Men's Hoops Hosts Alabama on Senior Day

Saturday, March 3

College Station

1 p.m.

Texas A&M

Alabama

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Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Mar 02, 2018 | Men's Basketball

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

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #31:
Alabama (17-13; 8-9 SEC) at Texas A&M (19-11; 8-9 SEC)
Saturday, March 3, 2018 • 1 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas

TELEVISION: ESPN2 (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Tom Hart, Play-by-Play
Sean Farnham, Commentary

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

SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius Ch. 138 / XM Ch. 190
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thman.com/live
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M looks bolster its postseason résumé and make it three straight wins to close out the regular season Saturday when the Aggies host Alabama at 1 p.m. inside Reed Arena.

The contest will be televised to a national audience on ESPN2 with Tom Hart calling the play-by-play action and Sean Farnham providing 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).

In its most recent outing on Wednesday, Texas A&M defeated Georgia in Athens by the score 61-60. The victory gave the Aggies their second straight road win as well as eight wins in their last 12 SEC games. It also boosted Texas A&M in several metrics as the Aggies prepare to make a bid for the NCAA Tournament.

In the NCAA's most recent RPI report, Texas A&M (19-11; 8-9 SEC) ranked No. 23 while also checking in at No. 5 in Average Opponent RPI, No. 7 in Non-Conference RPI and No. 8 in Overall Strength of Schedule.

Prior to the game Texas A&M will honor its 2018 senior class which includes four student managers and two players, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Duane Wilson.

Alabama, meanwhile, comes to Aggieland looking to shake off a four-game losing streak that has seen the Crimson Tide fall to 17-13 on the year with an 8-9 mark in SEC play.

Texas A&M and Alabama have already faced off once this season, on Dec. 30 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when the Crimson Tide defeated A&M 79-57 in the SEC opener for both schools.

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SETTING THE SCENE / NOTABLES

Junior center Tyler Davis scored 13 points at Georgia to move past Rudy Woods (1978-82) and take over 15^th place on Texas A&M's all-time scoring list ... Davis enters the weekend with 1,280 career points as well as 701 career rebounds, which places him 13th on the all-time list of A&M's top rebounders.
Junior guard Admon Gilder needs just 14 points to become the 37^th member of A&M 's exclusive 1,000-Point Club .

SERIES HISTORY VS. ALABAMA (ALABAMA LEADS 11-5)

Saturday's contest will be the 17th meeting between the Aggies and the Crimson Tide on the hardwood and the seventh between the schools as SEC competitors.
Alabama won the first six games in the series, before the Aggies went on a three-game winning streak against the Crimson Tide.
A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is 2-7 against Alabama.
The two schools first met on December 19, 1958, when the Bob Rodgers-led Aggies fell to Alabama 66-62 in the Birmingham Classic ... The Aggies had to wait 40 years for their first win against the Tide when they won 65-58 in College Station on Dec. 1, 1998.
Saturday's contest will be the eighth time the Aggies and Tide have met in College Station, with A&M leading the series 5-2 on its home court.

A SALUTE TO THE 2018 SENIORS

• Tonny Trocha-Morelos - It was a long winding path to Texas A&M for Trocha-Morelos, who originally signed with A&M in the fall of 2012 before eventually taking the court for the 2014-15 campaign. A consistent producer, Tonny has played in 127 games for the Aggies and has been a consistent contributor on two postseason squads including the Aggies' 2016 Sweet 16 run. Tonny was honored with a national Academic Momentum Award in April 2016 and recently became the 27th Aggie to join the exclusive 500-Rebound Club (508). He was also named to this season's SEC Community Service Team.
• Duane Wilson - Although he's spent just one season on the hardwood for the Aggies, graduate transfer Duane Wilson has quickly made an impact on the program. Coming to Aggieland after a three-year career at Marquette, The Milwaukee, WIs., native ranks among the SEC leaders in assists per game this season. Among his accolades on the court this season was his entrance into the 1,000-Point Club and being named to the All-Tournament Team as the Aggies won the Legends Classic. Unfortunately, Wilson's season was cut short by a knee injury suffered against Kentucky on Feb. 10.

TROCHA-MORELOS JOINS 500-REBOUND CLUB; WILLIAMS CLOSING IN

Senior forward Tonny Trocha-Morelos grabbed six boards at Vanderbilt on Feb. 24 to becoming the 27^th member of Texas A&M's 500-Rebound Club. The Cartagena, Colombia, ranks 27^th on A&M's rebounding list with 508 career boards.

Trocha-Morelos may not have long before he welcomes another member to the 500-Rebound Club as teammate Robert Williams is also closing in on the honor with 482 boards in only two years.

DAVIS - A&M'S STEADY, RELENTLESS COMPETITOR

The Aggies have seen their share of ups & downs already this season, but one thing that has not changed throughout it all has been the steady play and competitiveness of Tyler Davis. Here's a look at Tyler's season by the numbers.

Only Aggie to start all 30 games this season
10 double-doubles ranks second in the SEC this season (Trails only Georgia's Yante Maten [13])
Among active SEC players, third in career rebounds (701) and fifth in career points (1,280)
16 career double-doubles (Third in the SEC)
In all games, ranks 14^th in the SEC in scoring (14.6 ppg) & third in rebounding (8.7 rpg)
In all games, leads the SEC in field goal percentage (57.3 percent)
In SEC games only, ranks 15^th in the SEC in scoring (14.7 ppg) & first in rebounding (8.9 rpg)

A LOOK AT TEXAS A&M'S POST-SEASON RÉSUMÉ

As the calendar turns to March, bracketologists are feverishly prognosticating what the NCAA selection committee will do on selection Sunday and teams are looking to pad their résumés. After taking on one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in school history and holding its own despite a wave on injuries in a rugged SEC season, Texas A&M looks to have a strong case for an at large bid for the NCAA Tournament. Here's a look at the Aggies' résumé (as of March 1).

No. 23 in RPI (NCAA.com)
No. 5 in Average Opponent RPI
No. 7 in Non-Conference RPI
No. 8 in Overall Strength of Schedule
12-10 Record vs. Teams in Quadrant 1 & 2 with 0 Quadrant 4 losses
After an injury-plagued 0-5 start in league play, Texas A&M is 8-4 in the SEC which is regarded as one of the nation's top conferences this season