Saturday, February 22
Bryan-College Station
11:00 AM
Texas A&M
vs
Tennessee
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Wesley Bowers/Texas A&M Athletics
Top 10 Matchup on Tap Between No. 6 Vols, No. 7 Aggies at Reed
Feb 21, 2025 | Men's Basketball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The No. 7 Texas A&M men's basketball team (20-6 overall / 9-4 vs. SEC) faces No. 6 Tennessee in a top 10 matchup at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Reed Arena.
TEXAS A&M IN AP TOP 10 MATCHUPS HISTORY
PROMOTIONS FOR TENNESSEE VS. TEXAS A&M
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
As of 2/20
LAST 10 GAMES VS. TENNESSEE
* SEC Tournament, Nashville, Tenn.
NEED-TO-KNOWS
RARE TOP 10 MATCHUP IN AGGIELAND: Saturday's game marks just the second-ever AP top 10 vs. top 10 matchup in Aggieland, joining the No. 10 Aggies vs. No. 5 Crimson Tide bout on 1/11/25 (L, 88-94).
An Aggie win on Saturday would mark the first victory by a top 10-ranked A&M team against a top 10 opponent in College Station. In fact, the only time a top 10 A&M squad has beaten an AP top 10 team was 2007 when Billy Gillispie's No. 10 Aggies defeated the Bill Self's No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks, 69-66, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
STINGY ON DEFENSE: The Aggies rank a season-high No. 5 in KenPom.com's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rating at 91.6, which is an estimate of the defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) a team would have against the average D-I offense. Tennessee counters with the No. 1-ranked defense by KenPom.com at 87.3.
LAYMAN'S TERMS: In more common statistical measures, A&M is one of 21 D1 teams holding opponents to less than 40.0% from the field. Opponents hit just 39.7% of their FGA vs. the Aggies, which is No. 18 nationally. Similarly, the Aggies allow 21.5 FGM/G (No. 11) on 54.2 FGA/G (tNo. 31).
SHOOTERS SHOOT: The Aggies average 6.6 more shots/game than their opponents in SEC play, which ranks No. 2 among league schools.
DEFENDERS DENY: A&M limits its league opponents to just 52.5 FGA/G, which is the lowest average in the conference by 1.2 FGA/G over Vanderbilt (53.7). No other SEC school is within 3.0 FGA/G of the Aggies.
SUM OF PARTS: The Aggies are one of three SEC teams averaging more than 40.0 rebounds/G for the full season (No. 3 with 40.9/G), and are doing it without a single individual ranked among the league's top 20.
Among the 16 D1 teams averaging 40+ rebounds/G, Texas A&M and Tennessee State are only schools without a player averaging 6.0+ rebounds/G. Andersson Garcia is the Aggies' top rebounder at 5.7/G (tNo. 394 nationally <-not a="">
ONE OF A KIND: Texas A&M is D1's only team ranked in the top 10 in total rebounds/G (No. 8, 40.9/G), offensive rebounds (No. 1, 15.9/G) and rebound margin (No. 6, +9.2/G).
BEST BENCH: Texas A&M's bench leads the SEC in KenPom's "bench minutes" metric at 40.4% (No. 20 nationally). The Aggie reserves average 27.9 points/G, while making 46.6% of their FGA (starters hit 40.0% of their field goal attempts).
TREND BULLETS
TV/RADIO
- Tennessee has a 12-8 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to a Dec. 15, 1951 matchup in Knoxville that saw Emmett Lowery's Vols beat John Floyd's Aggies, 60-52.
- In the Buzz Williams era, the Aggies are 3-4 overall against UT, including a 2-1 mark at Reed Arena.
- Last season, the Aggies and Vols split two games with both teams tallying lopsided victories on their home court (85-69 in BCS, 86-51 in Knoxville).
- Since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012-13, UT holds a narrow 8-7 advantage, including a 4-3 mark at Reed Arena. Texas A&M has won the last two meetings in BCS, both against ranked Vol squads.
