Wednesday, January 18
Bryan-College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Florida
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Gear Up for Gators in Mirror Game Rematch
Jan 17, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Game Day: Florida
- Wednesday, January 18, 2023 • 6 p.m.
- Reed Arena • Bryan-College Station
- Tickets: Click Here
THE MATCHUP
- Texas A&M: 12-5, 4-0 SEC
- Florida: 10-7, 3-2 SEC
- Game Notes: Click Here
WATCH
- TV: SEC Network
- Play-by-Play: Roy Philpott
- Analyst: Pat Bradley
LISTEN
- Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network
- 1620 AM / 94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 383
- Play-by-Play: Andrew Monaco
- Analysis: Dr. John Thornton
- Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App
- It will be the first "mirror game" rematch for the Aggies, who opened SEC play with a 66-63 win over the Gators in Gainesville on Jan. 4. Other mirror game opponents include: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Missouri.
- Including the win two weeks ago, the Aggies have won three straight in the series against UF, which is A&M's longest win streak over the Gators.
TRENDS & STREAKS:
- Texas A&M has opened SEC play with a 4-0 record for a second straight season. Last year's team started 4-0 and then famously lost the next eight games.
- In the four SEC wins, the Aggies have trailed for a combined 5 minutes and 25 seconds. The Aggies did not trail in Saturday's 94-53 rout of South Carolina.
- The Aggies' six-game winning streak is the team's longest since closing out the 2021-22 regular season with four victories and winning three games to reach the 2022 SEC tournament final.
- Texas A&M and Alabama are tied for the longest active winning streak by SEC teams.
- The streak began on the heels losing back-to-back games at Memphis (83-79) and at home against Wofford (67-62) prior to the four-day holiday break.
- The Aggies have used the same starting lineup (Coleman III, Dennis, Marble, Radford and Taylor IV) for the last six games.
- During the streak, Tyrece Radford is team's leading scorer at 15.3 points while hitting 55.2% of his FGs and 46.2 of his 3-pointers. In the 11 games (6-5) prior to the streak, Radford was slashing 10.8 pts/31.5%/27.5%.
- Since scuffling through a streak of 5 games with 6 or fewer points, Dexter Dennis is averaging 14.3 points in his last 3 games, including double figure efforts against LSU (17 points), MU (13) and SC (13).
- Hayden Hefner was 0-fer 2023 entering MU but has come off the bench to hit 5-of-9 shots the past two games, all 3-pointers.
- Henry Coleman III has posted back-to-back double-doubles with 10 pts/10 rebs vs. MU and 12/11 vs SC.
- Wednesday's game marks the Aggies' fifth straight game against first-year SEC head coaches.
GETTING TO THE LINE:
The Aggies rank No. 1 nationally free throws made per game and No. 2 in FTs attempted. Texas A&M has shot 100+ more free throws than seven SEC teams.
- The Aggies average 19.2 - 26.1 FTM-FTA per game, which is well ahead of the pace set by ALL Texas A&M squads after 1970. The school records for FTM-FTA are 22.5 FTM by the 1967-68 squad and 31.8 FTA by the 1968-69 team.
- Texas A&M has been to the line 25 or more times in 13 of 17 games and has hit 20 or more FTs seven times.
- Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV are in the SEC top six in free throw makes with 74 and 69, respectively. Ironically, neither Radford or Taylor shot a free throw in last Saturday's rout of South Carolina. Both are hitting over 80.0% of their FTAs -- 81.2% for Taylor and 80.4% for Radford.
NCAA Team Free Throw Leaders
(Sorted by FT Made)
Rk School FT FTA
1. Texas A&M 19.2 26.1
2. UTRGV 19.1 27.4
3. UAB 18.6 25.1
4. Providence 18.4 25.1
5. Alabama 18.3 25.7
DO-IT-ALL DYNAMO:
Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV, the 6-foot do-it-all dynamo from Dallas, Texas, ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in a wide array of statistical categories:
Statistic Average SEC Rank
Points 15.5 No. 6
Assists 3.6 No. 8
Steals 1.9 No. 8
Free Throws 69 total No. 6
FT Attempts 85 total No. 7
FT% 81.2% No. 5
3-pointers 2.4 No. 7
3-point attempts 104 total No. 7
SUCCEEDING IN THE TREES:
Tyrece Radford is one of just seven 6-foot-8 or shorter SEC players averaging over 10.0 points/G and over 5.0 rebounds/G.
