Aggie Basketball Game #20:
Vanderbilt (11-9, 1-6 SEC) at Texas A&M (14-5, 5-2 SEC)
Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 · 3:30 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas
TV: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Dave Baker, Play-by-Play
Joe Dean, Jr., Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 84 / XM Ch. 84
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
COLLEGE STATION – Riding its longest conference winning streak since 2011, the Texas A&M men's basketball team returns to Reed Arena Saturday where it will host Vanderbilt in a 3:30 p.m. contest.
The Aggies (14-5, 5-2 SEC) enter the weekend riding a five-game winning streak that has featured a trio of road victories, most recently back-to-back wins at Tennessee and Auburn, and vaulted the team into a tie for second place in the SEC standings.
The streak is Texas A&M's longest as an SEC member since joining the league for the 2012-13 campaign as well as the longest for the program since claiming five consecutive victories in Big 12 play during February of 2011. A win against Vanderbilt would give the Aggies their longest streak in league play since ripping off six straight victories from Feb. 16 to March 7, 2009.
Saturday's contest will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Dave Baker calling the play-by-play and Joe Dean, Jr. 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).
In addition to the steady leadership and production of seniors Jordan Green and Kourtney Roberson, the Aggies have received a huge boost during the winning streak from first-year transfers Danuel House and Jalen Jones.
House began Tuesday's win at Auburn on a torrid pace, scoring 13 points in the game's first 5:16 by going 4-for-4 from 3-point range, before finishing with a game-high 22 points. The Fresno, Texas, native now leads the Aggies in scoring while ranking third in the SEC during league games when he averages 17.1 points per outing.
Jones, meanwhile, has been one of A&M's most productive and dependable players as the junior forward averages 14.1 points and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per contest. The Aggies are 5-0 in SEC games with Jones in the lineup after he missed the first two games of league play with a sprained ankle.
Rookie Alex Robinson was also a key component during the team's most recent outing as the Arlington, Texas, product tied a career-high with 12 points by converting 6-of-9 field goal attempts against the Tigers.
The Commodores (11-9; 1-6 SEC) got off to a solid start this season by claiming 10 wins in non-conference action, including a win over Purdue in mid-December. League play has not been as fortunate to Vandy, which defeated Auburn in Nashville to begin SEC play before dropping six straight contests.
On the court, Vandy is led by a pair of underclassmen as sophomore center Damian Jones paces the team and ranks sixth in the SEC by averaging 15.6 points per contest, while standout freshman Riley LaChance has contributed 12.5 points an outing through 20 games of his rookie season.
QUICK HITS
• Riding the momentum of five consecutive SEC victories, the Aggies are back at Reed Arena on Saturday where they host Vanderbilt in a 3:30 p.m. contest ... Texas A&M is 9-1 on its home floor this season with the lone loss being in double-overtime to No. 1 Kentucky on Jan. 10.
• The Aggies have won five consecutive SEC contests for the first time since joining the league for the 2012-13 campaign ... A&M's most recent five-game conference winning streak came from Feb. 9-23, 2011, when the Aggies won five straight Big 12 contests ... to find a winning streak of six games you have to look back to the 2008-09 campaign when A&M closed the regular season with six consecutive Big 12 wins.
• Texas A&M will be seeking its first win against the Commodores as an SEC foe as Vandy has won each of the first three meetings with the Aggies during conference play.
• The Vanderbilt game stands out as the lone home game in a stretch of four of five contests away from College Station for the Aggies.
• Junior guard Danuel House got off to a blistering start on his way to posting his third 20-point game of the season during Tuesday's 71-61 win at Auburn ... House scored 13 points in the game's first 5:16 by going 4-for-4 from 3-point range before finishing the contest with 22 points ... the Fresno, Texas, native now leads the Aggies in scoring at 14.3 points per game while ranking third in the SEC during league play when he averages 17.1 points per outing.
• Junior guard Alex Caruso dished out a game-high five assists against the Tigers to give him 383 assists during his A&M career and moving him past Dash Harris (379 assists from 2008-12) and Dominique Kirk (382 assists from 2004-08) into sixth place all-time at Texas A&M.
SERIES HISTORY VS. VANDERBILT (VANDY LEADS 4-0)
• Saturday will be just the fifth meeting between the Aggies and Commodores on the hardwood.
• The two schools matched up twice last season with the first meeting taking place on Jan. 25 in College Station ... the Commodores were led by James Siakam's game-high 22 points in a 66-55 win ... Kourtney Roberson, meanwhile, recorded a double-double for the Aggies with 14 points and 11 boards in the losing effort.
• Vanderbilt swept last season's series with a 57-54 overtime win on Feb. 15 over the Aggies inside Memorial Gym in Nashville.
• The only meeting between the schools prior to Texas A&M joining the SEC for the 2012-13 season came on Dec. 3, 1955, in Nashville ... The Commodores prevailed with a 79-69 victory.
• A&M's Billy Kennedy is 1-4 against Vanderbilt during his career as a head coach.
UP NEXT
The Aggies are back on the road next week as they travel to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss in the first half of back-to-back road contests ... the match-up with the Rebels will be nationally televised by the SEC Network.
CARUSO CONTINUES TO CLIMB ALL-TIME CAREER STEALS & ASSISTS LISTS
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 dished out five assists on Jan. 27 at Auburn to move passed Dash Harris (379 assists from 2008-12) and Dominique Kirk (382 assists from 2004-08) into sixth place all-time at Texas A&M. The College Station native currently has 383 during his A&M career.
AGS STREAKING DURING SEC PLAY; LONGEST WINNING STREAK SINCE `11
The Aggies enter the Vanderbilt contest on a five-game winning streak, which stands out as the longest since a similar five-game stretch in February of 2011. A&M's most recent six-game winning streak during league play came from Feb. 16 through March 7 of 2009.
Texas A&M's school record for a winning streak during conference play is a 16 games during the undefeated season of 1919-20.
STEPPING UP ON THE DEFENSIVE END
After going through a tough stretch in late December, the Texas A&M coaching staff reemphasized getting back to the team's core value of tough defense. The message seems to have gotten through as during their last five games the Aggies have buckled down on the defensive end and limited their opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting from the floor.
The turnaround began on Jan. 3 when A&M held Hartford to just 28.1 percent shooting and was also on display against top-ranked Kentucky on Jan. 10 when the Aggies forced the Wildcats to misfire on 46-of-64 field goal attempts en route to shooting a season-low 28.1 percent from the field.
In SEC play, Texas A&M ranks second in the league in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 37.1 percent against them. Overall, the Aggies have forced 16 or more turnovers in eight games this season.