Tuesday, January 19
College Station
8:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
LSU
Aggies Host LSU in SEC Showdown
Jan 18, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Aggie Basketball Game #18:
LSU (11-6; 4-1 SEC) at #10/8 Texas A&M (15-2; 5-0 SEC)
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 · 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989) · College Station, Texas
TV: ESPN (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Brad Nessler, Play-by-Play
Sean Farnham, Commentary
Shannon Spake, Reporter
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
AL Pulliam, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (College Station/Bryan)
Satellite: Sirius (Ch. 134) / XM (Ch. 191)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION – The top two teams in SEC standings face off in College Station Tuesday night when No. 10 Texas A&M hosts LSU inside Reed Arena at 8 p.m.
The Aggies (15-2; 5-0 SEC) stand atop the SEC standings as the league's only unbeaten squad in conference games. LSU (11-6; 4-1 SEC), meanwhile, sits just one game back in the conference race with the Tigers' lone setback in SEC play came on Jan. 9 when they fell 68-62 at Florida.
The SEC showdown will be nationally televised on ESPN with Brad Nessler calling the play-by-play, Sean Farnham providing color commentary and Shannon Spake reporting. 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).
Texas A&M enters the contest as a top-10 squad after ascending to the No. 10 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 and the No. 8 position in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. The designation stands out as the program's first appearance in the Top 10 since Jan. 2008
Led by senior forward Jalen Jones, who on Monday was named SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season, the Aggies notched a big road win at Georgia on Saturday. Jones produced his 12th collegiate double-double in the 34-point victory over the Bulldogs which stood out as Texas A&M's biggest margin of victory ever in a road conference game.
Joining Jones in receiving weekly honors from the league office was LSU rookie sensation Ben Simmons who was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season.
Fellow seniors Alex Caruso and Danuel House also notched 12 points in Athens, Ga., to highlight a group of 11 Aggies that scored in the contest. Additionally, Caruso added four assists to move passed Bernard King into second place on A&M's all-time assists list behind leader David Edwards, who logged 602 assists from 1991-94.
The return to Reed Arena will be a welcome appearance for the Aggies, who are a perfect 10-0 on their home court this season and have won each of their last two meetings against the Tigers in College Station.
The Tigers are coming off back-to-back wins over Ole Miss and Arkansas inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. Simmons stands out as one of the most heralded players in college basketball, averaging 20.0 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists on the season.
In addition to Simmons, the talented LSU roster is highlighted by senior Keith Hornsby who contributes 14.2 points per contest after returning from an early season injury.
OPENING TIPS
• The Aggies climbed into the top 10 of both the AP Top 25 (No. 10) and USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 8) ... The last time the Aggies were in the top 10 in the Associated Press poll came on Jan. 14, 2008, when they appeared at No. 10 ... In the USA Today/Coaches poll the No. 8 position is the best since the Aggies reached as high as No. 6 during the 2006-07 season.• Texas A&M enters the weekend riding an eight-game winning streak that dates back to Dec. 12th's victory over Baylor ... The streak stands out as A&M's longest since the Aggies ripped off 13 consecutive victories from Nov. 26, 2010 to Jan. 15, 2011.
• The 5-0 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.
• Senior Jalen Jones was named SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after averaging 19 points and nine rebounds in wins over Florida and at Georgia ... Against the Gators, Jones made 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, to finish with a game-high 26 points and post his sixth 20-point outing of the season ... The Dallas native followed up that performance with his 12th career double-double (third at A&M) at Georgia, scoring 12 points and pulling down a season-best 12 boards. For the week, Jones shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from long range.
• In SEC play, senior Alex Caruso is averaging 10.4 points, 5.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest and owns a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Clutch free throw shooting has been a big key for the Aggies' hot start to SEC play ... This season during games that are closer than 10 points with two minutes remaining, the Aggies are shooting 86.4 percent from the free throw line (19-of-22) to close out the contest.
• Individually, senior Anthony Collins is a perfect 26-for-26 from the charity stripe this season and came up big during last Tuesday's win over Florida ... The Houston native made all four of his free throw chances during the game's final minute as the Aggie wrapped up a 71-68 victory over the Gators.
SERIES HISTORY VS. LSU (LSU LEADS 17-14)
• Tuesday's contest will be the 32nd meeting between the Aggies and the Tigers on the hardwood and the seventh as members of the SEC.• Last season, the Aggies swept both meetings with the Tigers, winning 67-64 in Baton Rouge on Jan. 17 and earning a 68-62 victory in College Station on Feb. 27.
• The series dates back to the 1916-17 season during the early days of each school's men's basketball program ... LSU earned a 24-15 victory.
• Before the Aggies joined the SEC for the 2012-13 campaign, the last meeting between the schools came on Dec. 20, 2008, when the Aggies defeated LSU 72-61 at Houston's Toyota Center.
• A&M head coach & Louisiana native Billy Kennedy is 3-5 against LSU, having faced the Tigers once while at Centenary and once as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana before coming to Texas A&M.
• The series has been dominated by the home team with the Aggies holding a 8-2 record in College Station and the Tigers owning a 12-2 mark in Baton Rouge.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M's two-game homestand continues when they host Missouri inside Reed Arena Saturday at 3 p.m. … The contest is slated to be televised by SEC Network.A&M CLIMBS INTO THE TOP 10; FIRST TIME SINCE 2008
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. 10 in the Associated Press & No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. It stands out as the first top-10 showing for the Aggies since January of 2008 as well as the highest spot in the USA Today Caches Poll since the 2006-07 campaign, when the Aggies reached as high as No. 6.
AGGIES RIDING A FIVE-GAME SEC WINNING STREAK
• The Aggies enter the LSU contest on a five-game winning streak, which stands out as the longest winning streak since a six-game stretch last season ... A&M's last loss came on Dec. 5 at Arizona State.• The 5-0 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.
• Texas A&M's school record for a winning streak during conference play is 16 games during the undefeated season of 1919-20.
JONES NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK - PART II (JAN. 18)
For the second time this season, Jalen Jones has been named SEC Player of the Week by the league office.A 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior forward from Dallas, Texas, averaged 19 points and nine rebounds in wins over Florida and at Georgia. Against the Gators, Jones made 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, to finish with a game-high 26 points and post his sixth 20-point outing of the season.
The Dallas native followed up that performance with his 12th career double-double (third at A&M) at Georgia, scoring 12 points and pulling down a season-best 12 boards. For the week, Jones shot 46.2 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from long range.
Players Mentioned
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