Aggies Host Bulldogs in Crucial SEC Matchup on Senior Night

Wednesday, March 6

Bryan-College Station

8:00 PM

Texas A&M

Mississippi State

Photo by: Wesley Bowers/Texas A&M Athletics

Mar 05, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes vs. MSST Coach Williams Press Conference Carter Press Conference Obaseki Press Conference

By: Brad Marquardt, Assistant AD/Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION - The Texas A&M men's basketball team hosts Mississippi State on Senior Night in Aggieland at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Reed Arena. The Bulldogs represent a NET Quadrant 2 opportunity for the Aggies.

The Bulldogs played spoiler in the most recent meeting as they ended the Aggies' hope of a SEC regular season title with a 69-62 win in Starkville.
In the Buzz Williams era, the Aggies are 3-2 vs. the Bulldogs, including a 2-1 mark at Reed Arena.
The all-time series is knotted at 9-9, but the Aggies have a narrow 8-7 lead since joining the SEC in 2012-13. Texas A&M has a 5-2 advantage at Reed Arena in SEC play.
Being recognized on Senior Night are graduates Tyrece Radford, Eli Lawrence and Wildens Leveque, as well as manager Jelani Spain.

SENIOR NIGHT HONOREES

Tyrece "Boots" Radford
A transformational figure in Aggie Basketball history, Tyrece "Boots" Radford has exemplified toughness and leadership in three seasons in Aggieland after transferring to Texas A&M from Virginia Tech. The Baton Rouge native will be playing his 100^th game in the maroon & white and 150^th as a collegian today. He's helped lead the Aggies to a 65-34 record, an NCAA berth, a trip to the NIT Championship game and two SEC Tournament finals. When Boots scores 20 or more points, the Aggies are 13-2 with the only blemishes being road losses at Kentucky and Alabama. A versatile threat on the floor, he's scored over 1,800 points and grabbed nearly 900 rebounds in his career.

Eli Lawrence
Eli Lawrence brought experience and professionalism to Texas A&M this season after arriving in Aggieland as a graduate transfer from Middle Tennessee last summer. He's contributed nearly 150 minutes of action and had a season-high 11 points in the Aggies' victory over Texas A&M-Commerce. After more than 140 career collegiate games, the native of Atlanta, Georgia played in his home state for the first time last Saturday and recorded his first 3-pointer in SEC play against the Georgia Bulldogs in front of a large group of family and friends. For his career, Eli has scored over 1,100 points and posted nearly 500 rebounds in five seasons at Middle Tennessee and Texas A&M.

Wildens Leveque
Wildens Leveque was the final addition to the team last summer and the experienced big man made an immediate impact in his return to the SEC. "Big Wil" has started 25 of the 28 games he's played in this season and brought much needed size and experience to the roster. He's recorded 75 rebounds and blocked 18 shots in nearly 300 minutes of action while leading the team in free throw percentage at 89.5. In 136 games as a collegian at South Carolina, UMass and Texas A&M, the Brockton, Massachusetts native has scored nearly 600 points, blocked over 100 shots and pulled down over 500 rebounds.

Jelani Spain
A four-year manager for the program, Jelani Spain joined the Aggies after a long stint as a locker room attendant for the Atlanta Hawks. Jelani has played an integral role in the daily operation of the Texas A&M basketball program since 2020. A jack-of-all-trades, he's assisted with player workouts, managed the daily organization of the locker room, equipment room and offices and assists the coaching staff with film and scout preparation in season. The native of Atlanta, Georgia is set to graduate in May with a degree in Sports Management.

MSST-TAMU STATISTICAL COMPARISON

STATISTIC	MISSISSIPPI ST.	TEXAS A&M
FGM	26.4	24.8
FGA	58.5	63.4
FG%	0.452	0.392
3PM	7.4	6.5
3PA	22.6	24.4
3P%	0.328	0.267
FTM	14.8	16.8
FTA	22.1	23.8
FT%	0.669	0.703
Off. Reb	12.7	17.5
Def. Reb	26.3	25.3
Rebounds	39	42.8
Assists	14.6	11.1
Steals	8.0	7.1
Blocks	3.2	3.0
Turnovers	12.9	9.7
Points	75.0	72.9

PROMOTIONS UPDATE
SENIOR NIGHT: Be in your seats by 7:40 p.m. to help recognize our seniors with a special pregame ceremony.

12TH MAN REWARDS DOUBLE POINT EVENT: Earn DOUBLE points when checking into the game within 12th Man Rewards. Login or create a 12th Man Rewards account within the 12th Man Mobile app (official app of Texas A&M Athletics).

$5 BEER NIGHT: $5 beer selections will be available for purchase at the main Reed Arena concession stands.

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.

TV/RADIO INFORMATION

The game will be televised by ESPNU with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) 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.

TRENDS AND NOTABLES

Manny Obaseki was inserted into the starting lineup vs. UGA for the first time since the NIT Championship game vs. Xavier on 3/31/22 at Madison Square Garden. He responded with season highs in minutes (27), rebounds (5) and assists (4) while reaching double digit points for the second straight game (12).
Tyrece Radford will be playing his 100th game at Texas A&M and 150th game of his career vs. MSST.
Thirteen of the Aggies' 29 games have been tied or a one-possession game after the final 4:00 media timeout. Texas A&M is 6-7 in those games.
Andersson Garcia is averaging 12.0 rebounds over the last eight games, including a trio of 15+ efforts. He also averaged 12.3 boards in four games vs. top 25 team in that span.
The 6-foot-7 Garcia needs 25 rebounds to become the third Aggie to reach 300 boards in a season, joining Claude Riley (317) and Tyler Davis (313).
The last 6-foot-7 or shorter SEC player to reach 300 rebounds was Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers, who had 326 in 2014-15.
Garcia's 132 offensive rebounds are already the school record (123 by Tyler Davis in 2017-18) and is the No. 16 SEC season total since 1996-97 in just 29 games. His 4.6 o-rebs/G rank behind only Oscar Tshiebwe's 5.8 in 2022-23 and 5.3 in 2021-22 in that span.
Texas A&M is the SEC leader in rebounding margin at 8.4 and rank No. 2 in rebounds at 42.8.
The SEC's leader in fewest turnovers for the full season and league play, the Aggies are 11-2 when they have nine or fewer turnovers in a game.
The Aggies lead the nation in offensive rebounds/game at 17.5 and have garnered 20 or more offensive caroms eight times in 2023-24.

FIVE QUAD 1 WINS FOR AGGIES
The Aggies rank in a tie for No. 2 in the SEC with five NET Quadrant 1 victories in 2023-24 (5-6 overall). Overall SOS ranks No. 13 nationally, No. 2 in SEC.
Texas A&M's Q1 wins are over Tennessee (current No. 5), vs. Iowa State (8), Kentucky (19), at SMU (44) and at Ohio State (65).

MILESTONES TO WATCH

Andersson Garcia needs two rebounds to move into a tie for No. 5 on the season rebounds list with Robert Williams II and Bryan Davis (277). With 11 rebounds, he would move into a tie for No. 2 with Rudy Woods and John Beasley (286)
In conference games only, Garcia needs two to match No. 4 Jeff Overhouse (166), four to match No. 3 Ronnie Peret (167) and nine to catch No. 2 Williams II (172). With 15 rebounds, he would match John Beasley's school standard of 178 in league games from 1966.

DOMINICAN RODMAN: ANDERSSON GARCIA
Drawing comparisons to former NBA great Dennis Rodman for his tenacious defense and rebounding prowess, senior F Andersson Garcia has emerged as the SEC's top rebounder and one of the nation's best on the offensive glass.
A SEC Sixth-Man of the Year candidate, the 6-foot-7 Garcia ranks in a statistical tie with 7-foot-4 defending National POTY Zach Edey of Purdue in offensive rebounds/G at 4.6.
Garcia leads in the SEC with an average of 9.5 rebounds/game, despite being in the starting lineup for only four games. In SEC play, he's increased his average to 10.2/G (No. 1).

Texas A&M Season Rebounds List

Rk.	Player	Year	Rebounds
1	Claude Riley	1981-82	317
2	Tyler Davis	2017-18	313
3	Rudy Woods	1978-79	286
	John Beasley	1965-66	286
5	Bryan Davis	2009-10	277
	Robert Williams	2017-18	277
7	Andersson Garcia	2023-24	275
8	Vernon Smith	1978-79	269
9	Ronnie Peret	1967-68	267
10	Barry Davis	1975-76	264

Texas A&M Conference-Only Rebounds List

Rk.	Player	Year	Rebounds
1	John Beasley (SWC)	1966	178
2	Robert Williams (SEC)	2017	172
3	Ronnie Peret (SWC)	1967	167
4	Jeff Overhouse (SWC)	1973	166
5	Andersson Garcia (SEC)	2024	163
	Steve Niles (SWC)	1970	163

TWO OF A KIND
Texas A&M is the only team in the SEC with a pair of players averaging more than 4.0 rebounds and 17.0 points per game in league play.

Players w. 4.0+ Rebs / 17.0+ Pts in SEC Play
(Sorted by Rebounds/Game)

Player, School	Ht.	Rebs./G	Pts./G
Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M	6' 3''	6.1	17.1
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee	6' 6''	54	24.6
Tramon Mark, Arkansas	6' 6''	4.9	17.1
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky	6' 6''	4.2	20.9
Mark Sears, Alabama	6' 1''	4.1	21.8
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M	6' 0''	4.1	18.6