Aggie Men Hosts LSU Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, January 6

College Station

1:15 p.m.

Texas A&M

LSU

Tickets

Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

Jan 05, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Tickets Texas A&M Game Notes LSU Game Notes SEC Basketball Preview | Billy Kennedy & Tyler Davis

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #15:
LSU (9-4; 0-0 SEC) at #11 Texas A&M (11-3; 0-2 SEC)
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 · 1:15 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas

TELEVISION: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Richard Cross, Play-by-Play
   Jon Sundvold, Commentary

RADIO: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
   Dave South, Play-by-Play
   Mike Caruso, 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, Texas – No. 11 Texas A&M looks to get back into the win column Saturday afternoon when the Aggies host LSU at 1:15 p.m. (CT) inside Reed Arena.

The contest will be televised on SEC Network with Richard Cross calling the play-by-play action and Jon Sundvold 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).

The Aggie lineup will boosted on Saturday by the return of forward DJ Hogg, who recently completed a three-game suspension for a violation of Texas A&M policy. The 6-foot-9 wing leads the Aggies with a 14.6 point-per-game scoring average while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range this season to stand out as the team's most proficient long-range threat. A&M is also looking forward to the return of guards Admon Gilder and Duane Wilson, who each are rehabbing injuries and are listed as day-to-day.

In the absence of Gilder, Hogg and Wilson, the talented freshmen on the Aggie roster stepped to the forefront. Rookies JJ Caldwell, Jay Jay Chandler and Savion Flagg each drew the starting assignment during Tuesday's contest vs. Florida and highlighted a 36-point night by A&M freshman as a group. Chandler led the way by scoring a career-best 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 3-of-4 mark from long distance.

On the interior, A&M's Tyler Davis and Robert Williams continue to give the Aggies steady production as one of the nation's top front-courts. Williams notched his 14^th career double-double with a 12-point, 11-rebound effort against the Gators while Davis added 12 points and seven boards. Additionally, the duo combined for six blocked shots in the contest.

LSU (9-4, 0-1 SEC) makes the visit to Aggieland after dropping a 74-71 decision to No. 17 Kentucky in Baton Rouge Wednesday night. The Tigers are under the direction of first-year head coach Will Wade, who took over the reins of the program last March after head coaching stints at Virginia Commonwealth University and UT-Chattanooga.

As a team, LSU ranks fourth in the SEC by averaging 83.6 points per game this season while leading the conference in field goal percentage (51.0). Individually for the Tigers, freshman guard Tremony Waters ranks first in the SEC in both assists (6.15) and steals (2.5) per game while averaging 17.2 points per contest, a figure that ranks fifth in the league.

Texas A&M has won six of the last seven meetings against their cross-Sabine River rivals as the series between the schools, which dates back the World War I era, is knotted at 18-18.

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SETTING THE SCENE / NOTABLES

• Texas A&M looks to shake off the struggles of a 0-2 start to SEC play and return to its winning ways Saturday afternoon when the Aggies host LSU at Reed Arena.
• The series between the Aggies and Tigers on the hardwood that dates back to the 1916-17 season and is tied at 18-18 overall ... Texas A&M, however, has won three straight over LSU as well as six of the last seven meetings in the series ... A&M is 10-2 all-time vs. LSU at home with the last Tiger win in College Station coming March 6, 2013.
• With several veterans out of action due to injuries and a suspension, the talented freshmen on the Aggie roster stepped to the forefront ... Rookies JJ Caldwell, Jay Jay Chandler and Savion Flagg drew the starting assignment against Florida on Tuesday ... Chandler led the way by scoring a career-best 17 points as A&M freshman accounted for 36 of the Aggies' 66 total points.
• Sophomore Robert Williams collected his 14th career double-double against the Gators, while blocking four shots to give the Oil City, La., native 104 blocks during his two-year career, the seventh most in school history ... for more Williams' blocked shots on pg. 4.
• Junior DJ Hogg returns to the Aggie lineup for the LSU contest after serving a three-game suspension for a violation of Texas A&M policy ... Hogg is averaging 14.6 points per game while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range this season.
• On the injury front, A&M is getting close to seeing the return of both junior guard Admon Gilder and graduate transfer guard Duane Wilson, who are each listed as day-to-day recovering from a knee injury.

SERIES HISTORY VS. LSU (SERIES TIED 18-18)

• Saturday's contest will be the 37^th meeting between the Aggies and the Tigers on the hardwood and the 12th as members of the SEC.
• Last season, the Aggie swept a pair of meetings with the Tigers as A&M won 92-62 in College Station on Jan. 11 before topping the Tigers 85-73 in Baton Rouge on Feb. 4.
• The series dates back to the 1916-17 season during the early days of each school's men's basketball program ... LSU earned a 24-15 victory.
• Before the Aggies joined the SEC for the 2012-13 campaign, the last meeting between the schools came on Dec. 20, 2008, when the Aggies defeated LSU 72-61 at Houston's Toyota Center.
• A&M head coach & Louisiana native Billy Kennedy is 6-7 against LSU, having faced the Tigers once while at Centenary and once as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana before coming to Texas A&M.
• The series has been dominated by the home team — A&M holds a 10-2 record in College Station and the Tigers owning a 14-2 mark in Baton Rouge.

REED ARENA SUCCESS

• The Aggies are 7-1 on their home court this year and 243-83 (.745) all-time in 20 seasons at Reed Arena ... the Aggies were 41-41 in the first six years at Reed and are 202-42 (.828) since.
• In the last five seasons, Texas A&M is 66-14 (.825) on its home floor.
• A&M has won 160 of its last 185 home games against unranked opponents (43 of last 59 in league play).
• Texas A&M finished 7-0 in non-conference games at Reed Arena this season and is 152-14 (.916) all-time in non-conference games inside the facility, which hosted its first basketball game in the fall of 1998 ... 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 (47-0).