No. 8 Basketball Hosts Buffalo Thursday to Conclude Homestand

Thursday, December 21

College Station

8 p.m.

Texas A&M

Buffalo

Tickets

Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

Dec 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Tickets Texas A&M Game Notes Buffalo Game Notes SEC Basketball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #12:
Buffalo (7-4) at #8 Texas A&M (10-1)
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 · 8 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas

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

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

SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius Ch. 108 / XM Ch.384
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thman.com/live
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Wrapping up a four-game homestand before taking a few days off the holidays, No. 8 Texas A&M will host Buffalo at 8 p.m. Thursday night inside Reed Arena.

The contest will be televised on SEC Network with Doug Bell calling the play-by-play action and Pat Bradley providing color commentary. Additionally, radio coverage will be available on the Aggie Sports Network, which can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW (1620 AM).

Thursday's game is part of A&M Athletics' Holiday Hoops promotion, which features $5 tickets for the Buffalo game as well as the SEC home-opener vs Florida (Jan. 2).

The Aggies (10-1) have already notched a victory on their home court this week, downing Northern Kentucky 64-58 on Tuesday night. Playing shorthanded with four players missing the contest due to injury, Texas A&M overcame a rough shooting night against NKU by owning the boards where the Aggies held a 48-39 rebounding edge that led to an 18-4 A&M margin in second-chance points.

Highlighting the individual efforts during the win over the Norse were double-double performances from Tyler Davis (14 points / 10 rebounds) and Savion Flagg (12 points / 10 rebounds) while senior Daune Wilson posted a game-high 16 points.

Meanwhile, Buffalo comes to Aggieland sporting a 7-4 record after dropping an 81-74 decision at Syracuse on Tuesday night.

Thursday's meeting will be the second between Buffalo and Texas A&M on the hardwood, with the Aggies earning a 82-58 win to tip off the 2013-14 season. The previous matchup was former Buffalo coach Bobby Hurley's first collegiate game as head coach, while current head coach Nate Oats served on the sidelines as Hurley's assistant.

Bull's leading scorer and rebounder CJ Massinburg is a Texas native, hailing from Dallas where he played at South Oak Cliff High School.

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SETTING THE SCENE / NOTABLES

• Texas A&M has quickly built one of the country's most impressive résumés with four wins over high-major opponents - West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Penn State and USC.
• The Aggies rank No. 10 in the NCAA's daily RPI report (through Dec. 19 games).
• Reed Arena has proven to be one of the hardest places for opponents to get a win as Texas A&M has never lost a non-conference game inside Reed Arena while playing as a ranked team (46-0).
• Through Dec. 19 games, kenpom.com rate the Aggies as one of the nation's elite defensive teams by slotting them second in adjusted defensive efficiency (88.4) ... A&M ranks first in the SEC in field goal percentage defense (third nationally), allowing opponents to shoot just 36.0 percent from the field.
• On the offensive end, Texas A&M has also been solid as well, checking in at No. 41 in kenpom.com's adjusted offensive efficiency ... overall, kenpom.com ranks the Aggies seventh in its College Basketball rating.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BUFFALO (A&M LEADS 1-0)

• The Aggies and Bulls have met just once previously in men's basketball, the season-opener during the 2013-14 season (Nov. 8, 2013) when the Aggies earned an 82-58 win at Reed Arena.
• A&M's Billy Kennedy has faced the Bulls just once as a head coach.
• For Buffalo's Nate Oates, this will be his first meeting with the Aggies as a head coach, however, he was on the Bulls staff as an assistant during the lone meeting between the schools

A&M ELITE ON THE DEFENSIVE END

Through games played on Dec. 19, Texas A&M stands out as one of the country's toughest defensive squads, checking in at third nationally in field goal percentage defense (36 percent) and second in 3-point field goal defense (24.5 percent). Additionally, A&M is sixth in blocked shots per game (6.5).

Kenpom.com ranks the Aggies at No. 2 nationally in its adjusted defensive efficiency (88.4).

AGGIES RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST REBOUNDING TEAMS

Texas A&M enters the Buffalo game leading the nation in defensive rebounds per game (32.55) while ranking third nationally in total rebounds per game (45.18) and ninth in rebound margin (+10.2).

TYLER JOINS 500-REBOUND CLUB; CLIMBING A&M'S CAREER REBOUND LIST

From the first day he hit the court as a rookie wearing the Maroon & White, Tyler Davis has always prided himself on hitting the boards hard. That dedication garnered Davis spot in Texas A&M's exclusive 500-rebound Club as he hit the milestone against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 9 to become just the 26th Aggie to reach 500.

He currently ranks 22^nd in school history with 530 career boards. Up next on the list is Ray Turner who pulled down 536 boards from 2009-13.

WILLIAMS OWNS NATION'S LONGEST BLOCK STREAK; SET TO JOIN 100-BLOCK CLUB

One of the nation's elite shot blockers, Robert Williams owns the nation's longest blocked shot streak and is set to join Texas A&M's elite 100-block club. He enters the Buffalo game ranked seventh in school history with 96 career boards.

Additionally, with a pair of swats on Jan. 31, 2017, vs. Vanderbilt, Williams set a new Texas A&M record for consecutive games with a block, surpassing the record of 20 set by David Harris from during 1989-90 season. His active streak of 38 straight games with a blocked shot ranks first nationally.

REED ARENA SUCCESS

• The Aggies are 6-0 on their home court this year and 242-82 (.747) all-time in 20 seasons at Reed Arena ... the Aggies were 41-41 in the first six years at Reed and are 201-41 (.830) since.
• In the last five seasons, Texas A&M is 65-13 (.833) on its home floor.
• A&M has won 159 of its last 183 home games against unranked opponents (43 of last 58 in league play).
• Texas A&M is 6-0 in non-conference games at Reed Arena this season and 151-14 (.915) all-time in non-conference games inside the facility, which hosted its first basketball game in the fall of 1998.

UP NEXT AFTER THE BUFFALO GAME

The Aggies begin the gauntlet of Southeastern Conference on Dec. 30 when they visit Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa to play Alabama ... the game is slated for a 5 p.m. (CT) tip off and will be televised on EPSN2.