PRINCETON, N.J./BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A former Big 12 rival awaits the Texas A&M men’s basketball team during the team’s first game at the 11th annual Legends Classic as the Aggies will face off against Oklahoma State inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Nov. 20.
The semifinal between the Aggies and Cowboys will be one of two historic rivalry meetings at the event as in-state counterparts Penn State and Pittsburgh will also square off at Barclays Center. The winners of the two contests will meet for the Legends Classic championship the following evening, with the losers squaring off in the consolation game. All four games of the championship rounds of the Legends Classic will air on ESPN Networks.
Tickets for the Championship Rounds at Barclays Center can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.
Texas A&M and Oklahoma State are set to renew a rivalry that began in 1917-18 and was played annually during Big 12 Conference play from 1997-2012. The Cowboys own a 31-17 edge in the all-time series, however, the Aggies have walked off the court as victors in four of the last five meetings between the schools.
Penn State and Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will meet for the 148th time in a rivalry that started in 1905-06 and which the Nittany Lions lead, 75-72. Pittsburgh won a showdown between the two schools last season at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., 81-73.
Penn State, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M will host two games on their home courts in addition to playing a pair of games in Brooklyn. They are joined in the Legends Classic by Pepperdine, Montana, Oral Roberts, and UC-Santa Barbara. These four teams will meet in the Subregional Rounds at Pepperdine, beginning on Nov. 20 when Montana faces Oral Roberts and Pepperdine takes on UCSB in the semifinals. The consolation and championship games of the Subregional will be played the next day.
Texas A&M, which has drawn off-season Top 25 attention from multiple media outlets, stands to return one of the SEC’s most formidable rosters to the hardwood for the upcoming season as the Aggies bring back four starters and 10 total players, representing 82.3 percent of the Aggies’ total scoring output.
The addition of a quality opponent in OSU as well as a match-up against either Penn State or Pitt further strengthens the Aggies’ upcoming non-conference slate, which is already regarded as one of the most challenging in the country. Yahoo! Sports college basketball writer Jeff Eisenberg recently released his post-draft look at the preseason top 25 which featured four upcoming Texas A&M out of conference opponents in the top 10 – Arizona (1), Kansas (2), West Virginia (8) and USC (9). The Aggies, meanwhile, checked in at No. 19 while three other SEC squads were also represented – Kentucky (4), Florida (11) and Alabama (22).
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics