Aggie Basketball Game #19:
Texas A&M (13-5, 4-2 SEC) at Auburn (10-9, 2-4 SEC)
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 · 8 p.m. (CT)
Auburn Arena (9,121) · Auburn, Ala.
TV: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Dari Nowkhah, Play-by-Play
Joe Dean, Jr., Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Mike Caruso, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
Satellite Radio (Auburn Broadcast): Sirius Ch. 108 / XM Ch. 191
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – The Aggie men’s basketball team will put its four-game winning streak on the line Tuesday night when it travels to the plains of Alabama to face Auburn in an 8 p.m. contest inside Auburn Arena.
Texas A&M (13-5, 4-2 SEC) has surged up the SEC standings by winning its last four contests and enters the week sharing the league’s No. 2 spot with Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee. Auburn (10-9), meanwhile, currently sits in a tie for 10th place alongside Mississippi State, with a 2-4 record in conference games.
Tuesday’s contest will be nationally televised on SEC Network with Dari Nowkhah calling the play-by-play and Joe Dean, Jr. providing color commentary. Additionally, radio coverage will be provided on the Aggie Sports Network, which can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW (1620 AM).
The match-up at Auburn will be the second straight away affair for Texas A&M, which is in the midst of its most road-heavy stretch of the regular season and plays four of five games away from Reed Arena. During their lone visit to Auburn Arena, which opened in 2010, the Aggies earned a 71-62 win on Feb. 20, 2013.
Junior forward Jalen Jones continues to spearhead the Aggies’ on-court production and is coming off a game-high 18 point, nine-rebound performance during a 67-61 win at Tennessee on Saturday.
Since returning to the lineup after missing the first two games of league play with a sprained ankle, Jones is averaging 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest during SEC action.
Junior guard Danuel House, who averages 16.3 points in SEC play, contributed 15 points against the Vols by going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line while also tying a season-high with six assists.
The duo of Jones and House gives A&M a potent one-two punch on the offensive end as the pair checks in at No. 10 and 11 in scoring by SEC players this season, contributing 14.2 and 13.8 points per game, respectively.
Fellow junior guard Alex Caruso has also stepped up his game against SEC competition, averaging just under 11 points and six rebounds per outing in league play, while dishing out a team-high 19 assists.
The Tigers are under the direction of first-year head coach Bruce Pearl, who returned to the SEC sidelines this season following a six-year run as the head coach at Tennessee (2006-2011).
Senior guard KT Harrell directs the Auburn offensive attack and ranks second in scoring among all SEC players, contributing 17.4 points per outing. On the interior, junior forward Cinmeon Bowers presents a challenge for opponents as the 6-foot-7, 278-pound native of Racine, Wis., averages a double-double with 13.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
Overall, Texas A&M owns a 5-3 lead in the all-time series with the Tigers but will be looking to avenge a loss in the most recent match-up, a 69-64 Auburn win at Reed Arena on the final day of the regular season last year.
QUICK HITS
• Riding the momentum of four consecutive victories that has surged the team into a tie for second place in the league standings, Texas A&M travels to Auburn for a pivotal SEC match-up.
• The Aggies have won four consecutive SEC contests for the first time since joining the league for the 2012-13 campaign … A&M’s most recent five-game conference winning streak came from Feb. 9-23, 2011, when the Aggies won five straight Big 12 contests.
• Texas A&M is currently in the midst its most road-heavy stretch of the season, playing four of five games away from Reed Arena … The Aggies began the run with a 67-61 win at Tennessee on Saturday.
• Junior forward Jalen Jones has become the king of the ‘near double-double’ recently as he has notched double-digit points and nine rebounds in three consecutive games … overall, Jones has 10 career double-doubles between his time at SMU and Texas A&M and leads the Aggies in both scoring (14.2 points per game) and rebounding (6.4 rebounds per game).
• Third-year Aggie guard Alex Caruso has stepped up his game during league play and is averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in his last five games beginning with the contest against Kentucky on Jan. 10 … the College Station native led the SEC in assists last season and finds himself atop the category again this year, pacing the league with 96 assists and an average of 5.3 per game.
• After struggling during the Aggies’ SEC opener Alabama, junior guard Danuel House has bounced back in a big way during his last five games when the Fresno, Texas, product is averaging 18.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest
SERIES HISTORY VS. AUBURN (AUBURN LEADS 5-3)
• Saturday will be the ninth meeting between the Aggies and Tigers on the hardwood … A&M owns a 5-3 edge in the all-time series.
• Last season, the Tigers came to Reed Arena on the final day of the regular season and defeated the Aggies 69-64.
• During the 2012-13 campaign, Texas A&M earned a pair of wins over Auburn, defeating the Tigers 65-56 at Auburn Arena on Feb. 20 before taking a 71-62 decision on March 13 in the opening round of the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
• The first meeting between the schools came on Dec. 22, 1961, in Houston … The Aggies prevailed with a 62-50 win.
• Prior to the Aggies joining the SEC, the schools most recently played a home-and-home series in back to back seasons with A&M winning 72-67 in College Station on Dec. 22, 2005, before earning a 87-58 victory in Auburn on Dec. 22, 2006.
UP NEXT
After two straight road games, the Aggies return home to Reed Arena Saturday to host Vanderbilt in a 3:30 p.m. contest that will be nationally televised by the SEC Network.
CARUSO MOVING UP ALL-TIME CAREER STEALS & ASSISTS LIST
With a steal against Kentucky on Jan. 10, junior Alex Caruso passed Reggie Roberts (1980-83) to move into fifth place on Aggie basketball’s list of all-time steals (164 career steals). Up next is Darryl McDonald (1986-88), who sits in fourth place with 173 steals.
Additionally, Caruso enters the Auburn game with 378 career assists and needs just one to tie Dash Harris for seventh place all-time in program history.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS SPARK COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORIES
Wednesday’s contest against Missouri found the Aggies down at halftime for the third consecutive game and, just like the last two affairs, it saw A&M enjoy a huge second half en route to a come-from-behind victory.
All told this season, the Aggies have won six total games when they trailed at the intermission. Highlighting the list are a pair of contests during which A&M overcame 13-point deficits during the game’s final 20 minutes (Dec. 6 vs Arizona State & Jan. 17 at LSU).
ROBERSON ASCENDING AGGIE REBOUNDING LIST
Senior Kourtney Roberson joined the prestigious 500-Rebound Club last season and has continued into his senior season, moving up the list of the most prolific rebounders in school history. The Arcadia, La., native climbed three spots into 12th place on the all-time rebounding list with a six-board performance at Alabama on Jan. 6. Roberson enters the Auburn game with 716 career boards. Up next is Ronnie Peret (1966-69), who pulled down 735 during his Aggie career.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics