Aggies Set to Face Longhorns in Battle4Atlantis Opener

Wednesday, November 25

Paradise Island, Bahamas

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

Texas

Nov 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #5:
Texas (1-1) vs Texas A&M (4-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015 · 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Atlantis · Paradise Island, Bahamas

TV: AXS (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Kenny Rice, Play-by-Play
Tom Walsh & Seth Davis, Commentary

RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Colin Killian, Play-by-Play
Mike Caruso, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)

LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com

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COLLEGE STATION – After meeting 222 previous times, all but one inside the state of Texas, the Aggies and Longhorns will renew their long-standing rivalry on the hardwood Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Paradise Island, Bahamas, during the opening round of the Battle4Atlantis.

The banner match-up is just one of the opening day highlights of the tournament which has become one of the marquee events of the early season college basketball season and this year features Charlotte, Connecticut, Gonzaga, Michigan, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington.

Wednesday's game will be televised on AXS with Kenny Rice, Seth Davis and Tom Walsh calling all the action. A channel listing for AXS TV providers in the state of Texas can be found below. Fans can also follow the action with radio coverage on the Aggie Sports Network can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW 1620 AM.

Texas A&M is off to a fast start in the 2015-16 campaign, averaging over 93 points per contest while reeling off four straight wins at Reed Arena to begin the season 4-0 for the second time in the last three seasons.

Seniors Alex Caruso, Anthony Collins and Danuel House have paved the way for the Aggies in the early going with Caruso and Collins combining for 37 assists in the four games, while House is shooting 50 percent from the floor and leads the team with a 15.5 scoring average.

The Aggies will also be boosted by the return of senior Jalen Jones to the lineup. The Dallas native missed the season's opening four games to comply with NCAA regulations following his transfer from SMU prior to last season. The 6-7 guard/forward earned second-team All-SEC honors a year ago after scoring in double-digit points in 25 of 31 games played to ranked 11^th in the SEC by averaging 13.7 points per contest.

Following the senior's lead the impressive Aggie freshman class of Tyler Davis, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg and Elijah Thomas have lived up to their signing day hype, combining to average 45 points per game this season.

The Longhorns (1-1), meanwhile, come into the match-up well-traveled having already faced Washington in Shanghai, China on Nov. 13 before returning to Austin to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 67-56 on Saturday.

Texas is under the direction of first-year head coach Shaka Smart who joined the program last spring after a successful six year run at Virginia Commonwealth.

Longhorn junior point guard Isaiah Taylor joins the Aggies' House on the preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award.

OPENING TIPS

• After meeting 222 times annually from 1917-2012, the Texas A&M Aggies and Texas Longhorns renew their long-standing rivalry on the hardwood Wednesday when they face off in the Bahamas following a three-year hiatus in the series.
• The Longhorns stand out as the most common opponent in A&M basketball history, but this week's contest will be just the 11th neutral court meeting between the schools and the second outside of the state of Texas.
• Texas A&M's heralded freshmen class (Tyler Davis, Admon Gilder, D.J. Hogg and Elijah Thomas) is already making major contributions on the court for the team, with the quartet accounting for 48.1 percent of A&M's scoring output through three games (180 points).
• Davis posted his first career double-double, compiling 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds during last Monday's win over Southeastern Louisiana ... The Plano, Texas, native is averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds through four games this season, but perhaps his most impressive statistic is his efficiency from the floor ... Davis has converted 20-of-25 field goal attempts to rank among the national leaders with a .800 field goal percentage.
• A&M ranks among the national leader for Assists/FG Made (99 A / 133 FG) at 74.4 percent ... The Aggies finished 34th in the country a season ago (60.2%) ... Seniors Alex Caruso and transfer senior Anthony Collins lead the way with 19 and 18 assists, respectively.
• Overall, the Aggies share the ball with the best of them, enlisting five players with double-digit assists through three games played (Caruso–19, A. Collins–18, Gilder–13, House–12, Trocha-Morelos-11).
• Last week Danuel House was honored this week with a spot on the watch list for the 2016 Wooden Award, presented annually to college basketball's player of the year ... The A&M guard has posted 10 or more points in 29 of 35 games played the last two seasons at A&M.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TEXAS (TEXAS LEADS 137-85)

