Aggies Face Road Test at Missouri

Saturday, February 27

Columbia, Mo.

3:00 PM

Texas A&M

Missouri

Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

Feb 26, 2016 | Men's Basketball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #29:
^#21 Texas A&M (21-7; 10-5 SEC) at Missouri (10-18; 3-12 SEC)
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 · 3:00 p.m. (CT)
Mizzou Arena (15,061) · Columbia, Mo.

TV: ESPNU (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Mike Morgan, Play-by-Play
Chris Spatola, Commentary

RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
   Dave South, Play-by-Play
   Mike Caruso, Commentary
   Local: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan/College Station)
   Satellite [Mizzou Broadcast]: Sirius (Ch. 108) / XM (Ch. 191)

LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – With the race for the SEC title coming down to the wire, the Texas A&M men's basketball team faces a road test Saturday when the Aggies square off against Missouri inside Mizzou Arena at 3 p.m.

With only three regular season games remaining on the schedule, the Aggies (21-7; 10-5 SEC) enter the weekend just one game back of Kentucky in the SEC standings. The Wildcats face Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday.

The A&M-Missouri contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Mike Morgan calling the play-by-play action and Chris Spatola providing color commentary. 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).

Texas A&M has received great contributions from it highly-regarded freshman class during the team's current three-game winning streak. In Wednesday's victory over Mississippi State, Aggie rookies combined for 28 points with Tyler Davis leading the way with 15 points while DJ Hogg chipped in 10.

Davis, whose put-back as time expired stood out as the game-winner in last Saturday's upset of No. 14 Kentucky, stands out as the SEC's reigning Co-Freshman of the Week.

In the deciding moments of the MSU contest, the Aggies turned to veteran Danuel House. In a tie game, the Fresno, Texas, native attacked the basket to draw a foul with 2.1 seconds remaining. He would go on to sink both of the ensuing free throws to lift the Aggies to the win and give House 16 points for the game, all coming after intermission.

Missouri, meanwhile, brings a 10-18 overall record with a 3-12 mark in SEC play into Saturday's affair. The Tigers are 10-5 on their home court this season and have won their last two contests inside Mizzou Arena, besting Tennessee and South Carolina.

OPENING TIPS

• Texas A&M sets it sights on a fourth consecutive win Saturday as the Aggies (21-7; 10-5 SEC) face Missouri (10-18; 3-12 SEC) on the road inside Mizzou Arena ... The Aggies are 3-5 on the road this season.
• Already A&M's all-time steals leader with 260 career take-aways, Caruso is approaching another top spot in program history as he enters the Mizzou game with 600 career assists ... His assist total trails only David Edwards, who dished out 602 dimes for the Maroon & White from 1991-94.
• In the season's first meeting with the Tigers, Jan. 23 in College Station, Texas A&M used a big finish to dispatch Missouri 66-53 ... With 15 minutes to play in the game the Aggies trailed Mizzou, 38-36 … A&M then went on a 16-2 run to open up a comfortable 54-40 lead at the 6:40 mark … Jalen Jones scored 12 of those 16 points for the Aggies ... Jones finished with 20 points while Tavario Miller grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds,
• During the Aggies' three-game winning streak, freshman D.J. Hogg is averaging 10 points per contest while shooting 48 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the 3-point arc.
• In Wednesday's win over Mississippi State, 34 of the Aggies' 68 points came from underclassmen with 28 coming from freshmen (Tyler Davis [15], Hogg [10] and Admon Gilder [3]).

SERIES HISTORY VS. MISSOURI (MIZZOU LEADS 16-14)

• Saturday will be the 31st meeting between the Aggies and Tigers and the eighth as members of the SEC.
• Earlier this spring the two squads faced off in College Station, with A&M earning a 66-53 victory ... Jalen Jones scored 20 points in the win, while Tavario Miller pulled down a career-best 10 boards.
• Last season, the Aggies swept a pair of games from the Tigers, winning 62-50 in College Station on Jan. 21 before defeating Missouri 83-61 in Columbia on Feb. 7.

UP NEXT

The Aggies' two-game road swing continues when they travel to Alabama to face Auburn inside Auburn Arena on Tuesday night … Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. with television coverage on ESPNU.

TEXAS A&M VS. RANKED TEAMS THIS SEASON

Texas A&M has faced five ranked teams this season, owning a 4-1 in those contests. Three of the victories have come inside Reed Arena while Nov. 26^th's victory over then 10^th-ranked Gonzaga came in the Bahamas during the Battle4Atlantis.

AGGIES VS. RANKED TEAMS (AP ranking at time of game)
Date           Opponent                                   Score                  Leading Scorer
Nov. 26      #16 Gonzaga (Bahamas)            W, 62-61           House (19)
Dec. 19      #16 Baylor                                   W, 80-61           House, Jones (17)
Jan. 31        #14 Iowa State                            W, 72-62           House (20)
Feb. 6         #25 South Carolina                    L, 81-78             Caruso, House (16)
Feb. 20       #14 Kentucky                             W, 79-77 (OT) Jones (24)

CARUSO OWNS SCHOOL RECORD FOR STEALS; APPROACHING ASSISTS RECORD

With a first period steal against Arkansas on Jan. 2, Caruso passed David Edwards on Aggie basketball's list of all-time steals to become A&M's career leader. The College Station native now has 260 career take-aways.

Additionally, Caruso notched his 500th career assist during the Dec. 12th win over Kansas State. Caruso currently has 600 assists during his A&M career to rank second in school history behind only David Edwards (1991-94) who owns first place with 602 career assists.

Texas A&M All-Time Steals
Rk        Player                       Years                      Career Stl
1.        Alex Caruso             2012-Present        260
2.         David Edwards        1991-94                 228
3.         Todd Holloway        1983-87                 208

Texas A&M All-Time Assists
Rk        Player                       Years                      Career Assists
1.         David Edwards        1991-94                 602
2.        Alex Caruso             2012-Present        600
3.         Bernard King           1999-03                 550

AGGIE HOOPS HITS 20 WINS FOR THE NINTH TIME IN 12 YEARS

A 79-77 overtime victory over No. 14 Kentucky on Feb. 20 stood out as the team's 20th win this season.

The 20-win season is the 15th in program history and ninth in the last 12 seasons. Additionally, it stands out as the sixth 20-win campaign in Billy Kennedy's head coaching career.