Aggie Basketball Game #27:
Texas A&M (19-7, 10-4 SEC) at Arkansas (22-5, 11-3 SEC)
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 · 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Bud Walton Arena (19,368) · Fayetteville, Ark.
TV: ESPN (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Brad Nessler, Play-by-Play
Sean Farnham, Commentary
Shannon Spake, Reporter
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
John Thornton, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
Satellite Radio (Arkansas Broadcast): Sirius Ch. 90 / XM Ch. 190
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
--
COLLEGE STATION – A clash of teams near the top of the SEC standings is on tap Tuesday evening as the Texas A&M men's basketball team travels to Fayetteville to face No. 18 Arkansas inside Bud Walton Arena at 8 p.m.
Jostling for post-season position, the Aggies (19-7, 10-4 SEC) enter the week with a share of third place in the SEC standings, just one game back of the Razorbacks (22-5, 11-3), who own second place. Texas A&M is searching to secure the 14th 20-win season in program history.
Tuesday's contest will be nationally televised on ESPN with Brad Nessler calling the play-by-play and Sean Farnham 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).
Aggie junior Danuel House is coming off a standout week on the hardwood when the Fresno, Texas, native averaged 22.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in wins over LSU and South Carolina, while adding five assists, four blocks and a steal. Against the Gamecocks, House turned heads by hitting 7-of 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc to fall just one long-distance basket short of A&M's single game record.
House ranks fifth in the SEC with a 16.6 scoring average during league play.
The Aggies, who are 5-2 on the road in SEC play, will have a tall order on Tuesday as Arkansas' Bud Walton Arena stands out as one of the toughest venues for road teams. This season is no exception as the Razorbacks are 16-1 on their home court.
On the court, Arkansas boosts one of the SEC's best 1-2 offensive punches in sophomore forward Bobby Portis and junior guard Michael Qualls. Portis, who earned second-team All-SEC honors as a rookie last season, ranks second in the league this season, averaging 18.1 points per contest, while Qualls checks in at seventh by maintaining a 15.5 scoring average.
The Razorbacks enter the affair riding a six-game winning streak.
QUICK HITS
• Long-time Southwest Conference foes Texas A&M and Arkansas face off at Bud Walton Arena Tuesday evening ... the meeting will be the 151st meeting all-time between the schools and just the fourth as SEC members.
• A win in Fayetteville would give the Aggies their 20th victory of the season ... the program has reached the 20-win plateau in 13 previous seasons, most recently in 2010-11.
• Junior guard Danuel House tied a season-best with 25 points against the Gamecocks, going an impressive 7-of-11 from 3-point range to fall just one long distance basket off the single game school record ... the performance was House's sixth 20-point game of the season and brought his scoring average during league play to 16.6 points per contest, ranking fifth in the league ... from 3-point range ranks second in the SEC this season by shooting 43.0 percent from long distance and averaging 2.4 3-pointers per outing.
• The Aggies (19-7, 10-4 SEC) have won 10 of their last 12 contests and enter the weekend with a share of third place in the SEC standings.
• Saturday's win at South Carolina saw a reversal of trends for the Aggies who have done much of their damage on the offensive end in the interior this season ... A&M has outscored their opponents in the paint in 19 of 26 games this season, averaging 33.8 point per contest on the inside … however, against the Gamecocks the Aggies scored just 14 points in the paint but made 10 3-pointers as a team ... A&M was 10-of-21 from beyond the 3-point arc, while making just seven field goals inside the arc (17-of-43).
• After only notching four road wins in SEC play during their first two seasons in the league, Texas A&M is 5-2 on the road in league play this season and has already surpassed their total conference win ledger for either year.
• Junior guard Alex Caruso dished out eight assists with only one turnover during Saturday's win at South Carolina ... the College Station native leads the SEC with 153 assists this season and owns a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking seventh in the SEC.
