Aggie Basketball Game #30:
Alabama (17-13, 7-10 SEC) at Texas A&M (20-9, 11-6 SEC)
Saturday, March 7, 2015 · 1 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas
TV: FSN (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Bernie Guenthner, Play-by-Play
Larry Conley, 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. 113 / XM Ch. 191
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – For the final time at Reed Arena, seniors Jordan Green and Kourtney Roberson will don the Maroon & White of the Texas A&M men's basketball team when the Aggies host Alabama in a pivotal late season contest on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Prior to tip-off, the program will honor its two seniors who have combined for 263 games of service on the court as well as countless achievements off it during their tenures in Aggieland.
Due in no small part to the contributions of Green and Roberson, Texas A&M (20-9, 11-6 SEC) enters the final weekend of the regular season holding a share of third place in the SEC standings. The SEC Tournament tips off at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena next week.
Saturday's game will be televised on FSN with most fans in Texas finding the game on FS-Southwest's alternate channel (DirectTV Ch. 649, Dish Network Ch. 449 [9519 in HD and 412-37 on DISH Hopper], Suddenlink [Bryan-College Station] Ch. 22. In other parts of the SEC footprint, it will air on FS SportSouth, FS South, Sun Sports or FS Florida.
On the call will be Bernie Guenthner (play-by-play) and Larry Conley (commentary). For Conley, the contest will be the final broadcast of a banner 42-year career during which he has called over 1,800 college basketball games, the majority involving SEC schools.
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 will be looking to bounce back after a late rally attempt came up short during their last outing, a 66-62 loss to Florida in Gainesville on Tuesday. Overall this season, Texas A&M has been able to quickly recover after a setback, owning a 7-1 record after a loss this season having dropped back-to-back contests just once.
On their home court, the Aggies have been dominant as they are 13-2 at Reed Arena this season and 30-5 (.857) the last two campaigns.
A measure of revenge is also on the line for Texas A&M as it fell to the Crimson Tide 65-44 in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 6 during both teams' conference-opening contest. Freshman Peyton Allen led the Aggies with 13 points off the bench in the first meeting with the Tide.
Alabama (17-13, 7-10 SEC) comes to Aggieland trying to snap a two-game losing skid and improve on a tie for ninth-place in the league standings.
Senior guard Levi Randolph leads the Tide in scoring at 15.3 points per game this season, ranking the Madison, Ala., native seventh among all SEC players.
QUICK HITS
• The Aggies look to even the season series with the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena... the Crimson Tide defeated A&M 65-44 inside Coleman Coliseum in both teams' conference-opening contest.
• Freshman Peyton Allen led the Aggies during the first meeting with the Tide, scoring 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting (3-of-7 from 3-point range) off the A&M bench.
• Junior forward Jalen Jones missed the earlier match-up with Alabama while dealing with a sprained ankle ... the Aggies' second leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, Jones missed the match-up with the Tide as well as the subsequent match-up with top-ranked Kentucky with A&M going 0-2 in his absence.
• Prior to the game, the Aggie Basketball program will honor its two seniors Jordan Green and Kourtney Roberson ... the two have been great representatives off the court as well as donning the Maroon & White for a combined 263 games (Roberson-138 & Green 125) on the hardwood.
• Roberson, who is coming off his 10th career double-double performance during his last home contest, last weekend against Auburn, is enjoying a strong finish to his final regular season ... The Arcadia, La., native, who stands out as the only member of the A&M roster to have played in the NCAA Tournament, is averaging 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 69.0 percent from the floor during the last nine contests.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ALABAMA (ALABAMA LEADS 8-4)
• Saturday's contest will be the 13th meeting between the Aggies and the Crimson Tide on the hardwood and just the fourth 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 head coach Billy Kennedy is 1-4 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 College Station, with A&M leading the series 3-1 on its home court ... A&M earned a 63-48 win over Alabama in College Station last season.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will head to Music City for the 2015 SEC Tournament which will take place at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena March 11-15.
A&M HITS 20-WIN MARK FOR THE EIGHTH TIME IN 11 YEARS
An 80-55 victory over Auburn on Feb. 28 not only gave the Aggies a season sweep of the Tigers but also stood out as the team's 20th win of the season.
The 20-win season is the 14th in program history and the first since the 2010-11 campaign. Texas A&M has won 20 or more games in eight of the last 11 seasons.
HOUSE STANDS OUT AS ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP SCORERS
During his first season in Aggieland junior Danuel House has emerged as one of the SEC's most explosive and consistent scorers. The Fresno, Texas, native enters the Alabama game ranking fourth in scoring during SEC play this season, averaging 16.2 points per contest.
Here's a look at some of House's impressive scoring numbers...
• Ranks fourth among all SEC players in scoring during league game at 16.2 points per game.
• During SEC play, second in the league, averaging 2.7 3-pointers made per game; ranks 3rd in 3-point shooting at 41.1 percent.
• Beginning with a 25-point outing vs top-ranked Kentucky on Jan. 10, is averaging 18.0 points per game during his last 15 contests.
• Beginning with a 20-point effort at Missouri on Feb. 7, is averaging 19.4 points per game during his last seven contests.
• Scored 20 or more points in seven games this season, including three outings with 25 or more points.
• Has 1,120 career points (Includes 736 points in two seasons at Houston).
• Only Auburn's Antoine Mason, who scored 28 points vs. Kentucky on Feb. 21, has put up more than House's 25 points against the top-ranked Wildcats this season.
AGGIES BOAST THREE 1,000-POINT SCORERS
The Aggies standout as just one of two SEC schools (Alabama being the other) with three active 1,000-point scorers. Two of A&M's three members of the 1,000-Point Club are juniors, Danuel House (1,120 career points) and Jalen Jones (1,072 career points), with senior Kourtney Roberson (1,048 career points) being the only member of the trio to score all of his points while wearing the Maroon & White.
The next closest Aggie to 1,000 career points is junior Alex Caruso with 770 career points.