Aggies Host No. 9 Wildcats on Senior Day

Aggie Basketball Game #30:
Texas A&M (16-13; 8-9 SEC) vs. #9 Kentucky (25-5; 15-2 SEC)
Saturday, March 4, 2017 · 11 a.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas
 

TV: CBS (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
   Verne Lundquist, Play-by-Play
   Jim Spanarkel, Commentary
 
RADIO: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
   Dave South, Play-by-Play
   Al Pulliam, Commentary
 
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius Ch. 145 / XM Ch. 190
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thman.com/live
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
 
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COLLEGE STATION – Seniors JC Hampton and Tavario Miller will take the court at Reed Arena for the final time during their collegiate careers on Saturday at 11 a.m. as Texas A&M hosts No. 9 Kentucky on Senior Day.
 
The matchup will be nationally televised on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Jim Spanarkel calling the action from Aggieland. 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).

Fans are encouraged to Rock Reed by wearing white with a free t-shirt being given away to those in attendance, courtesy of Opportune.
 
Texas A&M (16-13; 8-9 SEC) will aim to end the regular season on a hot streak with a fourth SEC win in its last five contests as well as avenge a loss to the Wildcats at Rupp Arena earlier this season on Jan. 3. The series has been a hotly-contested affair when the scene has been the hardwood of Reed Arena with each of the last three meetings between the schools in Aggieland going to overtime.
 
The Aggies have clamped down on the defensive end in their last two games, allowing just 96 total points in wins over Alabama and Missouri while limiting those two squads to a combined 29.3 shooting percentage. In Tuesday's victory over the Tigers in Columbia, Mo., A&M held Missouri to 43 points and a 24.6 team shooting percentage both lows by an Aggie opponent this season and for the Tigers in the history of Mizzou Arena, which opened in 2004.
 
Kentucky, meanwhile, comes to Aggieland riding a seven-game winning streak after a come-from-behind victory over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night in Nashville. The Wildcats have already clinched a share of the 2017 SEC Championship and stand to secure the title outright with a win or Florida loss on Saturday.
 
Texas A&M will find out its seeding for the upcoming SEC Tournament at the conclusion of Saturday's full slate of SEC games, but the Aggies have assured themselves of playing their first game in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.


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TRENDS & SUPERLATIVES

• During Tuesday's win at Missouri, the Aggies held the Tigers to just 43 points and a 24.6 shooting percentage, both of which stood out as season lows by an Aggie opponent this season.
• Junior Tonny Trocha-Morelos set a career-high with 18 points at Mizzou, finishing 6-of-9 from the field to reach double-digit scoring for the 11th time this season … The Cartagena, Colombia, native was 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
• Sophomore Tyler Davis narrowly missed his seventh career double-double in Columbia, finishing with a nine-point, 11-rebound effort … The SEC's field goal percentage leader made 4-of-6 shots from the field.
 

NOTING KENTUCKY

• Kentucky enters the regular season finale riding a seven-game winning streak after a come-from-behind victory over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night in Nashville … The Wildcats have clinched a share of the 2017 SEC Championship.
• In true road games this season, UK is 6-3 overall and 6-2 in SEC play.
• In conference play, UK has been led in scoring by freshman guards Malik Monk (21.7 points per game) and De'Aaron Fox (15.4), freshman forward Bam Adebayo (13.3) and sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe (13.1).
• Adebayo and Fox were selected to the Preseason All-SEC First Team … Briscoe and Monk were selected to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team
• Against SEC opponents, the Wildcats lead the SEC in points per game (84.1), total rebounds (671), field-goal percentage (.476) and are second in blocks (76) … on the season, Kentucky is fifth in the nation in points per game (87.3).
• In SEC play, Monk leads the SEC in points per game (21.7) and three-point field goal percentage (.416) … Adebayo is tied for first in the conference in offensive rebounds (91) and tied for second in total rebounds with Texas A&M's Robert Williams (229) … Fox leads the SEC in assists (145).
• This is head coach John Calipari's eighth year at Kentucky, where his record is 242-52 … his career record is 687-192. 
 

AGGIES AMONG THE SEC & NATIONAL LEADERS (Through 3/1 games)

• The Aggies rank eighth nationally in blocked shots per game with an average of 5.7 per contest (first in the SEC).
• On the offensive end, A&M has been efficient, ranking second in the SEC by shooting 46.4 percent from the field as a team, they are also second in the SEC (42^nd nationally) in assists with an average of 16.0 per contest.
• In the SEC rebounding column, A&M ranks third in the conference in rebound margin at +5.6 and leads the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.0) and offensive rebound percentage (.379) ... The Aggies are 23rd nationally in offensive rebounds per game.
• Nationally, the Aggies rank 31^st in fewest fouls this season (480).
• Sophomore Tyler Davis leads the SEC and ranks 11^th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 62.8 percent from the field ... He also ranks eighth in the SEC in total rebounding at 6.9 per contest while checking in at third in the league on the offensive glass at 3.0 offensive rebounds per outing (42^nd nationally).
• Rookie Robert Williams continues to stand out as one of the SEC's brightest freshmen, ranking second in the league (17^th nationally) with 74 blocked shots for an average of 2.6 per game ... He ranks second in the SEC in rebounding at 7.9 per contest.
• During SEC play, Williams ranks first in blocked shots (2.6 per game) and second in both field goal percentage (.537) and rebounding (9.4 boards per game).
• Second-year guard Admon Gilder appears throughout the lists of SEC statistical leaders, ranking second in steals per game (2.0), second in minutes played (34.3) and eighth in assists per game (3.9) ... Gilder ranks 26^th nationally in steals per game.
 

SERIES HISTORY VS KENTUCKY (UK LEADS 7-3)

• Tuesday will be the 11th meeting between the Aggies & Wildcats on the hardwood and the eighth since A&M joined the SEC.
• Earlier this year on Jan. 3, the two schools faced off at Rupp Arena in Lexington. UK won 100-58.
• Last season, the two teams faced off in a pair of epic contests en route to sharing the SEC Championship ... On Feb. 20, the 24th-ranked Aggie defeated No. 14 UK on a buzzer-beating put-back by Tyler Davis ... On March 16, the Wildcats, then ranked No. 16, got a measure of revenge by defeating No. 17 Texas A&M in overtime, 82-77, during the SEC Tourney finale.
• On Jan. 12, 2013, during its first visit to Rupp Arena as an SEC team, A&M became the first team to hand John Calipari a home conference loss at Kentucky ... UK saw its 24-game home SEC win streak snapped in the affair.
• The two schools first met during the 1941-42 season when the 'Cats earned a 49-29 victory.
• A&M's Billy Kennedy is 2-5 against Kentucky.
• Kennedy's head coaching counterpart, UK's John Calipari, is 6-2 all-time against the Aggies ... Before his tenure at UK, his lone contest against Texas A&M came on March 22, 2007, while coaching at Memphis ... The Tigers defeated the Aggies 65-64 during the NCAA Tournament's South Regional semifinal at San Antonio's Alamodome.
 

UP NEXT AFTER THE KENTUCKY GAME

Texas A&M is Nashville-bound for the 2017 SEC Tournament which will take place March 8-12 at Bridgestone Arena. Brackets and parings will be announced at the conclusion of Saturday's slate of SEC games.