TEXAS A&M IN AP TOP 10 MATCHUPS HISTORY
| Date | Opponent | A&M Rk | Opp Rk | City (Site) | W/L, SCORE |
| Dec. 9, 2006 | UCLA | 6 | 1 | Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center) | L, 62-65 |
| Dec. 5, 2006 | LSU | 6 | 9 | Baton Rouge, La. (Maravich Assembly Ctr.) | L, 52-64 |
| Feb. 3, 2007 | Kansas | 8 | 6 | Lawrence, Kan. (Allen Fieldhouse) | W, 69-66 |
| Mar. 22, 2007 | Memphis | 9 | 5 | San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome/NCAA Sweet 16) | L, 64-65 |
| Jan. 19, 2011 | Texas | 10 | 10 | Austin, Texas (Erwin Center) | L, 60-81 |
| Jan. 11, 2025 | Alabama | 10 | 5 | Bryan-College Station, Texas (Reed Arena) | L, 88-94 |
| Feb. 22, 2025 | Tennessee | 7 | 6 | Bryan-College Station, Texas (Reed Arena) |
PROMOTIONS FOR TENNESSEE VS. TEXAS A&M
- Annual Wear Black Game: Fans are encouraged to join the team in wearing black to the game.
- A&M Student Early Entry: The North AND South entry of Reed Arena will open at 9:30 a.m. for ANY A&M student. All doors will open to all fans at 10 a.m.
- Fan Zone (North Entry): Tent setup with TVs, music, games & more! For ALL fans starting at 10 a.m
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| Statistic | Tennessee | Rank | Texas A&M | Rank |
| Scoring Offense | 74.6 | T-170 | 73.7 | 195 |
| Scoring Defense | 60.5 | 4 | 65.5 | 34 |
| Scoring Margin | 14.1 | 13 | 8.2 | 62 |
| Field Goal % | 45.5 | 144 | 42.3 | 304 |
| 3-Point % | 34.1 | 170 | 31.3 | 306 |
| 3-Pointers/G | 8.4 | T-104 | 7.0 | T-251 |
| 3-Point Attempts/G | 24.7 | 99 | 22.3 | 190 |
| Free Throw % | 74.5 | 87 | 68.2 | 294 |
| Free Throws/G | 13.8 | 168 | 16.3 | 41 |
| FT Attempts/G | 18.6 | T-211 | 24.0 | 17 |
| FG% Defense | 37.0 | 1 | 39.7 | 18 |
| 3-Point % Defense | 28.2 | 3 | 31.8 | 87 |
| Fouls/G | 14.6 | T-24 | 16.9 | 187 |
| Rebound Margin | 6.8 | 22 | 9.2 | 6 |
| Off. Rebounds/G | 12.0 | T-76 | 15.9 | 1 |
| Def. Rebounds/G | 25.9 | 92 | 25.0 | T-150 |
| Rebounds/G | 37.9 | 62 | 40.9 | 8 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 1.47 | 37 | 0.98 | 287 |
| Turnovers Forced/G | 12.5 | T-149 | 14.2 | T-51 |
| Effective FG pct | .528 | 110 | .481 | 317 |
LAST 10 GAMES VS. TENNESSEE
| Date | Opponent (RK) | Result | TAMU | Opp |
| 12/29/2016 | Tennessee | L | 63 | 73 |
| 01/13/2018 | @Tennessee (24) | L | 62 | 75 |
| 02/02/2019 | Tennessee (1) | L | 76 | 93 |
| 01/28/2020 | @Tennessee | W | 63 | 58 |
| 01/09/2021 | Tennessee (9) | L | 54 | 68 |
| 02/01/2022 | @Tennessee (22) | L | 80 | 90 |
| 03/13/2022 | *Tennessee (9) | L | 50 | 65 |
| 02/21/2023 | Tennessee (11) | W | 68 | 630 |
| 2/10/2024 | Tennessee (6) | W | 85 | 69 |
| 02/24/2024 | @Tennessee (5) | L | 51 | 86 |
NEED-TO-KNOWS
RARE TOP 10 MATCHUP IN AGGIELAND: Saturday's game marks just the second-ever AP top 10 vs. top 10 matchup in Aggieland, joining the No. 10 Aggies vs. No. 5 Crimson Tide bout on 1/11/25 (L, 88-94).
An Aggie win on Saturday would mark the first victory by a top 10-ranked A&M team against a top 10 opponent in College Station. In fact, the only time a top 10 A&M squad has beaten an AP top 10 team was 2007 when Billy Gillispie's No. 10 Aggies defeated the Bill Self's No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks, 69-66, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
STINGY ON DEFENSE: The Aggies rank a season-high No. 5 in KenPom.com's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rating at 91.6, which is an estimate of the defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) a team would have against the average D-I offense. Tennessee counters with the No. 1-ranked defense by KenPom.com at 87.3.
