Tuesday, March 1
Auburn, Ala.
8:00 PM
Texas A&M
at
Auburn
Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies’ Title Drive Continues at Auburn
Feb 29, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Aggie Basketball Game #30:
#20/18 Texas A&M (22-7; 11-5 SEC) at Auburn (11-17; 5-11 SEC)
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 · 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Auburn Arena (9,121) · Auburn, Ala.
TV: ESPNU (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)Rich Hollenberg, Play-by-Play
Dino Gaudio, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Mike Caruso, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan/College Station)
Satellite [Auburn Broadcast]: Sirius (Ch. 83) / XM (Ch. 190)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – After four consecutive victories that vaulted the Aggies back atop the SEC standings, the Texas A&M men's basketball team will continue its championship drive Tuesday night at Auburn. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. (CT) from Auburn Arena with television coverage on ESPNU.
Just two games remain in the chase for the 2016 SEC Championship and the Aggies (22-7; 11-5 SEC) sit in a first-place tie alongside Kentucky (21-8; 11-5 SEC). The two schools are just a game up on the trio of LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who each tied a game back of A&M and UK with a 10-6 league record. The Aggies and Commodores close out the regular season on Saturday when they clash inside Reed Arena.
Auburn, meanwhile, enters Tuesday's contest with an 11-17 overall record and a 5-11 SEC mark under second-year head coach Bruce Pearl. The Aggies and Tigers faced off three times last season with A&M sweeping both regular season meetings before Auburn ended the Aggies' run in the 2015 SEC Tournament with a second-round loss.
Senior Alex Caruso is coming off a significant milestone as he dished out six assists during Saturday's 84-69 win at Missouri to overtake the top spot on Texas A&M's career assist list. This season, Caruso has become A&M's top all-time leader for assists and steals as well as becoming the 35th member of Aggie Basketball's 1,000-Point Club.
Additionally against Mizzou, fellow senior Jalen Jones scored 20 points to register his 11th game of 20 or more points this season. The Dallas native ranks eighth in the SEC by averaging 16.3 points per league game. Classmate Danuel House, meanwhile, ranks 15th with a 15.1 point-per-game average in SEC action.
During the Aggies' four-game winning streak, freshman D.J. Hogg is averaging 9.8 points per contest while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from the 3-point arc.
OPENING TIPS
• Texas A&M sets its sights on a fifth consecutive win Wednesday as the Aggies (22-7; 11-5 SEC) face Auburn (11-17; 5-11 SEC) on the road inside Auburn Arena ... The Aggies are 4-4 away from home during SEC play this season, having notched road wins at Mississippi State, Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri.• By virtue of Saturday's win at Missouri coupled with Kentucky's loss at Vanderbilt, the Aggies are now tied atop the SEC standings with the Wildcats at 11-5 in league play ... Texas A&M owns the tiebreaker over Kentucky by virtue of a head-to-head win on Feb. 20, but the two schools are just a game up on LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt with two games remaining in the regular season.
• Texas A&M is chasing its first conference regular season title since the 1985-86 Aggies shared the Southwest Conference title with Texas and TCU.
• Already A&M's all-time steals leader with 261 career take-aways, senior Alex Caruso became Texas A&M's all-time assist leader during Saturday's win at Missouri ... His assist on Danuel House's made 3-pointer at the 13:19 mark of the first period overtook former record holder David Edwards, who notched 602 assists from 1991-94 ... Caruso now has 606 dimes during his four-year career.
SERIES HISTORY VS. AUBURN (A&M LEADS 7-4)
• Tuesday will be the 12th meeting between the Aggies and Tigers on the hardwood ... A&M owns a 7-4 edge in the all-time series.• Last season, the Aggies earned a pair of wins over the Tigers in the regular season before Auburn ended A&M's run during the SEC Tournament in the second round with a 66-59 Tiger win.
• The first meeting between the schools came on Dec. 22, 1961, in Houston ... The Aggies prevailed with a 62-50 win.
• Prior to the Aggies joining the SEC, the schools most recently played a home-and-home series in back to back seasons with A&M winning 72-67 in College Station on Dec. 22, 2005, before earning a 87-58 victory in Auburn on Dec. 22, 2006.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will honor their senior class before the regular season finale on Saturday as Texas A&M hosts Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. inside Reed Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN2.CARUSO SETS SCHOOL RECORDS FOR STEALS & ASSISTS
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 600th career assist during the Feb. 24th's win over Mississippi State. Caruso overtook David Edwards (1991-94) atop A&M's all-time assist chart three days later on Feb. 27 during a win at Missouri.
Texas A&M All-Time Steals
Rk Player Years Career Stl
1. Alex Caruso 2012-Present 261
2. David Edwards 1991-94 228
3. Todd Holloway 1983-87 208
Texas A&M All-Time Assists
Rk Player Years Career Assists
1. Alex Caruso 2012-Present 606
2. David Edwards 1991-94 602
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.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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