Aggies Open SEC Play at Alabama Tuesday

Aggie Basketball Game #13:

Texas A&M (9-3, 0-0 SEC) at Alabama (10-3, 0-0 SEC)

Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015 · 8 p.m. (CT)

Coleman Coliseum (15,383) · Tuscaloosa, Ala.

 

TV: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)

  Dari Nowkhah, Play-by-Play

  Joe Dean Jr., 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 – After winning nine games during one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in program history, the Texas A&M men's basketball team begins its run through the SEC Tuesday when it faces Alabama in Tuscaloosa with an 8 p.m. match-up inside Coleman Coliseum.

The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network with Dari Nowkhah (play-by-play) and Joe Dean Jr. (commentary) calling all the action. The match-up can also be heard on the Texas A&M Sports Network with local coverage in Bryan/College Station on The Zone 1150 AM.

Texas A&M (9-3) is coming off back-to-back wins over Mercer and Hartford to conclude its non-league schedule, giving the Aggies a perfect 7-0 record on their home court this season. During their non-SEC run, A&M faced six NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, claiming three wins against the group.

The most recent edition of the NCAA Men's Basketball RPI rankings (Jan. 4) has the Aggies ranked at No. 48, with the Crimson Tide just five spots back at No. 53. Overall, the SEC places six teams in the top 53 spots and 10 schools in the top 93.

Junior point guard Alex Caruso continues to spearhead the team's efforts on the court as the third-year Aggie dished out 10 assists during Saturday's win over Hartford to notch his fifth career game with 10 or more assists, while notching a game-high five steals.

The College Station native leads the SEC in both total assists (77) and assists per game (6.4), and enters the Alabama game with 359 career assists, which ranks him 10^th in program history.

Additionally, the five-steal performance against the Hawks gave Caruso 158 career steals and moved him past Acie Law IV (2003-07) into sixth place on Aggie basketball's list of all-time steals. Up next is Reggie Roberts (1980-83), who sits in fifth place with 160 steals.

Senior Kourtney Roberson, who joined the prestigious 500-Rebound Club last season, is also approaching several career milestones as he continues to move up the list of the most prolific rebounders in school history. The Arcadia, La., native enters the Alabama game within striking range of several spots on the list with 678 career boards.

Alabama (10-3), meanwhile, brings a four-game winning streak into Tuesday's affair after defeating North Florida 76-61 during their last action on Friday.

The Crimson Tide, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Anthony Grant, own a spotless 9-0 mark on their home court this season including a marquee win over UCLA on Dec. 28 that featured the 1,000^th  point of senior guard Levi Randolph's career.

 

QUICK HITS

• The Aggies kick off their SEC schedule this week by traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where they will face the Crimson Tide inside Coleman Coliseum at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

• Texas A&M is 7-2 in its last eight conference-opening contests, including a 69-53 victory over Arkansas on Jan. 8 of last season.

• Tuesday's contest will be the third meeting between the Aggies and Crimson Tide since A&M joined the SEC before the 2012-13 campaign ... each team has claimed a win on its home court with Alabama earning a 50-49 victory in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 19, 2013, and A&M notching a 63-48 win at Reed Arena on Feb. 20 of last season.

• Junior Alex Caruso dished out 10 assists during Saturday's win over Hartford to reach the 10+ assist mark for the fifth time in his career ... the College Station nation, who paced the SEC in assists a year ago, again leads the league in helpers with 77 dimes this season and an average of 6.4 per contest.

• Junior Jalen Jones contributed 12 points against the Hawks to lead the Aggies in scoring for the fourth time this season and hit the double-digit point mark for the ninth time in 12 games this season.

 

SERIES HISTORY VS. ALABAMA (ALABAMA LEADS 7-4)

• Tuesday's contest will be the 12th meeting between the Aggies and the Crimson Tide on the hardwood and just the third between the schools as SEC competitors.

• Alabama won the first six games in the series, before the Aggies went on a three-game winning streak against the Crimson Tide ... A&M earned a 63-48 win in College Station last season.

• A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is 1-3 against Alabama.

• The two schools first met on December 19, 1958, when the Bob Rodgers-led Aggies fell to Alabama 66-62 in the Birmingham Classic ... The Aggies had to wait 40 years for their first win against the Tide when they won 65-58 in College Station on Dec. 1, 1998.

• Saturday's contest will be the fifth time the Aggies and Tide have met in Tuscaloosa, with Alabama leading the series 3-1 at home.

• Alabama will make a return trip to College Station to conclude the regular season on March 7.

 

UP NEXT

The Aggies return home to Reed Arena on Saturday where they will host top-ranked Kentucky in a noon contest on CBS.

 

AGGIES WRAP UP STRONG NON-CONFERENCE SLATE

The 2014-15 campaign has seen 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 went 3-3 against the group.

After its 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).