Game Day Preview: USC Upstate

The Matchup:	USC Upstate (0-0) at Texas A&M (0-0)
Tipoff:	Friday, Nov. 13 - 8:35 p.m. CST
Venue:	Reed Arena (12,989)
Watch:	SEC Network + (Will Johnson, John Thornton) | WatchESPN
Listen:	Texas A&M Sports Network (Dave South, Al Pulliam) | 12thMan.com - TuneIn - XM 157 - 102.7 FM in B/CS
Live Stats:	Click Here
Game Notes:	Texas A&M | USC Upstate | SEC
Promotions:	Click Here

COLLEGE STATION – Basketball season returns to Aggieland Friday night as the Texas A&M men's hoops team hits the court for the 2015-16 season opener which will see the Aggies entertain USC Upstate inside Reed Arena. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m.
 
The game will be available digitally on mobile devices, tablets, PCs and connect-TVs for SEC Network subscribers whose cable/satellite packages allow access to SEC Network+ content through the WatchESPN app and SECSports.com. Additionally, radio coverage on the Aggie Sports Network can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on Zone 102.7 FM.
 
Entering its 104^th season of men's basketball, Texas A&M brings a solid core of returners from last season's 21-win club, including three starters and a total of nine letterwinners.
 
The Aggies underwent their final dress rehearsal for the new campaign last Friday as they defeated Texas A&M-International in exhibition action. The win featured a balanced Texas A&M offensive attack, punctuated by five Aggies who reached double-digit scoring.
 
Led by preseason All-SEC selections Danuel House and Alex Caruso as well as 2015 second-team All-SEC honoree Jalen Jones, Texas A&M men's basketball enters the new campaign with lofty goals, which include returning to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time since 2006.
 
Guided by 14^th-year head coach Eddie Payne, USC Upstate is coming off a 24-12 record a year ago that featured a third-place showing in the Atlantic Sun Conference race. The Spartans are led on the court by returning starter Michael Buchanan, a 6-foot-11 forward who averaged 8.1 points and 5.8 rebounds last season.
 
QUICK HITS
• The Aggies have won 14 straight season-opening games and 15 straight home openers ... A&M is playing its season opener at home for the 15th consecutive year ... All-time, Aggie men's basketball is 46-23 in season-openers since 1945.
• Texas A&M & USC Upstate will be meeting for the first time ever on the hardwood ... The Spartans have won each of their last two meetings against SEC opponents, a 74-68 win at South Carolina on Dec. 19, 2013 and a 53-51 victory over Mississippi State in Jackson, Miss., on Dec. 10, 2014.
• The Aggies return three senior starters (Alex Caruso, Danuel House and Jalen Jones) and nine total letterwinners ... Overall, A&M returns 71.2 percent of its scoring output from the 2014-15 campaign, highlighted by three of its top three scorers (House [14.8 points per game], Jones [13.7 ppg] and Caruso [9.1 ppg]).
• All three returning Aggie seniors of Caruso (Honorable Mention - Associated Press), House (1st Team - SEC Coaches) and Jones (2nd Team - SEC Coaches) each garnered All-SEC recognition from various media outlets after last season.
• The Aggies are 126-13 (.907) all-time in non-conference games inside Reed Arena, which hosted its first basketball game in the fall of 1998.
• Head coach Billy Kennedy returns for his fifth season in Aggieland ... In his 18th overall season as a head coach, Kennedy owns a 282-240 (.540) career record ... The two-time Ohio Valley Coach of the Year has enjoyed success at previous head coaching positions at Murray State, Southeastern Louisiana and Centenary before taking his current position at A&M.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. USC UPSTATE (FIRST MEETING)
• Friday will mark the first ever meeting between the Spartans and Aggies.
• The Spartans have won their last two matchups against SEC schools with a 53-51 victory over Mississippi State in Jackson, Miss. on Dec. 10, 2014, and a 74-68 beating of in-state foe South Carolina on Dec. 19, 2013.
• A&M is 10-6 all-time against schools from South Carolina including 2-0 last season with victories over South Carolina and College of Charleston. The Aggies are 5-1 when facing a South Carolina school in College Station.
• The Aggies boast a 2-0 record against the current schools of the Atlantic Sun and 6-2 against school that were in the Atlantic Sun at the time of the matchup with both losses coming to Centenary College.
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies continue their season-opening four-game homestand on Monday when Texas A&M hosts Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network PLUS.
 
AGGIES ROLL TAMU-INTERNATIONAL IN EXHIBITION ACTION
Texas A&M defeated Texas A&M-International, 83-45, on Nov. 6 in exhibition action at Reed Arena in front of 4,065 fans. Jalen Jones paced the A&M offense with 14 points, while four other Aggies scored in double figures in A&M's lone exhibition contest.
 
Joining Jones with more than 10 points were freshman Tyler Davis (12), sophomore Tonny Trocha-Morelos (12), freshman Admon Gilder (12) and freshman DJ Hogg (11). Davis, Gilder and Hogg comprise three of the four members of Texas A&M's heralded signing class from a season ago. The four member signing class was rated the best signing class in A&M program history and ranked sixth in the country in ESPN.com's final iteration of recruiting classes.
 
HOUSE, CARUSO GARNER PRESEASON ALL-SEC HONORS
The roll out of preseason honors continued for the Aggie men's basketball team in the weeks leading up to the start of the season with Danuel House (1st Team) and Alex Caruso (2nd Team) receiving preseason All-SEC honors from both the SEC coaches and the media that covers the league.
 
Both players, along with fellow senior Jalen Jones, garnered All-SEC accolades from various media outlets after last season with House (1st Team) and Jones (2nd Team) recognized by the league's coaches and Caruso selected honorable mention all-league from the Associated Press.
 
TEXAS A&M ONLY SEC TEAM TO RETURN MULTIPLE ALL-SEC SELECTIONS
Texas A&M stands out as the only SEC school to return multiple player who garnered All-SEC honors from the league's coaches last season as seniors Danuel House (1st Team) and Jalen Jones (2nd Team) are back on the hardwood this year.
 
Additionally, House, who also garnered second team all-district honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), stands out as one of only three first team All-SEC players back for this season (Stefan Moody, Ole Miss and Damian Jones, Vanderbilt).
 
HOUSE & HOGG NAMED TO NATIONAL WATCH LIST
A pair of Aggies garnered national recognition as senior Danuel House was named to the watch list for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and freshman D.J. Hogg (pronounced HOEG [rhymes with rogue]) received a spot on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award watch list.
 
Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award is in its second year and recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men's college basketball.
 
Meanwhile, the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award presented by University of Massachusetts is also in its second year.  Named after Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA All-Star Julius Erving, the honor recognizes the top small forward in Division I men's college basketball.