Tuesday, January 12
College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Florida
Aggies Welcome Florida to Reed Arena Tuesday
Jan 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Aggie Basketball Game #16:
Florida (10-5, 2-1 SEC) at #15/14 Texas A&M (13-2; 3-0 SEC)
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 · 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas
TV: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)Matt Stewart, Play-by-Play
Jon Sundvold, Commentary
Laura Rutledge, Sidelines
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
Satellite: Sirius (Ch. 83) / XM (Ch. 190)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – Following a pair of hard-fought road victories last week, No. 15 Texas A&M returns to the familiar hardwood of Reed Arena where the Aggies will host Florida on Tuesday night in a 6 p.m. SEC showdown.
Tuesday's contest will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Matt Stewart calling the play-by-play with Jon Sundvold providing color commentary and Laura Rutledge covering the sidelines. 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).
Last week, the Aggies (13-2; 3-0 SEC) ventured to Starkville, Miss., and Knoxville, Tenn., where they earned wins over Mississippi State and Tennessee allowing them stand alongside No. 19 South Carolina (2-0) as the only two SEC squads unbeaten in league play.
Senior Alex Caruso's all-around impressive play was instrumental for the Aggies during the two-game road swing. Against the Bulldogs and Volunteers, Caruso averaged 12 points, 7.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 60 percent from the floor, including a 66.7 clip from beyond the 3-point arc. The NCAA Division-I active steals leader notched five take-aways Saturday at Tennessee with his defense spearheading the Aggies' come-from-behind effort. Additionally, Caruso dished out 15 assists with just four turnovers in the two games.
Caruso's backcourt mate, Anthony Collins dished out nine assists with no turnovers in the win at Tennessee. Collins is the NCAA's active leader in assists with 463 career dimes. In SEC games, the Houston native is averaging an SEC-best 7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (21 assists / 3 turnovers).
The outstanding effort of the Aggie seniors was punctuated by the play of Danuel House and Jalen Jones, who combined to score 50 points in the win over the Vols.
The Gators, meanwhile, venture to Aggieland with a 10-5 record on the season that includes a 2-1 league mark after the team bounced back from a loss at Tennessee last Wednesday to defeat LSU in Gainesville on Saturday. Florida and Texas A&M share a common opponent this season, with both schools earning a home victory over Florida Gulf Coast.
Florida is led by first-year head coach Mike White who is no stranger to the Aggies, having faced Texas A&M twice while serving as the head coach of Louisiana Tech from 2012-15. The talented Gator roster is highlighted by senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who leads the team in scoring (13.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.3 board per contest).
OPENING TIPS
• The Aggies (13-2; 3-0 SEC) return to the friendly confines of Reed Arena Tuesday night where they host Florida (10-5; 2-1 SEC) ... Texas A&M is 9-0 at home this season and 40-7 (.851) on its home court the last three years.• Texas A&M enters the week riding a six-game winning steak that dates back to Dec. 12th's victory over Baylor ... The Aggies enjoyed a similar six-game success streak last season ... A&M's most recent winning streak of more than six games came during the 2010-11 campaign when the Aggies ripped off 13 consecutive victories from November to mid-January.
• The 3-0 start to SEC play matches Texas A&M's best start to conference play since joining the league for the 2012-13 campaign ... The 2013-14 Aggies also began SEC play with three straight wins.
• A win over the Gators would give Texas A&M a 4-0 start in conference, matching its best beginning to league play since the 2006-07 Aggies won each of their first Big 12 Conference games.
• Seniors Danuel House and Jalen Jones each enjoyed big games as the Aggies erased a 13-point deficit on the road Saturday in Knoxville to defeat Tennessee ... Jones contributed a game-high 27 points while House notched 23 to become the first pair of Aggies to each hit the 20-point plateau since the same duo accomplished the feat against Youngstown State on Dec. 13th last season.
• Through the first couple weeks of SEC play, road teams have won only five of 19 league games -- Texas A&M has two of those victories ... In terms of close contests, only three SEC games so far have been decided by four points or less with A&M claiming wins in two of those affairs.
• Freshman Tyler Davis ranks ninth in field goal percentage among all NCAA Division-I players, making 67.8 percent of his shots from the field.
• Senior Alex Caruso averaged 12 points, 7.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two wins last week, while shooting 60 percent from the floor, including a 66.7 clip from beyond the 3-point arc … The NCAA Division-I active steals leader notched five take-aways Saturday at Tennessee … Additionally, Caruso dished out 15 assists with just four turnovers in the two games.
SERIES HISTORY VS. FLORIDA (UF LEADS 5-2)
• Tuesday will be the eighth meeting between the Aggies and Gators on the hardwood and just the third inside Reed Arena.• Last season, the two schools split a pair of meetings with A&M defeating the Gators 63-62 in College Station on Feb. 14 and Florida evening the season ledger with a 66-61 win in Gainesville on March 3.
• During the most recent meeting prior to the Aggies joining the Gators in the SEC, the two schools met Dec. 17, 2011, at Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., during the Orange Bowl Classic ... The result was a 84-64 UF victory ... A&M was led in scoring by David Loubeau and Elston Turner, who finished with 20 apiece.
• The two schools first met on Jan. 2, 1992, when the Tony Barone-led Aggies fell to Florida 73-46 in Gainesville ... The next season on Dec. 22, 1992, the Aggies got a measure of revenge by handing the Gators a 84-64 defeat in College Station.
• A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is 1-4 vs the Gators while UF's Mike White is 1-1 vs A&M ... Both of White's meetings vs. A&M came during his turner at LA Tech, including a win over the Aggies in the second round of last season's NIT.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M travel to Athens, Ga., on Saturday to battle Georgia in a 1 p.m. (CT) match-up televised by ESPNU.CARUSO STANDS OUT AS NCAA-I ACTIVE STEALS LEADER
• Senior Alex Caruso is the NCAA's active Division-I leader in steals (235), one of just four active players with 200 or more steals ... Senior Anthony Collins ranks 13th on the list (174).• A&M is the only school to have two players in the top 13 of the active career steals list.
COLLINS & CARUSO RANK AMONG NATION'S ASSIST LEADERS
• Senior Anthony Collins ranks first among all NCAA Division-I players with 643 career assists, while teammate Alex Caruso ranks seventh on the list (540).• A&M is the only school to have two players in the top seven of the career assists list for active players.
JONES NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (JAN. 4)
Following standout performances in Aggie wins over Cal Poly and Arkansas, Texas A&M's Jalen Jones was named SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 4.A 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior forward from Dallas, Jones averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in wins over Cal Poly and Arkansas. Jones exploded for a career-high 28 points during the Aggies' SEC-opening victory over Arkansas, converting 9-of-13 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while grabbing seven rebounds and notching two steals.
Earlier in the week, Jones scored 11 points with six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal as the Aggies defeated Cal Poly at Reed Arena.
TROCHA-MORELOS DEVELOPING INTO A CONTRIBUTOR
After making his long awaited debut season on the court of the Aggie big man Tonny Trocha-Morelos struggled at times last season to feel comfortable on the court after waiting almost two seasons to hit the court. The Columbian averaged under two points in 10.2 minutes per contest a year ago, but this season is turning heads as one of the most improved players on the A&M roster.Trocha-Morelos' numbers are significantly up across the board through 15 games of his sophomore campaign, including his first career double-double [10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Arkansas on Jan. 2].
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.
Players Mentioned
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