Aggie Basketball Game #9:
Youngstown State (7-4) vs. Texas A&M (6-2)
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014 · 4 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) College Station, Texas
TV: SEC Network PLUS (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Will Johnson, Play-by-Play
Tap Benz, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Mike Caruso, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – Holiday Hoops begins at Reed Arena this weekend as the Texas A&M men's basketball team returns to action on its home court by host Youngstown State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The contest is part of a doubleheader with the Texas A&M women's team, who will face Houston at 1:30 p.m. Fans who attend the women's contest but do not have tickets for the men's game are invited to stick around for the nightcap of the twinbill as their women's tickets will permit them to sit in general admission behind both baskets for the men's game.
Saturday's game will be streamed on SEC Network PLUS which is available to SEC Network subscribers as part of the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.com. Additionally, radio coverage on the Aggie Sports Network can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW 1620 AM as well as on satellite radio via Sirius Ch. 108 and XM Ch. 190.
The contest is the first of Aggie Basketball's "Holiday Hoops Presented by Texas A&M Health Science Center” campaign which runs through the Hartford game on Jan. 3 and features $5 tickets for men's basketball games.
Texas A&M will put its perfect 4-0 home record on the line during the contest as the Aggies stand just two wins away from 200 all-time at Reed Arena (198-72). The facility has seen the Aggies dominate non-conference foes with the program owning a 122-12 (.910) ledger against non-league opponents since the building opened in the fall of 1998.
Reigning SEC Co-Player of the Week Alex Caruso enjoyed perhaps his most complete performance wearing the Maroon & White during the Aggies' last outing at Reed Arena, a 72-71 come-from-behind victory over Arizona State last Saturday.
The College Station native notched a season-high 23 points on 9-of-11 field goal attempts against the Sun Devils, including a 2-of-3 mark from 3-point range, while adding game-highs in rebounds (6), assists (6) and steals (6). He became the first A&M player to tally at least 20 points, six rebounds and six assists since Acie Law IV (21 points, seven rebounds & seven assists) on Feb. 17, 2007, at Oklahoma.
Caruso, who enters the YSU game with 150 career steals, needs just two thefts to move into a tie for seventh most in program history alongside Bernard King (152 career steals from 1999-02).
Senior forward Kourtney Roberson shared top-point honors for the Aggies during Tuesday's loss at Baylor, going 5-for-5 from the field after halftime to contribute 11 points.
Alongside Roberson, rookie point guard Alex Robinson also finished with 11 points in the box score vs. the Bears and, like Roberson, was held scoreless during the opening stanza before breaking loose during the second half. The 11 points fell just one shy of Robinson's career high of 12 which he set during a win over New Mexico on Nov. 23.
The Penguins (7-4) come to Aggieland riding the confidence of three consecutive victories, the most recent a 70-45 success against Thiel College on Sunday.
Junior center Bobby Hain is the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week after producing a pair of double-doubles in YSU wins last week, including a career-best 24 points against Robert Morris on Dec. 2.
Youngstown State features two players from the state of Texas, including leading scorer Marcus Keene, who averages 18.8 points per game and hails from San Antonio where he attended Warren High School.
Penguin head coach Jerry Slocum is in his 10th year at the helm of the program and ranks third among active NCAA Division I coaches in games coaches (1,192), trailing only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (1,297) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (1,276).
QUICK HITS
• For the first time in history, the Texas A&M Aggies and Youngstown State Penguins square off on the hardwood as Saturday A&M welcomes YSU to Reed Arena for a 4 p.m. contest.
• Texas A&M is 4-0 on its home court this season and 122-12 (.910) all-time against non-conference foes at Reed Arena ... the Aggies are creeping up on their 200th win inside the facility with an all-time record of 198-72.
• Reigning SEC Co-Player of the Week Alex Caruso enters the weekend leading the SEC in assists (50) and assists per game (6.3) ... last season Caruso paced the league in both categories ... the College Station native also ranks second in the SEC in steals (20) and steals per game (2.5) this year.