• Senior forward Kourtney Roberson has been a driving force in the Aggies' success during league play ... during his last seven games, the Arcadia, La., native is averaging 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 67.3 percent from the floor.
• Fellow junior Jalen Jones has reached double-digits in 19 of 24 games played this season with the Aggies owning a 19-0 record when Jones hits the 10-point mark ... The Dallas native ranks 10th in the SEC, averaging 13.7 points per conference game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ARKANSAS (ARKANSAS LEADS 98-52)
• Tuesday will be the fourth SEC contest between the Aggies and Razorbacks ... the two schools shared a spot in the Southwest Conference from 1915 until 1991 when the Razorbacks joined the SEC.
• The two schools have faced off 150 previous times on the hardwood during the series, which dates back to the 1923-24 season ... Arkansas stands out as the sixth-most common opponent in A&M men's basketball history.
• Last season, the Aggies & Razorbacks opened SEC play on Jan. 8 at Reed Arena ... Alex Caruso dished out 11 assists while Davonte Fitzgerald came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points during a 69-53 A&M win.
• A&M's Billy Kennedy is 2-2 all-time as a head coach against the Razorbacks ... his lone meeting against Arkansas prior to his tenure at A&M came during the 1997-98 season while the head coach at Centenary ... the Gents fell in Fayetteville 61-48.
• Kennedy's head coaching counterpart, Arkansas' Mike Anderson, is 1-8 all-time against the Aggies.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return home to Reed Arena to face Auburn on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. contest that will be televised on SEC Network ... A&M will be searching for the season sweep of the Tigers, who they beat 71-61 in Auburn, Ala., earlier this season.
TEXAS A&M-ARKANSAS CONNECTIONS
• A&M's Billy Kennedy - Texas A&M's head coach served as an assistant coach at Texas A&M during the 1990-91 season under Kermit Davis. His final game as an Aggie assistant was a 108-61 loss to the Razorbacks on March 8, 1991, during the Southwest Conference Tournament.
• Arkansas' Melvin Watkins - The Razorback assistant served as the 18th head coach in Texas A&M men's basketball history from 1998-2004 ... In four seasons on the Aggie bench, Watkins compiled a 60-112 (.349) record.
ROBERSON HITS 1,000-POINT MARK
With a 16-point effort against LSU on Feb. 17, senior Kourtney Roberson became the 34th member of Texas A&M's 1,000-Point Club. The senior from Arcadia, La., native has 1,011 career points to rank 33rd in program history. Up next on the scoring list is Tony Milton, who scored 1,015 points wearing the Maroon & White from 1988-90.
Roberson joins teammates Danuel House and Jalen Jones, who have already hit the 1,000 point mark in their careers. House has 1,074 points between the University of Houston and A&M, while Jones has 1,028 between SMU and A&M.
The next closest Aggie to 1,000 career points (A&M points only) is Alex Caruso with 725 career points.
CARUSO HITS 400 ASSIST PLATEAU; LEADS SEC IN DIMES
With an 11-assist performance on Feb. 7 at Missouri, junior Alex Caruso became just the sixth Aggie to notch 400 career assists as he now has 427 for his three-year career to rank sixth all-time in school history.
Last season Caruso led the SEC with 170 assists and, once again, finds himself atop the league's category with 131 helpers this year. He is seeking to become the first SEC player to lead the league in assists in back-to-back seasons since Nick Calathes of Florida in 2008 and 2009.
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 broke a tie for ninth place on the all-time rebounding list with an 11-board performance vs. LSU on Feb. 17.
Roberson enters the Arkansas game with 765 career boards, needing nine to tie John Beasley (784 career rebounds from 1963-66) for eighth place.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENT SPARK COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORIES
The contest against Missouri on Jan. 24 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.
During last Tuesday's contest against LSU at Reed Arena, the Aggies trailed by five (36-31) at the break before outscoring the Tigers 37-26 during the second half.
All told this season, the Aggies have won seven 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 State & Jan. 17 at LSU).