Aggie Basketball Game #18:
Texas A&M (12-5, 3-2 SEC) at Tennessee (12-5, 4-1 SEC)
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 · 12 p.m. (CT)
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678) · Knoxville, Tenn.
TV: FSN (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Dave Baker, Play-by-Play
Larry Conley, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Mike Caruso, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
Satellite Radio (UT Broadcast): Sirius Ch. 93 / XM Ch. 190
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – Gunning for a fourth consecutive win in SEC play, the Texas A&M men's basketball team travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for an important league match-up against Tennessee on Saturday at noon (CT) inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Aggies have surged up the league standings during their current winning streak and enter the weekend with a share of third place, just one spot back of the Volunteers, who own second place outright with a 4-1 SEC mark.
Saturday's game will be televised on FSN with most fans in Texas finding the game on FS-Southwest's alternate channel (DirectTV Ch. 676-1, Dish Network Ch. 444 [9514 in HD and 412-32 on DISH Hopper], Suddenlink [Bryan-College Station] Ch. 22 and Comcast [Houston] Ch 110).
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).
The Aggies (12-5, 3-2 SEC) have taken on the role of comeback artists recently as during each contest of their winning streak A&M has responded after a halftime deficit with a big second-half performance.
During Wednesday's win over Missouri, the Aggies found themselves down seven points at the intermission but came out of the locker room hot to deliver a decisive knockout blow with a 22-2 run mid-way through the second period.
Juniors Danuel House and Jalen Jones continue to be the driving forces for the Aggies as the duo combined for 32 points against Missouri, while third-year Aggie Alex Caruso joined the pair in double-digit scoring with 11.
Jones narrowly missed his second double-double of the season as the Dallas native finished with nine rebounds.
Tennessee (12-5, 4-1 SEC), meanwhile, will have a very different look from the team that A&M earned a pair of hard-fought victories over last year. Under first-year head coach Donnie Tyndall, who spent the previous two seasons at Southern Miss after a six-year tenure at Morehead State, the Vols return only one starter from last season's Sweet 16 squad.
Senior guard Josh Richardson is enjoying a strong season, averaging a team-leading 15.7 points per contest while dishing out 58 assists on the campaign. Newcomer Kevin Punter and junior forward Armani Moore also play big roles for the Vols by averaging 10.4 and 9.7 points, respectively.
QUICK HITS
• Saturday's contest pits a pair of teams in the top half of the SEC standings against one another inside Thompson-Boling Arena as Texas A&M enters the weekend tied for third in the standings with a 3-2 league record ... meanwhile, Tennessee's 4-1 mark in SEC games has the Vols alone in second place behind top-ranked Kentucky.
• The Aggies have won three consecutive SEC contests for just the second time since joining the league for the 2012-13 campaign ... a win on Saturday would give A&M its longest winning streak in SEC play as well as its longest conference winning streak since the Aggies won five straight Big 12 games from Feb. 9-23, 2011.
• In just three games as SEC competitors, the series between Texas A&M and Tennessee on the hardwood has already become one of the league's most tightly-contested annual match-ups ... during the three contests, the two squads have played a total of five overtime periods with the average margin of victory being just four points.
• Last season, the Aggies swept the season series with the Vols thanks in no small part to the late-game heroics of Antwan Space ... on Jan. 11 in Knoxville, Space hit a 3-pointer with just 4.4 seconds remaining to lift the Aggies to a 57-56 come-from-behind victory ... the DeSoto, Texas, native was the hero again on Feb. 22, as Space broke a 65-65 tie with a game-winning 3-pointer with just eight seconds left in overtime of an Aggie win at Reed Arena.
• Wednesday's win over Missouri marked the third contest in a row and sixth overall game this season where the Aggies have rallied from a halftime deficit to earn a victory.
• After struggling during the Aggies' SEC opener Alabama, junior guard Danuel House has bounced back in a big way during his last four games when the Fresno, Texas, product is averaging 19.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
• Since rejoining the A&M lineup after missing the first two games of league play, junior forward Jalen Jones has provided a big lift on the court ... the Dallas native, who leads the Aggies with a 13.8 point-per-game scoring average, has contributed 50 points (16.7 points per game) and 21 rebounds (7.0 rebounds per game) since his return.
• Last season's SEC assist leader Alex Caruso finds himself atop the category again this year as the College Station native paces the league with 93 assists and an average of 5.5 assists per game this season ... Caruso, who has already produced six games of double-digit scoring this season, is averaging 13 points during his last three contests.
SERIES HISTORY VS. TENNESSEE (UT LEADS 5-3)
• Saturday will be the ninth meeting between the Aggies and Volunteers on the hardwood ... Tennessee owns a 5-3 edge in the all-time series.
• Last season, the Aggies swept the season series with the Vols thanks in no small part to the late-game heroics of Antwan Space ... on Jan. 11 in Knoxville, Space hit a 3-pointer with just 4.4 seconds remaining to lift the Aggies to a 57-56 come-from-behind victory ... the DeSoto, Texas, native was the hero again on Feb. 22, as Space broke a 65-65 tie with a game-winning 3-pointer with just eight seconds left in overtime of an Aggie win at Reed Arena.
• On Feb. 23, 2013, the two squads engaged in a four-overtime thriller at Reed Arena which saw the Vols emerge with a 93-85 victory ... A&M's Elston Turner set a Reed Arena scoring record (men's games only) during the contest by finishing with 38 points.
• Prior to becoming conference partners in the SEC, most recent meetings between the schools came during a home-and-home series in back-to-back seasons with A&M winning 83-66 in College Station on Dec. 4, 2002, before dropping a 108-84 decision at Tennessee on Dec. 2, 2003.
• The Aggies' first win in the series came in College Station on Dec. 4, 2002 ... A&M's Antoine Wright logged a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Aggies to an 83-66 victory.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M continues its two-game road swing by traveling to Auburn, Ala., on Tuesday to face Auburn in an 8 p.m. contest inside Auburn Arena ... the contest will be televised by SEC Network.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS SPARK COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORIES
Wednesday's contest against Missouri found the Aggies down at halftime for the third consecutive game and, just like the last two affairs, it saw A&M enjoy a huge second half en route to a come-from-behind victory.
All told this season, the Aggies have won six total games when they trailed at the intermission. Highlighting the list are a pair of contests during which A&M overcame 13-point deficits during the game's final 20 minutes (Dec. 6 vs Arizona & Jan. 17 at LSU).
CARUSO MOVING UP ALL-TIME CAREER STEALS & ASSISTS LIST
With a steal against Kentucky on Jan. 10, junior Alex Caruso passed Reggie Roberts (1980-83) to move into fifth place on Aggie basketball's list of all-time steals (164 career steals). Up next is Darryl McDonald (1986-88), who sits in fourth place with 173 steals.
Additionally, Caruso enters the Tennessee game with 375 career assists, which ranks him eighth in program history.
ROBERSON ASCENDING AGGIE REBOUNDING LIST
Senior Kourtney Roberson joined the prestigious 500-Rebound Club last season and has continued into his senior season, moving up the list of the most prolific rebounders in school history. The Arcadia, La., native climbed three spots into 12th place on the all-time rebounding list with a six-board performance at Alabama on Jan. 6. Roberson enters the Tennessee game with 709 career boards.