• In milestone watch, Caruso enters the Youngstown State game ranked eighth in program history with 150 career steals (up next is Bernard King with 152 steals from 1999-02) ... he also ranks 12th in the record books with 332 career assists (up next is Kyle Kessel with 344 steals from 1994-96).
• Senior forward Kourtney Roberson continues to climb A&M's list for career rebounds as the Arcadia, La., native has pulled down 664 boards during his tenure in College Station to rank 15th in program history ... Damon Johnson (No. 14 - 679 rebounds from 1991-95), Steve Niles (No. 13 - 680 rebounds from 1968-71) and Randy Knowles (No. 12 - 683 rebounds from 1971-74) are all within striking distance of Roberson.
SERIES HISTORY VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE (FIRST MEETING)
• Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between Youngstown State and Texas A&M on the hardwood.
• Texas A&M is 6-3 all-time vs. current members of the Horizon League.
• A&M's Billy Kennedy has faced the Penguins just once as a head coach ... on Dec. 4, 2004, Kennedy's Southeastern Louisiana Lions defeated YSU 77-55 in Springfield, Mo., during play at the SMS Prince Cutter Classic.
UP NEXT
The Aggies hit the road again next week, traveling to Kansas City's Sprint Center to face Kanas State on Dec. 20 ... the game is slated for a 6 p.m. tip-off and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
CARUSO NAMED SEC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON DEC. 8
After leading the Aggies to a pair of wins, junior guard Alex Caruso was named co-SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 8th.
The College Station, Texas, native averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals in wins over Sam Houston State and Arizona State. Caruso made 9-of-11 field goal attempts against ASU, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, to contribute a season-high 23 points.
With ASU leading by 10 and 11:34 to play, Caruso put the Aggies on his back, scoring 13 of the team's final 22 points during the late-game rally. The third-year Aggie's impressive all-around game was on display as he paced all players in points (23), rebounds (6), assists (6) and steals (6) becoming the first A&M player to tally at least 20 points, six rebounds and six assists since Acie Law IV (21 points, seven rebounds & seven assists) on Feb. 17, 2007, at Oklahoma.
During the week, Caruso shot 83.3 percent from the floor (15-for-18) becoming the first Aggie to garner SEC Player of the Week accolades since Elston Turner on Jan. 14, 2013.
REED ARENA SUCCESS
• The Aggies are 4-0 on their home court this season and 198-72 (.733) all time in 15 seasons at Reed Arena ... the Aggies were 41-41 the first six years at Reed and are 156-32 since.
• Last season, A&M was 17-3 at Reed Arena ... among SEC teams, only Florida (16-0) had a better record on its home floor than Texas A&M.
• A&M is 90-21 at Reed Arena since the start of the 2008-09 season with a 33-18 mark in conference games.
• The Aggies are 124-26 (.827) at home since the start of the 2006-07 season and are 156-32 (.830) since the start of the 2004-05 campaign.
• A&M has won 70 of its last 83 home games against unranked opponents (25 of last 35 in conference play).
• Texas A&M are 4-0 in non-conference games at Reed Arena this season ... the Aggies are 122-12 (.910) all-time in non-conference games inside the facility, which hosted its first basketball game in the fall of 1998 ... a loss to Rice on Dec. 22, 2011, snapped A&M's 67-game non-conference home win streak at Reed Arena (which dated back to the start of the 2005-06 season) and 80-game regular-season, non-conference home win streak (which dated back to 2003), both school records.
AGGIES CONTINUE STRONG NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The 2014-15 campaign will see the Aggies play one of the strongest non-conference schedules in program history, facing a total of six teams who made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The Aggies are currently 2-2 against the group.
After it's run through the non-conference slate, the Aggies will face the always tough SEC schedule which includes six teams who made the post season a year ago - Arkansas (NIT), Florida (NCAA Final Four), Georgia (NIT), Kentucky (NCAA Tournament runner-up), LSU (NIT) and Missouri (NIT).