SEC 10.0 Pts./G + 5.0 Rebs/G (6' 8" or shorter)
(Sorted by Pts./G)
Rk Player, School Ht. Pts Reb
1. Kobe Brown, Missouri 6-8 15.6 5.6
2. Tyrece Radford , Texas A&M 6-2 12.4 5.2
3. Anthony Black, Arkanas 6-7 12.4 5.1
4. Hayden Brown, South Carolina 6-5 11.2 5.1
5. Jaylin Williams, Auburn 6-8 10.6 5.1
6. Myles Stute, Vanderbilt 6-7 10.4 5.6
7. Henry Coleman, Texas A&M 6-8 10.2 5.8
HCIII leading the way:
Junior F Henry Coleman III, along with women's basketball player Jada Malone, represent Texas A&M as members of the SEC Basketball Leadership Council. The council serves as a conduit of communication from student-athletes to the conference office on issues related to student-athlete experience and wellness and to provide feedback on proposed rules governing the SEC and NCAA.
- Coleman is an avid fisher and hunter. "Fishing and hunting teach you to be calm under pressure," Coleman said. "When you set that hook on that fish, you can't just start reeling it in. You've got to be a little bit calm and kind of work it in. When you're hunting and you see a buck right in front of you, you have to wait a little bit. I know you want to pull the trigger as soon as you see it, but you have to wait for the right time. It teaches you to be calm in the moment and stay in the moment." (Source: 12thMan.com)
- Coleman's father, Hank, was a standout defensive end for Virginia Tech and started for the Hokies' 1995 Sugar Bowl Champion team. HCIII told the Bryan-College Station Eagle (Jan. 7, 2022), "'Enter Sandman' is one of my favorite traditions. A&M football is fun, but Virginia Tech football is deep in my heart."
- Coleman transferred to Texas A&M from Duke prior to the 2021-22. Former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of HCIII: "I hope I'm around when he's stopped playing to see who he becomes, not just as a player. I just think he's going to be a very special guy in our country. He's that good." (Source: USA Today Network, Nov. 18, 2020)
Random notables:
- Julius Marble is connecting on a team-high 58.0% of his FGA and has made 50% or higher of his shots in 15-of-17 games.
- Easily the Aggies' most prolific shooter from deep, Wade Taylor IV has improved his 3-point % by more than .10 from last year. Taylor is hitting 38.5% in 2022-23 after making 27.8% as a freshman.
- The Aggies' starting lineup has a definite Pelican State flavor with at least two Louisiana natives in it for every game so far this season - Tyrece Radford (Baton Rouge) and Dexter Dennis (Baker). Additionally, Solomon Washington (New Orleans) has joined them in the starting lineup four times.
- The Aggies have used the same starting lineup (Coleman III, Dennis, Marble, Radford and Taylor IV) for the last six games (all wins). For the season, the fivesome is 7-1 with the lone loss coming to Boise State on Dec. 3.
- The defensive-minded duo of Andersson Garcia and Andre Gordon have been the first players off the bench for the past five games.
- The Aggies' 2022-23 roster was bolstered by the addition of six newcomers in the offseason -- five transfers and one scholarship freshman. Headlining the group was Dexter Dennis, who was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Wichita State in 2021-22, and Julius Marble, who helped Michigan State advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Both have earned spots in the starting five.
- Six Aggies have played over 1,000 minutes, led by Dexter Dennis and Tyrece Radford who have both surpassed the 3,000-minute plateau.
FOLLOW THE ACTION:
- The game will be televised by SEC Network with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Pat Bradley (color) on the call.
- The matchup airs on the Texas A&M Radio Network or locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton calling the action.
PROMOTIONS UPDATE (UF GAME)
- Special Student Only Early Doors Open: The North entry of Reed Arena will open at 4:30 p.m. for ANY A&M Student. All doors will open to the public at 5 p.m.
- Opportune Rock Reed Shirt Giveaway: Rock Reed shirts will be available for the first 5,500 fans available at all entry points on the concourse.
- Fan Zone (North Entry):
- Tent setup with TVs, music, games & more! For ALL fans starting at 5 p.m.
- Sports Pass Holder Appreciation – Free Drinks for the first 1,050 sports pass holders to the Fan Zone, inclusive of 12th Man Lager, Pepsi and Water starting at 4:30 p.m.
- 12th Man Rewards: 100 Points
PARKING ALERT FOR UF GAME:
Texas A&M Athletics encourages fans to arrive early and have patience for the expected traffic and parking congestion around Reed Arena for Wednesday's 6 p.m. tipoff for the men's basketball team's matchup with the Florida Gators.
Because many students utilize the parking areas around Reed Arena, an enhanced traffic and parking plan was developed to help mitigate the congestion and facilitate incoming basketball traffic. When classes finish on west campus in the late afternoon/early evening on Wednesday, students will exit the Reed Arena area via one-direction flow to help make room for the incoming basketball fans.
The path of travel for fans has not changed, and patrons are encouraged to arrive early and have their parking barcode or $5 cash ready. Fans can retrieve their barcode on the TAMU mobile app or Destination Aggieland app. Fan without a parking barcode are encouraged to have their $5 CASH ONLY ready upon arrival.
PRESS CONFERENCE:
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