Aggies Host Vols to Open SEC Play

Thursday, December 29

College Station

6:00 PM

Texas A&M

Tennessee

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Dec 28, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Buy Now Texas A&M Game Notes Tennessee Game Notes SEC Basketball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #12:
Texas A&M (8-3; 0-0 SEC) vs. Tennessee (7-5; 0-0 SEC)
Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016 · 6 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas

TV: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
   Brett Dolan, Play-by-Play
   Pat Bradley, Commentary

RADIO: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
   Dave South, Play-by-Play
   Al Pulliam, Commentary

SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius/XM Ch. 81
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thman.com/live
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com

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COLLEGE STATION – The defense of their first SEC Championship begins Thursday evening when the Aggies host Tennessee at 6 p.m. inside Reed Arena in both team's conference-opening contest.

Thursday's showdown will be the final game of the Holiday Hoops promotion which features adult general admission tickets for $5 and youth tickets at $3. Additionally, the A&M-Tennessee matchup will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Brett Dolan calling the play-by-play action and Pat Bradley providing color commentary. 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 Jan. 29 date of the game marks the earliest on the calendar that Texas A&M has officially began league play since the 1940s during Southwest Conference play.

The Aggies enter league play sporting an 8-3 overall record with its only losses coming to a trio of Pac 12 opponents (USC, UCLA and Arizona) who are currently hold spots in the top 25 with a combined record of 37-2.

Led by the impressive sophomore trio of Tyler Davis, Admon Gilder and DJ Hogg, Texas A&M features one of the SEC's youngest team. Despite its youth, A&M again stands among the contenders for the league's regular season crown even after losing four senior starters off last season's squad which won 13 of 18 league contests to share the SEC title with Kentucky before advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Reed Arena has also long been considered a difficult venue for road teams to escape with a victory and conference play has been no exception with Texas A&M owning a 21-6 (.778) record at home in SEC contests the last three seasons.

The Vols come to Aggieland with a 7-5 record on the season but have captured victories in six of their last eight affairs. Led by second-year head coach Rick Barnes, Tennessee is also a young squad that features nearly half of its scoring coming from freshman.

Texas A&M, which boasts only three upperclassmen on its roster, similarly has gotten 73.4 percent of the team's total points this season from freshmen or sophomores.

SETTING THE SCENE

• Texas A&M is 8-3 in its last 11 conference-opening contests, including three of four SEC opening affairs since joining the league prior to the 2011-12 campaign.
• A&M has emerged victorious in 10 of its last 12 home conference openers.
• The series between Texas A&M and Tennessee since the Aggies joined the SEC has been a tightly-contested one with the last five games decided by an average of less than five points, including two contests then went into overtime (The 2013 meeting between the schools went to four overtimes).

AGGIES AMONG THE SEC & NATIONAL LEADERS (Through 12/23 games)

• The Aggies rank as one of the SEC's top defensive teams, ranking third in the league in both scoring defense at 63.8 points allowed per game, field goal percentage defense at .384 and blocked shots 6.2 per game ... The Aggies rank 13^th nationally in blocked shots per game.
• On the offensive end, A&M has shown efficiency, ranking 44th nationally (second in SEC) by shooting 48.1 percent from the field as a team as well as 16^th nationally (second in SEC) in assists with an average of 18.3 per contest ... The Aggies are 12^th in the country with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio (second in SEC).
• In the rebounding column, A&M checks in at third in rebounding margin at +5.8 while leading the entire league in offensive rebound percentage at 39.7 percent ... The Aggies are 17^th nationally in offensive rebounds per game.
• Nationally, the Aggies rank 12^th in fewest fouls this season (175) and 35^th in fewest turnovers per contest (11.5).
• Rookie Robert Williams continues to stand out as one of the SEC's brightest freshman, ranking second in the league with 28 blocked shots for an average of 2.5 per game.
• Sophomore Tyler Davis ranks sixth in the SEC in total rebounding at 7.6 per contest while pacing the league on the offensive glass at 3.9 offensive rebounds per outing ... he leads the SEC in field goal percentage, shooting 62.9 percent from the field.
• Second-year guard Admon Gilder appears throughout the lists of SEC statistical leaders, ranking third in steals per game (2.0), fourth in assists per game (4.6), sixth in minutes played (31.7) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0).
• Sophomore DJ Hogg continues to rank among the SEC's top sharpshooters, checking in at sixth in the league by shooting 38.8 percent from long range while making 2.4 3-point baskets per contest, fifth in the SEC ... The Plano, Texas, native also ranks ninth in the SEC in seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) as well as assists (3.8 per game).

TRENDS & SUPERLATIVES

• In his last three games, Robert Williams is averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 72.0 percent from the floor ... He collected his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in A&M's last outing vs. Saint Francis.
• Sophomore Tyler Davis, who led the SEC in shooting percentage a year ago at .655, is rounding into form on the offensive end heading into conference play by averaging 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest, while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor.
• Second-year forward DJ Hogg tied a career-best with five 3-point baskets (5-for-7) in the win over Saint Francis.

NOTING TENNESSEE

• Tennessee comes to Aggieland with a 7-5 mark and has won six of its last eight contests, most recently a 72-68 victory at ETSU on Dec. 22.
• Senior guard Robert Hubbs III stands out as one of the SEC's top scorers, leading Tennessee and ranking 10^th in the SEC with a 15.5 point-per-game average ... meanwhile, junior guard Detrick Mostella exploded for 25 points during the Vol's last outing, a win over ETSU, and is averaging 17.7 points per game over his last three outings.
• The Volunteers, coming off a 15-19 season with a 6-12 SEC mark that put them 12^th in the final league standings, were picked 13th in a preseason poll of the media that covers the conference.
• On the Tennessee bench will be a familiar foe to Aggie fans, as former Texas head coach Rick Barnes is in his second season at the helm of the Volunteer program. Barnes, who has also served tenures at George Mason, Providence and Clemson, faced off against the Aggies on 31 occasions while leading the Longhorns from 1998-2015.

SERIES HISTORY VS TENNESSEE (TIED 5-5)

• Thursday will be the 11^th meeting between the Aggies and Volunteers on the hardwood ... the all-time series is knotted at five games apiece with the Aggies winning the last three meetings.
• Last season, the Aggies rallied from a 13-point, second-half deficit to defeat the Vols 92-88 in Knoxville ... A&M seniors Jalen Jones and Danuel House combined for 40 points, with Jones leading the way with 27 points.
• On Feb. 23, 2013, the two squads engaged in a four-overtime thriller at Reed Arena which saw the Vols emerge with a 93-85 victory ... A&M's Elston Turner set a Reed Arena scoring record (men's games only) during the contest by finishing with 38 points.
• Prior to becoming conference partners in the SEC, most recent meetings between the schools came during a home-and-home series in back-to-back seasons with A&M winning 83-66 in College Station on Dec. 4, 2002, before dropping a 108-84 decision at Tennessee on Dec. 2, 2003.
• The Aggies' first win in the series came in College Station on Dec. 4, 2002 ... A&M's Antoine Wright logged a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Aggies to an 83-66 victory.

UP NEXT AFTER THE TENNESSEE GAME

Texas A&M's first road trip of league play is on tap when the Aggies' venture to Lexington, Ky., to face Kentucky inside Rupp Arena ... the game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN.