The No. 25 Texas A&M men’s basketball team will put its five-game winning streak on the line when the Aggies host the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers in a 6 p.m. matchup on Tuesday at Reed Arena.
- Texas A&M will wear its black “Fightin’ Texas Aggies” jerseys on Tuesday, and fans are encouraged to wear black to #BlackOutReed.
- The Aggies are 1-3 against the Vols in the Buzz Williams era, with UT winning the last three.
- UT has won the last three matchups at Reed Arena and leads the all-time series, 11-6 (7-5 in SEC play).
- UT head coach Rick Barnes has a history with Texas A&M as the former University of Texas coach once poked fun at the Reed Rowdies’ “Sit down, bus driver” yell that they often direct at opposing coaches. In February 2007, Barnes said, “What’s next? Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon rind – look at the scoreboard and see who’s behind?”
FASTEST SEC START:
The Aggies’ 12-2 SEC record marks the program’s best conference start after 14 games since joining the league. In fact, it is A&M’s best conference start in any league since Billy Gillispie’s 2006-07 team opened 12-2 on their way to a 13-3 Big 12 final record.
TRENDS & STREAKS:
- Texas A&M is an SEC-best 19-3 in its last 22 games against SEC opponents (includes SEC tournament).
- The Aggies are giving up an SEC-low 26.4 first-half points in conference play and have seven SEC games with 25 or fewer points allowed in the opening stanza.
- The Aggies have earned a rebounding advantage in 13 of past 16 games, after having the board advantage in just six of the first 11 games of 2022-23.
- Dynamic Wade Taylor IV has been torrid over the past two weeks (4 games), averaging 21.0 points while hitting 53.6% of his 3-point tries, making 27-of-30 free throws (90.0%) and dishing out 21 assists against 11 TOs (1.9 ratio).
- Tyrece Radford has reached 10+ points in 9 straight SEC games and 12-of-14 total SEC contests..
- Texas A&M is the only SEC team with two players hitting better than 50.0% from the field in SEC play (minimum 80 FGA): Henry Coleman III (.528) and Julius Marble (.504).
- Super sub Andersson Garcia has come off the bench to grab 6 or more rebounds in his last 5 games, including a season-high 10 vs. ARK on 2/15. The Aggies are 12-1 when Garcia scores 3 or more points.
- Tyrece Radford needs two rebounds of the 700 for his career and eight to reach 400 in his two seasons at Texas A&M.
- Andre Gordon’s next steal will make him the 20th member of Texas A&M’s 100-Steal Club.
- The Aggies are 16-1 when posting six or more “turkeys” in a game. In Aggie Hoops vernacular, a “turkey” is when an opponent is held scoreless on three straight possessions.
FOLLOW THE ACTION:
- The game will be televised by ESPN with Karl Ravech (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (color) on the call.
- The matchup airs on the Texas A&M Radio Network or locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton calling the action.
PROMOTIONS:
- A&M Student Early Entry: The North entry of Reed Arena will open at 4:30 p.m. for ALL A&M students. All doors will open to all fans at 5 p.m.
- Black Out Reed: All fans are encouraged to wear black to the game.
- Fan Zone (North Entry):
- Tent setup with TVs, music, games & more open pregame.
- Dos Equis & Rasing Cane’s activations and tastings.
- 12th Man Rewards: 100 Points
Credit to 12thman.com