic
Comcast Sports Net Chicago
Comcast Sports Net Bay Area
MSG Plus 2
FOX Sports South
FOX Sports Detroit
FOX Sports North
FOX Sports Midwest
FOX Sports Southwest Plus
FOX Sports Houston Plus
FOX Sports Arizona
FOX Sports West
ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain
ROOT Sports Northwest
Check local listings for station and air time nearest you.
Texas A&M Snapshot
Record: 8-1, 0-0 Big 12
Ranking: 22nd (AP), 22nd (USAT/ESPN)
Streak: Won 6
Last 5 / Last 10: 5-0 / 8-1
Last Game: def. ULM (H), 67-54 (12/10)
Head Coach: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana '86)
Record: 219-180 (14th year)
at Texas A&M: 8-1 (first year)
vs. Florida: never faced
A&M Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
5 Dash Harris G 6-1 171 Sr. 3.7 2.6 4.1 9 / 25.7
10 David Loubeau F 6-8 234 Sr. 11.1 5.1 0.3b 9 / 24.1
22 Khris Middleton F 6-7 217 Jr. 15.0 4.5 2.0 2 / 19.0
31 Elston Turner G 6-5 211 Jr. 12.1 3.4 2.2 9 / 29.3
35 Ray Turner F 6-9 232 Jr. 13.0 6.3 0.2b 9 / 24.0
Florida Snapshot
Record: 7-2, 0-0 SEC
Ranking: 13th (AP), 13th (USAT/ESPN)
Streak: Won 2
Last 5 / Last 10: 4-1 / 7-2
Last Game: def. Rider (A), 90-69 (12/9)
Head Coach: Billy Donovan (Providence '87)
Record: 402-169 (18th year)
at Florida: 367-149 (16th year)
vs. Texas A&M: never faced
Florida Probable Starters (based on previous game)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG APG GP / Min
1 Kenny Boynton G 6-2 189 Jr. 18.7 2.9 3.1 9 / 30.7
4 Patric Young C 6-9 247 So. 11.6 7.9 1.5b 9 / 26.7
11 Erving Walker G 5-8 177 Sr. 13.9 3.7 5.1 9 / 29.1
15 Will Yeguete F 6-7 222 So. 6.5 6.8 1.8 8 / 22.6
23 Bradley Beal G 6-3 207 Fr. 15.1 6.6 2.0 9 / 32.9
Florida: A Closer Look
- Florida is 7-2 on the year and has won 2 straight and 4 of its last 5 ... the Gators' only losses have both come on the road to the now top two teams in the nation, No. 1 Syracuse (72-68 on Dec. 2) and No. 2 Ohio State (81-74 on Nov. 15) ... both were ranked third at game time ... UF downed Arizona in overtime in Gainesville last week, then followed with a 90-69 defeat on the road at Rider ... the Gators feature the nation's No. 3 ranked offense (86.8/game) and average 11.3 treys (No. 2 nationally).
- UF returns 7 letterwinners and 2 starters off a team that went 29-8, won the SEC with a 13-3 record and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament ... the Gators were picked to finish third this year in the league's preseason media poll.
- Florida swept the SEC awards this week, with F Patric Young (18.5 pts, 10 reb, 1.5 ast) and G Bradley Beal (13.5 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast) taking home Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors, respectively.
- The Gators have made 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament and four to the Final Four (1994, 2000, 2006, 2007), with three of those--including two national titles (2006 and 2007) coming under Billy Donovan ... Donovan is 367-149 in his 16th year in Gainesville and has 402 career wins in 18 years as a head coach.
Series History (tied, 1-1)
- The Aggies and Gators have met twice on the hardwood, with both meetings coming in the 1992 calendar year ... Florida downed A&M 73-46 on Jan. 2 in Gainesville, while the Aggies answered early in the next season with a 57-54 victory at G. Rollie White Coliseum (Dec. 22) ... in that game, A&M erased a 6-point halftime deficit and got a late dunk and layup by Tony McGinnis to seal the win ... UF's coach for both games was Lon Kruger, now in his first season at the University of Oklahoma.
A&M/FLORIDA SERIES HISTORY
Jan. 2, 1992 Gainesville UF 73, A&M 46
Dec. 22, 1992 College Station A&M 57, UF 54
Sidebars
- Head Coach Billy Kennedy spent the 2005-06 season at the University of Miami as an assistant on Frank Haith's staff ... Kennedy helped the Hurricanes to the NIT Quarterfinals that season.
- Senior F David Loubeau is a native of Miami and attended Westlake Prep ... he is the lone Floridian on the Aggie roster.
- Senior G Dash Harris hails from Los Angeles but prepped at Montverde Academy outside of Orlando.
- Texas A&M is making its first visit to South Florida since Nov. 26, 2002, when the Aggies fell at Miami, 78-72 ... before that, A&M's last trek to the area was for the Golden Panther Classic in December of 1989 ... A&M beat Holy Cross and FIU to take home the tournament title.
Quick Hits
- Saturday's game will mark A&M's first this season against a ranked opponent ... the Aggies were 4-4 last year against ranked foes, the second-most wins against ranked teams (in a single season) in school history.
