Monday, November 16
College Station
7:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Southeastern Louisiana
Game Day Preview: Southeastern Louisiana
Nov 15, 2015 | Men's Basketball
| The Matchup: | Southeastern Louisiana (0-1) at Texas A&M (1-0) |
| Tipoff: | Monday, Nov. 16 - 7 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 - 1620 AM in B/CS |
| Live Stats: | Click Here |
| Game Notes: | Texas A&M | SE Louisiana | SEC |
COLLEGE STATION – After posting a big win during its season-opening contest, the Aggie men's basketball team returns to the hardwood at Reed Arena Monday night when Texas A&M hosts Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m.
The Aggies (1-0) enjoyed an impressive showing Friday as they thumped USC Upstate 104-64 in front of 6,552 fans at Reed Arena. The 104-point output was the second-most of the Billy Kennedy era, topping a 109-point performance against Northwestern State during last season's opener.
Texas A&M's lauded freshman class made quite an impression on the home crowd as the rookies combined to score 63 points, highlighted by DJ Hogg's game-high 20. The sharpshooter from Plano, Texas, connected on 7-of-11 shot attempts, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range while classmates Tyler Davis and Admon Gilder contributed 16 points apiece and rookie big man Elijah Thomas chipped in 11.
Monday's 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.
The Lions, meanwhile, dropped their season-opening affair at TCU on Friday night in Fort Worth, 90-77. Led by second-year head coach Jay Ladner, Southeastern returns six letterwinners off last season's squad that went 9-23.
Texas A&M's Billy Kennedy is no stranger to the Southeastern Louisiana basketball program as the Aggie floor general graduated from the school in 1986 before coaching the Lions from 1999-05. A&M assistant Amir Abdur-Rahim also attended Southeastern Louisiana, playing for Kennedy's Lions from 2001-04.
OPENING TIPS
• The Texas A&M coaching staff is no stranger to the Southeastern Louisiana basketball program as both head coach Billy Kennedy (`86) and assistant Amir Abdur-Rahim (`04) hold degrees from the school ... Kennedy served as a student assistant coach at Southeastern from 1985-86 before returning to serve as head coach from 199-05 ... Abdur-Rahim, meanwhile, played for Kennedy in Hammond from 2001-04.
• 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 127-13 (.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 283-240 (.541) 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. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (A&M LEADS 3-0)
• The Aggies pulled off a comeback win 55-54 in their last meeting with the Lions who were then coached by Billy Kennedy. A&M erased a nine point Southeastern lead with the last two points of the game coming on Michael Gardner free throws with 2.1 seconds to play.
• This will be Kennedy's third matchup with his alma mater. His previous two encounters came at Centenary College as he led the Gents to a win and a loss against the Lions.
• Kennedy compiled an 80-92 record over a span of six seasons at the helm in Hammond. In his final two campaigns he put together a record of 44-18 leading the Lions to back-to-back Southland Conference titles and Southeastern's first trip to the NCAA tournament.
• The Aggies and Lions faced off for the first time on Jan. 2, 1987, in Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Classic. Shelby Metcalf and A&M beat Southeastern 93-76 but would fall to Drake the next day.
• The Maroon & White will be looking for their 28th straight victory against Southland Conference competition. The streak began in December of 2002 with a victory over ULM.
UP NEXT
The Aggies continue their season-opening four-game homestand on Thursday when Texas A&M hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network PLUS.
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.
Players Mentioned
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