Aggie Basketball Game #10:
Texas A&M (7-2) at Kansas State (6-4)
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 · 6 p.m. (CT)
Sprint Center (18,972) · Kansas City, Mo.
TV: ESPNU (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Dave Armstrong, Play-by-Play
Rich Zvosec, 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
--
COLLEGE STATION – The Aggies' strong non-conference slate continues this weekend as the Texas A&M men's basketball team travels to Kansas City, Mo., to battle Kansas State on Saturday inside the Sprint Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The contest against the Wildcats is another tough test in a challenging non-conference schedule that will see the Aggies face six teams that made an appearance in last spring's NCAA Tournament. The difficult slate continues in Texas A&M's next home contest, which will be Dec. 30 against the Mercer Bears, who made headlines nationwide by upsetting Duke in last year's Big Dance.
Saturday's contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Dave Armstrong calling the play-by-play and Rich Zvosec providing color commentary. Additionally, radio coverage will be provided on the Aggie Sports Network, which can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW (1620 AM).
During their last outing the Aggies (7-2) got pivotal contributions from newcomers Danuel House and Jalen Jones, who exploded for a combined 48 points in an 81-63 victory over Youngstown State at Reed Arena.
Jones was a model of proficiency against the Penguins, making 11-of-13 field goal attempts, including all four of his attempts from 3-point range, to contribute a personal-best 27 points. He also added a game-high eight rebounds to fall just short of his second double-double performance of the year.
The Dallas native, who transferred from SMU last December, paces the Aggies in both scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (6.1 rebounds per game) and has been one of the Aggies' most consistent performers by hitting the double-digit point plateau in seven of nine games this season.
House, meanwhile, has provided a big lift for the club offensively since receiving a waiver on Nov. 21 to play this season following his transfer from the University of Houston. In six games on the court for the Aggies, the Fresno, Texas, native has notched 76 points (12.7 points per game) while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
Rookie point guard Alex Robinson is also riding the confidence that follows one of his best games since donning the Maroon & White. The Arlington, Texas, product dished out a career-best 10 assists during the win over Youngstown State and is averaging 8.0 points and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field during his last four games.
The Wildcats (6-4), meanwhile, enter the weekend with a two-game winning streak after defeating Savannah State, 73-53, in Manhattan, Kan., on Sunday during their last outing.
Kansas State stands out as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, owning a 40.5 team shooting percentage from long distance. Sophomore guard Marcus Foster leads the way for the Wildcats, as the Wichita Falls, Texas, native and preseason All-Big 12 honoree averages 15.3 points per contest while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 47.1 from 3-point range.
Senior forward Thomas Gipson is the lone Wildcat to have faced the Aggies when the two schools matched up for the last time as Big 12 Conference foes during the 2011-12 season. Gipson, who hails from Cedar Hill, Texas, averages 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for the Wildcats.
Head Coach Bruce Weber, who garnered national coach of the year accolades in 2005 when he led Illinois to the national championship game, is in his third season at the helm of the KSU program.
QUICK HITS
• Reuniting with another former Big 12 Conference foe for the second time this fall, Texas A&M faces Kansas State inside Kansas City's Sprint Center at 6 p.m. Saturday night.
• While not taking place inside the confines of the Wildcats' official home of Bramlage Coliseum, the contest will be counted as a road game for the Aggies ... Texas A&M is 2-2 away from College Station this season.
• A pair of A&M newcomers are coming off an impressive offensive showing during last Saturday's victory over Youngstown State ... Danuel House (21 points) and Jalen Jones (27 points) combined for 48 points to become the first Aggie teammates to both notch 20 or more points in a game since David Loubeau and Elston Turner against Florida on Dec. 16, 2011.
• For Jalen Jones, the 27-point performance was a career high and featured 11-for-13 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 ledger from 3-point range.
• In a milestone watch, Alex Caruso enters the Kansas 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 335 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 666 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. KANSAS STATE (KSU LEADS 17-7)
• Saturday marks the 25th all-time meeting between Kansas State and Texas A&M on the hardwood and the first since the Aggies left the Big 12 Conference following the 2011-12 season.
• The series has been dominated by the home team ... Texas A&M has won six of nine meetings in College Station, while K-State won all nine contests inside Bramlage Coliseum … next season the two teams face off at Reed Arena.
• Kansas City has been the site of the series on three previous chapters in the series ... the first two meetings both occurred at Kemper Arena and resulted in Wildcat victories ... however, the most recent clash between the schools in KC was an Aggie win that took place on March 14, 2008, inside the Sprint Center … all three previous meetings in KC were during Big 12 Tournament play.
• A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is 0-2 all-time vs. the Wildcats ... KSU floor general Bruce Webber, meanwhile, is facing Texas A&M for the first time.
UP NEXT
Following the holiday break, the Aggies return home to host Mercer on Tuesday, Dec. 30, in a 7 p.m. contest at Reed Arena ... The contest will be televised nationally on SEC Network.
WILDCATS HIGHLIGHT AGGIES' 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).
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.