Aggies Continue Homestand with Monday Clash With Cardinals

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M men's basketball team (1-1) continues its four-game homestand with a 7 p.m. clash with the Lamar Cardinals (1-0) on Monday at Reed Arena.

• In his 18th season as a head coach, Buzz Williams will be seeking the 350th win of his career against Lamar.
• The Cardinals will be the second-straight Southland Conference opponent for the Aggies, who dismantled East Texas A&M (formerly A&M-Commerce) 87-55 on Friday.
• The Aggies own a narrow 8-7 all-time series advantage over the Cardinals but have won all three meetings since 2000.
• In the most recent meeting, future A&M Hall of Famer Joseph Jones scored 19 points to lead the Aggies to a 94-60 win over then-Lamar head coach Steve Roccaforte's first Cardinals squad. Roccaforte, now in  his fourth season on the Buzz Williams' staff, is a 1989 graduate of Lamar and was the Cardinals head coach from 2006-11. "Rocc" guided the Cardinals to the 2008 SLC regular season championship and was named the SLC Coach of the Year.
• Ironically, current Cardinals head coach Alvin Brooks and also a Lamar graduate, was across the floor from Roccaforte as an assistant coach on then-A&M head coach Billy Gillispie's final Aggie squad in 2006-07. Brooks served as an assistant coach for Gillispie at Texas A&M from 2004-07 and then as Gillispie's director of operations at Kentucky from 2007-09.

 
PROMOTIONS UPDATE: VET TIX/VETERANS DAY

• VET TIX/VETERANS DAY: Texas A&M Athletics is working with Vet Tix to provide complimentary tickets to Aggie home athletic events across venues for the 2024-25 academic year. Veteran Ticket Foundation's Tickets for Troops Program provides free tickets to currently serving and veterans of all branches of the U.S. military. Visit https://www.vettix.org/ to claim tickets.
• AGGIE BASKETBALL FAN ZONE: Located at the North entry of Reed Arena, the Fan Zone includes games, giveaways, and activities for the whole family! For ALL fans opening one hour prior to tip-off.
• STUDENT GIVEAWAY: '24-'25 Reed Rowdies shirts available for ALL students in the Fan Zone.

 
REMINDER: PRE-PAID PARKING IS THE WAY TO GO!

• New in 2024-25: Prepaid parking is available, https://tamu.pmreserve.com/.  Sales are available onsite via cash or credit but prepaid is encouraged.
• Any valid Texas A&M permit parking/season permit parking allowed in Lots 100a-c, 100e & 100f, 100g, 100d, 100j, 100m, 100t, 74, 95 and 97

 
TRENDS & NOTABLES

• Not surprisingly, Wade Taylor IV has hit double figures in points in both games, but his 13 assists (6.5/g) in are well ahead of his career average of 3.4/G. In fact, the 13 dishes are tied for his third-most two-game total in his 113-game career.
• Zhuric Phelps made his playing debut in the M&W vs. ETAMU and certainly made an impact with a point-a-minute outburst of 18 points in 17:46 off the bench. The SMU transfer showed off his explosiveness as he scored seven of his eight field goals via layup and filled the boxscore with five rebounds and three steals in his introduction to the 12th Man.
• It's the tiniest of sample sizes, but with Solomon Washington and Pharrel Payne protecting the rim the Aggies are averaging 4.5 blocks/G, which would easily be the highest of the Buzz Williams era (2021-22 Aggies averaged 3.4 blocks/G).
• Offensive rebounding appears to be a strength again for the 2023-24 national leaders in the category (17.4/G). Through two games, the Aggies are tied for No. 41 nationally but are averaging a healthy 15.5/G and had at least 15 offensive boards in both games.
• Bench scoring has been a bright spot for the Aggies, who are averaging 35.0 points/G from its reserves. Leading the way are Henry Coleman III (20 points) and Manny Obaseki (16).
• A healthy indicator for A&M is field goal attempts and the Aggies are averaging 62.5 FGA/G, while limiting opponents to 51.0/G. after two games.
• Texas A&M has an uncommon amount of players with extensive starting experience. Aggies with more than 20 career collegiate starts are: Wade Taylor IV (85 games), Henry Coleman III (83), Jace Carter (65 total, 18 at A&M), Zhuric Phelps (63 at SMU), CJ Wilcher (1 at Xavier, 28 at Nebraska), Solomon Washington (26), Hayden Hefner (26), Manny Obaseki (25), Pharrel Payne (25 total, 2 at A&M).
• Texas A&M returns seven of its top eight players in scoring and minutes from a year ago.
• The Aggies' No. 13 preseason AP Top 25 ranking matches the highest in school history (2006-07).

 
AMBITIOUS NON-CON SLATE
With the all-important NET rankings in mind, Texas A&M has constructed perhaps its toughest non-conference schedule in school history.

• For the first time in program history, the Aggies' non-conference slate features five opponents from power conferences (at UCF, Ohio State, Wake Forest, vs. Texas Techm, vs. Purdue) without factoring in possible opponents from in-season tournaments.
• Additionally, the Aggies are guaranteed dates with Oregon and Creighton at the Players Era Festival.

 
WEARING THE GRAD PATCH
Four Aggies have already earned their bachelor's degrees and will wear the coveted SEC Graduate patch in 2024-25.
 
Players with their degrees in hand already are:

• Henry Coleman III (University Studies-Race, Gender & Ethnicity)
• Hayden Hefner (Marketing - Strategic Retailing Track)
• Wade Taylor IV (University Studies-Race, Gender & Ethnicity)
• CJ Wilcher (Child, Youth & Family Studies).

 
RETURNING FIREPOWER
With seven of the team's top eight players in terms of minutes-played returning in 2024-25, the Aggies have an uncommon percentage of returning points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Last year's team leader in every statistical category across the board returns in 2024-25.
 
Back For More in 2024-25
Statistic        2023-24 Total         Returning           Pct.
Points           2,736                       2,105                  76.9%
Assists          412                          318                     77.2%
Rebounds     1,541                       1,233                  80.0%
Steals           250                          224                     90.0%
Blocks           107                          82                       76.6%
 
TV/RADIO

• The game can be viewed on SEC Network+ with Will Johnson (play-by-play) and Tap Bentz (color) on the call.
• The matchup airs on the Texas A&M Radio Network, locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM or worldwide on the 12th Man Mobile App with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton describing the action.

 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Questions about Gameday at Reed Arena? Check out the "Know Before You Go" page at 12thMan.com.