- Through games of Dec. 11, Texas A&M ranked second nationally in field-goal percentage defense, fourth nationally in scoring defense and 3-point FG% defense, and seventh nationally in rebound margin.
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in four defensive categories: scoring defense, 3-point FG% defense, defensive rebounding and rebound margin; A&M ranks second in two others, FG% defense and rebounding.
- Saturday's game will pit one of the nation's top offenses in Florida (86.8 ppg, #3 NCAA) against one of the country's top defenses in Texas A&M (51.4 ppg, #4 NCAA).
- Over half of Texas A&M's points this season have come in the paint (308 of 580, or 53.1%) ... by comparison, last season 40 percent of A&M's points came in the paint (973 of 2192, or 40.1%).
- A&M is one of just 12 schools that have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 6 seasons (Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Villanova, Wisconsin, Xavier).
- Texas A&M is one of only 8 schools in the entire country that have won 24 or more games in each of the last 5 seasons (Butler, BYU, Kansas, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, VCU, Xavier).
- For the first time in league history, Texas A&M has been picked to win the Big 12 Conference men's basketball championship ... the Aggies sat atop the preseason coaches' poll in a tie with Kansas.
Aggie Trends
- Over the last 5 games, Texas A&M has held foes to 44.0 points per game, 30.4 percent from the floor (85-for-280) and 17.8 percent from 3-point range (16-for-90) ... opponents are averaging 22.0 points in the first half this year overall and just 18.1 at Reed Arena.
- The Aggies are 8-0 this year when leading at halftime and 8-0 when leading with 5 minutes to play.
- A&M is undefeated when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field (7-0) and unbeaten when holding teams under 60 points (8-0) ... Mississippi State holds season highs for FG% by an opponent (40.7) and points (69).
- The Aggies are 6-0 this year when shooting more free throws than their opponent and 7-0 when out-rebounding them.
- A&M held four straight opponents under 50 points per game (A&M-Corpus Christi, Alcorn State, SFA, Sam Houston) for the first time since 1959.
- A&M blocked 8 shots against Sam Houston (12/7), the most since February 2009 ... the Aggies also held SHSU to 25.0 percent from the floor, the lowest since December 2007.
- A&M has won nearly 75 percent of its games since the start of the 2006-07 season (132-46, .742) ... the Aggies are 175-64 (.732) since the start of the '04-05 campaign.
- A&M has won 67 straight non-conference games at Reed Arena (dating back to start of 2005-06 season) and 80 consecutive regular-season, non-conference home games (dating back to 2003).
Aggies and the SEC
- Texas A&M is 73-127 all-time against current Southeastern Conference members ... a large portion of those games, however, came while Arkansas and A&M were long-time rivals in the Southwest Conference.
- Removing the SWC matchups between the Aggies and Razorbacks, Texas A&M is 23-31 all-time against SEC schools.
- A&M and Arkansas have played just once since UA left the SWC back in 1991 ... that meeting came last December in Dallas, a 71-62 Aggie win in overtime ... A&M's second most common SEC opponent, and most common when representing the league, is LSU (24 games) ... the Aggies have never faced Georgia or South Carolina.
A&M vs SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE SCHOOLS, ALL-TIME
School Series Last Meeting School Series Last Meeting
Alabama ALA, 6-3 2008 LSU LSU, 13-11 2008
Arkansas ARK, 96-51* 2010 Ole Miss A&M, 1-0 1972
Auburn A&M, 3-2 2006 Mississippi State MSU, 2-1 2011
Florida tied, 1-1 1992 Tennessee TENN, 4-1 2003
Georgia never faced South Carolina never faced
Kentucky UK, 2-1 1978 Vanderbilt VAN, 1-0 1955
* only one meeting since Arkansas left SEC (2010, A&M 72-61)
Last Time Out: A&M 67, ULM 54
- COLLEGE STATION (Dec. 10)-Khris Middleton returned to the lineup after missing the previous seven games with a torn meniscus in his right knee and scored 24 points to help No. 22 Texas A&M beat Louisiana-Monroe 67-54. The Aggies (8-1) broke open a tied game midway through the second half with an 11-0 run featuring four points from Middleton to take a 54-43 lead. Hugh Mingo had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Warhawks (1-8). The Aggies have held all nine of their opponents under 41 percent shooting this season. The Aggies, winners of six straight, also won their 67th consecutive non-conference home game.
- POSTGAME NOTES: The Aggies won their 67th consecutive non-conference game at Reed Arena (dating back to start of the 2005-06 season) and their 80th consecutive regular-season, non-conference home game (dating back to 2003) ... the crowd of 6,875 was a season high ... Khris Middleton scored a game-high 24 points ... it was the fourth 20-point outing of his career and his highest total since scoring 28 in an overtime win against Missouri on Jan. 15, 2011 ... it was also the most points by an Aggie this year ... Middleton returned to the floor after missing 7 games with a partial meniscus tear in his right knee ... his last (and only other) action of the year was in the opener vs Liberty (Nov. 9) ... Keith Davis grabbed a career high 9 rebounds.
