Saturday, December 9
College Station
3:30 p.m.
Texas A&M
vs
Prairie View A&M
Men's Basketball Tips Off Homestand Saturday vs PVAMU
Dec 08, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Aggie Basketball Game #9:
Prairie View A&M (2-6) at #7 Texas A&M (7-1)
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 · 3:30 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas
TELEVISION: SEC Network PLUS (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Will Johnson, Play-by-Play
John Thornton, Commentary
RADIO: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Al Pulliam, Commentary
SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius Ch. 137 / XM Ch.190
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thman.com/live
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Riding one of the best starts to a season in program history, the No. 7 Texas A&M men's basketball team returns to Reed Arena to begin a four-game homestand on Saturday when the Aggies host Prairie View A&M at 3:30 p.m.
This weekend is also the beginning of the always popular Holiday Hoops promotion, which features $5 tickets for the PVAMU contest as well as upcoming men's basketball games against Savannah State (Dec. 13), Northern Kentucky (Dec. 19), Buffalo (Dec. 21) as well as the SEC home-opener vs. Florida (Jan. 2).
The Aggies (7-1) will be looking to bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season to Arizona Tuesday night at Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena. Despite the setback against the Wildcats, Texas A&M enjoyed one of the best opening months in school history, carding wins over four high-major opponents - West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Penn State and USC with the wins over the Mountaineers (No. 11) and Trojans (No. 10) standing out as victories over highly-ranked foes.
The showdown against Arizona, which was ranked as highly as No. 2 in late November, saw A&M's Tyler Davis post one of his most impressive offensive performances of his career. The junior center carded a game-high 21 points on 9-of-21 shooting to crack the 20-point mark for the eighth time in his career
Notably, Davis enters the PVAMU contest needing just two boards to join A&M's exclusive 500-rebound club.
The game will be shown digitally on mobile devices, tablets, PCs and connect-TVs for SEC Network subscribers whose cable/satellite packages allow access to SEC Network+ content through the WatchESPN app and SECSports.com. Additionally, radio coverage on the Aggie Sports Network can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW 1620 AM.
During the contest, fans will have the opportunity to hear from new Aggie football coach Jimbo Fisher as he is slated to be introduced and give brief remarks to the crowd early in the first half.
Prairie View A&M (2-6) comes to Aggieland on the heels of its longest trip of the season as the Panthers played in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Wednesday, falling 72-60 to Hawaii.
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SETTING THE SCENE / NOTABLES
• After logging approximately 17,764 miles of air travel in the season's opening month, claiming wins in seven of their eight contests and climbing into the Top 10, the Aggies tip off a four-game homestand Saturday vs. Prairie View A&M.• Despite dropping its first contest of the season Tuesday against Arizona, A&M has quickly built one of the country's most impressive résumés with four wins over four high-major opponents - West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Penn State and USC.
• The Aggies rank No. 3 in the NCAA's daily RPI report (through Dec 7 games) with the second-ranked strength of schedule to this point (Missouri ranks first).
• Through Dec. 7 games, Kenpom.com rate the Aggies as one of the nation's elite defensive teams by slotting them third in adjusted defensive efficiency (89.2) ... on the offensive end, Texas A&M has also been one of the country's best as well, checking in at No. 21 in Kenpom.com's adjusted offensive efficiency ... overall, kenpom.com ranks the Aggies seventh in its College Basketball rating.
SERIES HISTORY VS PRAIRIE VIEW A&M (A&M LEADS 12-0)
• Saturday marks the 13th time the Aggies & Panthers will square off on the hardwood ... the series has been one-sided thus far with Texas A&M claiming a win in each previous meeting.• A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is 2-0 all-time against Prairie View A&M, while his Prairie View A&M counterpart, Byron Smith, is facing the Aggies for the first time.
• The last time the two schools met was Nov. 19, 2013, when the Aggies, led by 15 points from Alex Caruso, defeated the Panthers 75-65 at Reed Arena.
• The series dates back to 1978 when Texas A&M handed PVAMU a 113-63 loss in College Station.
• Prairie View A&M's closest call to upsetting the Aggies came on Dec. 7, 2002, when they took A&M to two overtime periods before falling 83-78 in Prairie View, Texas.
• Just 41 miles separate the two schools' home courts.
TYLER PREPARES TO ENTER 500-REBOUND CLUB
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 will soon land him a spot in Texas A&M's exclusive 500-rebound Club as he enters the Prairie View A&M game needing just two boards to become just the 26th Aggie to hit the milestone.A&M RISES IN THE NATIONAL POLLS; CRACKS THE TOP 10
The latest batch of national polls were released Monday (Dec. 4) and slot the Aggies at No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 10 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Texas A&M began the season at No. 25 in the AP Top 25 and unranked in the USA Today/Coaches.A&M's most recent appearance in the Top 10 came during the 2015-16 campaign when the Aggies reached as high as No. 5 on Jan. 25. That No. 5 ranking stands out as the highest in program history.
UP NEXT AFTER THE PVAMU GAME
The Aggies continue their homestand at Reed Arena when they host Savannah State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ... the game will be available digitally on SEC Network PLUS.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
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