• The series is the most-played in school history, with Wednesday marking the 223rd meeting between the long-time conference rivals.
• The contest will also mark the first meeting between the rivals since the last season of Big 12 play when the Longhorns defeated the Aggies 70-68 at Reed Arena.
• The last neutral site meeting between the schools occurred during the 2011 Big 12 Tournament semi-finals in Kansas City. The No. 10 Horns bested No. 21 A&M 70-58. This meeting stands out as the only previous matchup outside the state of Texas.
• Billy Kennedy has posted a 16-7 record against in-state opponents while at Texas A&M including 14-3 in non-conference games.

BATTLE4ATLANTIS

For more information as well as updated brackets on the Battle4Atlantis visit www.battle4atlantis.com.

ABOUT AXS TV

For the fifth consecutive year, AXS TV exclusively broadcasts the primetime games from the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis Men's College Basketball Tournament. AXS TV's primetime coverage tips off each night at 6:00 p.m. (CT) and 8:30 p.m. (CT) with commentators Kenny Rice, Seth Davis and Tom Walsh calling the action.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – AXS TV's tournament broadcast schedule is as follows (time and schedule subject to change):

Wednesday, Nov. 25
Game 3: Texas A&M vs. University of Texas live at 6 p.m. (CT)
Game 4: University of Michigan vs. University of Connecticut live at 8:30 p.m. (CT)

Thursday, Nov. 26
Game 7 at 6 p.m. (CT)
Game 8 at 8:30 p.m. (CT)

Friday, Nov. 27
Game 11 at 6 p.m. (CT)
Game 12 at 8:30 p.m. (CT)

More information about the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis Men's College Basketball Tournament can be found here: www.battle4atlantis.com

AXS TV channel listings in the Texas area are as follows, for zip code-specific listings please go to axs.tv/subscribe:

Austin:
• AT&T U-verse – Ch. 1106
• DirecTV – Ch. 340
• DISH – Ch. 167
• Grande – Ch. 880
• GVTC – Ch. 580
• Suddenlink – Ch. 219 and Ch. 88

College Station/Waco-Temple-Bryan
• AT&T U-verse – Ch. 1106
• DirecTV – Ch. 340
• DISH – Ch. 167
• Suddenlink – Ch. 219 and Ch. 88

Dallas:
• AT&T U-verse – Ch. 1106
• Charter – Ch. 770
• DirecTV – Ch. 340
• DISH – Ch. 167
• Grande – Ch. 880
• Verizon FiOS – Ch. 569

Houston:
• AT&T U-verse – Ch. 1106
• Charter – Ch. 770
• Comcast – Ch. 673
• Consolidated Communications – Ch. 770
• DirecTV – Ch. 340
• DISH – Ch. 167
• Grande – Ch. 880
• Verizon FiOS – Ch. 569

HOUSE SELECTED TO WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST

Coming off an impressive debut season in Aggieland, Texas A&M senior guard Danuel House has been selected to the watch list for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award, presented annually to college basketball's player of the year.

House is already off to a hot start this season, scoring 62 points (15.5 points per game) while adding 19 rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and a block in just four games. During the Aggies' win over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 16, House scored 20 points to reach the 20-point plateau for the eighth time in his A&M career.

Already this season, House has been named First Team Preseason All-SEC by the league's coaches and media voters who cover the league, while earning a spot on the watch list for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

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.

KENTUCKY TOPS PRESEASON SEC MEDIA POLL; AGGIES THIRD

Kentucky was predicted to win the 2016 Southeastern Conference men's basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.

The Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite for the 11th time since the 1998-99 season.

LSU freshman Ben Simmons was the choice of the media for SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Simmons becomes just the second freshman chosen as preseason player of the year by the media, joining Kentucky's Julius Randle in 2013-14. Florida's Dorrian Finney-Smith, Kentucky's Tyler Ulis, Texas A&M's Danuel House and Vanderbilt's Damian Jones also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.

House, Jones, Simmons and Ulis were each All-SEC First Team selections along with Kentucky's Skal Labissiere and Ole Miss's Stefan Moody.