Middleton Returns to Lineup
- Texas A&M junior forward Khris Middleton (North Charleston, S.C) returned to the court on Dec. 10 after missing 7 games, and scored 24 points (8-14 FG) in 28 minutes of action ... he also grabbed 6 boards, dished out 3 assists and totaled 2 steals ... it was the fourth 20-point outing of Middleton's career.
- The preseason All-Big 12 honoree and candidate for the Wooden and Naismith Awards suffered a partially-torn meniscus in his right knee in the first half of an 81-59, season-opening win over Liberty (11/9) ... it was originally thought to be a hamstring injury but a precautionary MRI after the game revealed the partial tear ... he underwent surgery two days later and was out for the next 7 contests ... it marked the first games he had missed in his Aggie career.
Defense Notables
- Texas A&M ranks at or near the top of multiple defensive categories in both the Big 12 and the country...
AGGIE DEFENSE IN THE BIG 12/NCAA RANKINGS (as of 12/11)
Category Big 12 NCAA
FG% Defense 33.4 2nd 2nd
Scoring Defense 51.4 1st 4th
3Pt FG% Defense 23.6 1st 4th
Rebound Margin +10.3 1st 7th
Rebounding 41.3 2nd 15th
- A&M held four consecutive opponents (A&M-CC, Alcorn, SFA, Sam Houston) under 50 points per game for the first time since 1959 ... the last time the Aggies held four in a row under 50 was the first four games of the 1959-60 campaign (Centenary, Trinity, Houston, Midwestern State).
- The Aggies have held 8 of their opponents under 60 points and are unbeaten in those games.
- Over the last 5 games, Texas A&M has held foes to 44.0 points per game, 30.4 percent from the floor (85-for-280) and 17.8 percent from 3-point range (16-for-90)
- A&M has held 6 of 9 opponents under 35 percent shooting ... only Mississippi State (40.7), Southern (40.7) and ULM (37.3) have shot better.
- Opponents are averaging 22.0 points in the first half this year overall and just 18.1 at Reed Arena.
- A&M held Sam Houston State (12/7) to 25.0 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest by an A&M opponent since 2007 (24.1 percent by Detroit, 12/19/07).
- In the 2K Sports Classic semifinal against Mississippi State (11/17), the Bulldogs hit 11 of their first 15 shots (73.3%) through the first 10 minutes of the game, racing out to a 31-9 lead ... A&M's defense held MSU to 28.2 percent shooting (11-of-39) for the rest of the game and to 40.7 percent from the floor overall (22-of-54).
Getting Physical Inside
- The Aggies lead the Big 12 in rebound margin (+10.3) and rank second in rebounding (41.3/game).
- A&M blocked 8 shots against Sam Houston (12/7), the most since February 2009.
- A&M is averaging 2.9 blocks per game this year (26 blocks), up from last year's average of 1.5 (51 in 33 games).
- Over half of Texas A&M's points this season have come in the paint (308 of 580, or 53.1%) ... by comparison, last season 40 percent of A&M's points came in the paint (973 of 2192, or 40.1%).
- A&M's season average stands at 34.2 through 9 games (averaged 27.5 overall in 2010-11 and 30.4 in non-conference play).
- Before the first week of the season, the last time A&M scored 45 or more points in the paint in consecutive games was against Louisiana-Monroe (50) and Chicago State (54) in Dec. 2004 ... the Aggies posted back-to-back games with 40 points in the paint just once last year.
Davis Emerging
- Sophomore Keith Davis has really come on strong of late ... in A&M's last 3 games, the DeSoto, Texas product is averaging 21 minutes, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks as the Aggies' most productive bench player ... Davis averaged 5.8 minutes in 24 games as a freshman last season.
On Point
- Senior Dash Harris leads the team in assists (4.11/game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.64) ... A&M is 46-10 over Harris' career when he has at least 3 assists (7-1 this year, 14-5 as a junior, 15-3 as a sophomore and 10-1 as a freshman).
- Harris ranks third in the Big 12 and 37th nationally (as of 12/11) in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.64), and eighth in the Big 12 in assists (4.11).
Free Throw Anomaly
- Texas A&M got to the charity stripe just 3 times in the Aggies' 58-57 win over St. John's at Madison Square Garden (11/18), going 2-for-3 at the line ... the Red Storm, meanwhile, shot 38 FTs (making 23), good for a 35-shot advantage at the line.
- The 3 free throw attempts were the fewest by an Aggie team since Dec. 14, 1979 (32 years), when A&M went 1-for-2 at the line in a 72-67 loss to La Salle at the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah ... Aggie star Rudy Woods shot both the free throws in the game ... La Salle went 20-for-25 from the line, shooting 23 more free throws than A&M ... the loss was just one of eight all season for the team, which won 26 games and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
- A&M's 2 made free throws were the team's fewest since going 1-for-4 at the line at Kansas State in 2002 (Feb. 12).
Up Next
- Texas A&M will return home to face former SWC foe Rice on Thursday, Dec. 22 ... tip time at Reed Arena is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest ... it will mark the second-to-last non-conference game of the season for A&M, which opens Big 12 play at No. 6/7 Baylor on Monday, Jan. 2.
-30-