LAYMAN'S TERMS: In more common statistical measures, A&M is one of 21 D1 teams holding opponents to less than 40.0% from the field. Opponents hit just 39.7% of their FGA vs. the Aggies, which is No. 18 nationally. Similarly, the Aggies allow 21.5 FGM/G (No. 11) on 54.2 FGA/G (tNo. 31).
SHOOTERS SHOOT: The Aggies average 6.6 more shots/game than their opponents in SEC play, which ranks No. 2 among league schools.
DEFENDERS DENY: A&M limits its league opponents to just 52.5 FGA/G, which is the lowest average in the conference by 1.2 FGA/G over Vanderbilt (53.7). No other SEC school is within 3.0 FGA/G of the Aggies.
SUM OF PARTS: The Aggies are one of three SEC teams averaging more than 40.0 rebounds/G for the full season (No. 3 with 40.9/G), and are doing it without a single individual ranked among the league's top 20.
Among the 16 D1 teams averaging 40+ rebounds/G, Texas A&M and Tennessee State are only schools without a player averaging 6.0+ rebounds/G. Andersson Garcia is the Aggies' top rebounder at 5.7/G (tNo. 394 nationally <-not a="">
ONE OF A KIND: Texas A&M is D1's only team ranked in the top 10 in total rebounds/G (No. 8, 40.9/G), offensive rebounds (No. 1, 15.9/G) and rebound margin (No. 6, +9.2/G).
BEST BENCH: Texas A&M's bench leads the SEC in KenPom's "bench minutes" metric at 40.4% (No. 20 nationally). The Aggie reserves average 27.9 points/G, while making 46.6% of their FGA (starters hit 40.0% of their field goal attempts).
TREND BULLETS
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Wade Taylor IV needs four 3-pointers to break Josh Carter's school record for 3's in conference games only of 139, set from 2005-09
- Five of Texas A&M's game results have been decided by three points or less (3-2 record) and 13 games have been within one-possession after the under 4:00 media timeout (9-4). (Tight games history on pg. 6)
- Over his past nine games, Nebraska transfer CJ Wilcher is connecting on 51.9% of his 3-point shots. He has raised his season 3FG% to 41.8%, which is easily the best on the team.
- After hitting 39.1% from deep in non-conference play, Wilcher has raised his 3FG% to 44.4% against SEC opponents.
- Over his past five games, Wade Taylor IV has connected from deep on 18 3-pointers at a 42.9% clip while scoring scoring 16.2 points/G.
- Taylor has reached 10+ points in 21 of 22 games in 2024-25. The Aggies are 18-4 with Taylor in the lineup (missed 4 games due to injury).
- Five Aggies average above a +7.0 box plus-minus: Wade Taylor IV (+9.5), Henry Coleman III (+8.4), Andersson Garcia (+7.7), Pharrel Payne (+7.7). and C.J. Wilcher (+7.5).
- Henry Coleman III averages a team-high 7.0 rebounds over the Aggies' last five games, along with 7.8 points and 1.4 steals.
- A&M pounds the offensive glass for a NCAA-best 15.9 offensive rebounds/G, which allows the Aggies to average 6.6 FGA/G than its opponents in SEC play (up from +4.3 in non-conference games).
- Texas A&M hoops has rallied from a 15-point or more deficit to at least a tie six times in the past two seasons, including twice already in 2024-25. (Comeback history on page 7)
- Texas A&M averages just 2.3 free throw MAKES fewer than its opponents' free throw ATTEMPTS per game (16.3 FTM to 18.6 FTA).
- Texas A&M has earned 40+ rebounds in 15 games, while just allowing 40+ opponent rebounds just three times.
- In a bit of an oddity, the Aggies shoot better from beyond the arc away from Reed Arena (33.1% in 13 road/neutral) compared to 29.3% in 13 home games. Even weirder, the Aggies make 34.9% from deep in eight true road games.
- The Aggies are 15-1 when hitting least 65% of their FTA and 5-5 when connecting on less than 65%. Similarly, the Aggies are 15-3 when they earn 20 or more FTA.
TV/RADIO
- 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. It is also available on SiriusXM on channel 138 or 192.
- The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Dave Pasch and Fran Fraschilla providing the description.
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