COLLEGE STATION – Riding one of the country’s longest winning streaks, the No. 5 Texas A&M men’s basketball team looks for an 11th consecutive victory Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., where the Aggies face Arkansas at 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s SEC showdown will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Rich Hollenberg calling the play-by-play and Dino Gaudio 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).
Riding the wave of success, Texas A&M (17-2; 7-0 SEC) ascended to No. 5 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Poll this week to give the program its highest-ever position in the national rankings.
Earlier this month on Jan. 2, the Aggies opened SEC play with a 92-69 win over the Razorbacks inside Reed Arena. Senior Jalen Jones scored a career-high 28 points in the win, converting 9-of-13 field goal attempts with a 4-of-5 mark from 3-point range.
Jones highlighted five players in double-figure scoring for the Aggies, who shot 49.2 percent from the field. Sophomore center Tonny Trocha-Morelos notched his first career double-double in the contest, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Following the meeting with the Aggies, Arkansas won three straight SEC contests, defeating Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Missouri. However, the Razorbacks have since dropped three consecutive outings to fall to 9-10 overall with a 3-4 mark in SEC play.
OPENING TIPS
• Texas A&M is riding a 10-game winning streak, the program’s longest since the Aggies ripped off 13 consecutive victories from Nov. 26, 2010 to Jan. 15, 2011 … The Aggies’ last loss came on Dec. 5 in Tempe, Ariz., to Arizona State (67-54).
• The Aggies’ 17-2 record is the second-best through 19 games in school history, trailing only the 1919-20 team which went 19-0.
• Texas A&M moved up to No. 5 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Poll on Monday, marking the highest-ever ranking for the program … Previously, the program’s highest rank came during the 2006-07 campaign when Texas A&M ascended as high as No. 6 in both polls en route to a Sweet 16 appearance under former head coach Billy Gillispie.
• The 7-0 start to SEC play is Texas A&M’s best beginning to conference play since the 1993-94 season, when A&M won its first seven straight Southwest Conference games … The Aggies’ last conference winning streak of more than seven games came during the 1979-80 campaign when the team won nine straight SWC affairs.
• Entering the Arkansas game, Texas A&M leads the SEC in scoring defense (63.7 points per game allowed), assists (19.0 per game), turnover margin (+4.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).
• Senior Jalen Jones earned a spot on Oscar Robertson Trophy midseason watch list this week … The Dallas native leads the Aggies and ranks sixth in the SEC with a 17.5 point-per-game average that has seen him hit the 20-point mark in eight of 15 games played … For the season, he is shooting 47.7 percent from the field (91-of-192).
• During SEC play, Jones has been particularly impressive, scoring 20 or more points in five of seven league games while ranking third in the league for scoring at 20.6 points per game, fifth in field goal percentage (50.5) and 11th in rebounding (7.3 boards per game).
SERIES HISTORY VS. ARKANSAS (ARKANSAS LEADS 98-54)
• Wednesday will be the sixth SEC contest between the Aggies & Razorbacks … the two schools shared a spot in the Southwest Conference from 1915 until 1991 when the Razorbacks joined the SEC.
• The two schools have faced off 152 previous times on the hardwood during the series, which dates back to the 1923-24 season … Arkansas stands out as the sixth-most common opponent in A&M men’s basketball history.
• Texas A&M is winless during its last seven trips to Fayetteville, having last won at Arkansas on March 1, 1986.
• Earlier this season on Jan. 2, the Aggies defeated the Razorbacks 92-69 inside Reed Arena … Jalen Jonesled all scorers with a career-high 28 points.
• A&M’s Billy Kennedy is 3-3 all-time as a head coach against the Razorbacks … his lone meeting against Arkansas prior to his tenure at A&M came during the 1997-98 season while the head coach at Centenary … the Gents fell in Fayetteville 61-48.
• Kennedy’s head coaching counterpart, Arkansas’ Mike Anderson, is 2-9 all-time against the Aggies.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M will take part in the Big 12-SEC Challenge by hosting No. 14 Iowa State inside Reed Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday … The game will be televised by ESPN.
AGGIES RIDING ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S LONGEST WINNING STREAKS
• Texas A&M enters the week riding a 10-game winning streak which stands out as the sixth-longest active streak in the country.
• The streak is the longest since the 2010-11 Aggies captured 13 straight wins from Nov. 26 to Jan. 15.
• A&M’s school record for consecutive wins in a single season is 19 games during the 1919-20 campaign.
CURRENT NCAA WINNING STREAKS (AS OF 1/24)
Rk School Winning Streak
1. UAB 14
2. Indiana 12
Stony Brook 12
4. Grand Canyon 11
North Carolina 11
6. Texas A&M 10
Virginia Commonwealth 10
AGGIES RIDING A SEVEN-GAME SEC WINNING STREAK
• The Aggies enter the Arkansas contest on a seven-game SEC winning streak, which stands out as the longest winning streak since a nine-game Southwest Conference run during the 1979-80 season.
• The 7-0 start to SEC play is Texas A&M’s best start since joining the league for the 2012-13 campaign.
• Texas A&M’s school record for a winning streak during conference play is 16 games during the undefeated season of 1919-20.
A&M CLIMBS TO NO. 5; HIGHEST RANKING IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Entering the season with high aspirations, Texas A&M got off to a hot start and raced out to a 4-0 record allowing it to climb back into the Nov. 23rd edition of the Associated Press rankings at No. 25.
It marked the first time the Aggies have appeared in the rankings since they were No. 22 in the AP rankings on Dec. 12, 2011.
Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 5 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Poll. It stands out as highest ranking in school history, breaking the previous high of No. 6 set on several occasions during the 2006-07 campaign.
KENNEDY APPROACHING 300 CAREER VICTORIES
Aggie floor general Billy Kennedy has enjoyed successful coaching stops at Centenary (1997-99), Southeastern Louisiana (1999-05), Murray State (2006-11) and now Texas A&M (2011-) and stands on the precipice of a career milestone.
Kennedy enters the Arkansas game with a career record of 299-242, needing just one victory to reach 300 as a collegiate head coach.