Basketball Faces Road Test at Georgia Wednesday

Wednesday, February 28

Athens, Ga.

7:30 p.m.

Texas A&M

Georgia

Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

Feb 27, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Texas A&M Game Notes Georgia Game Notes SEC Basketball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Aggie Basketball Game #30:
Texas A&M (18-11; 7-9 SEC) at Georgia (16-12; 7-9 SEC)
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 • 7:30 p.m. (CT)
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) • Athens, Ga.

TELEVISION: SEC Network (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Mike Morgan, Play-by-Play
Pat Bradley, Commentary

RADIO: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
Dave South, Play-by-Play
Mike Caruso, Commentary

SATELLITE RADIO: Sirius Ch. 132 / XM Ch. 190
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: 12thman.com/live
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – During its final roadtrip of the regular season, Texas A&M takes aim at a second consecutive road win as the Aggies face Georgia on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. inside Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.

The contest will be televised on SEC Network with Mike Morgan calling the play-by-play action and Pat Bradley providing color commentary. Additionally, radio coverage will be available on the Aggie Sports Network, which can be heard locally in the Bryan/College Station area on WTAW (1620 AM).

During its most recent outing, Texas A&M ended Vanderbilt's five-game home winning streak with a 89-81 win in Nashville. The performance was marked by the Aggies scoring 80 points for the 12^th time this season as well as the sixth time in the team's last eight games. Junior Tyler Davis led the way with team-high 22 points to register his 12th career 20-point win (sixth this season).

The Aggies enter the week with an 18-11 record as well as a 7-9 mark in SEC play with two games remaining in the regular season before the team travels to St. Louis for the SEC Tournament March 7-11. Texas A&M is currently at No. 27 in the NCAA daily RPI report as teams across the country build their resumes in the chase for the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia, meanwhile, enters Wednesday's showdown with a 16-12 record this season that includes a 7-9 ledger in conference play. Led by senior forward Yante Maten, the SEC's leading scorer at 19.5 points per game this season, the Bulldogs are 11-3 on their home floor this season.

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SETTING THE SCENE / NOTABLES

Junior Tyler Davis averaged 23.5 points and 10 rebounds in a pair of games last week while shooting 76.2 percent from the floor ... the Plano West High School tied his career-high with 25 points last Tuesday vs. Mississippi State and pulled down 11 rebounds to register his 10th double-double of the season (16th career) …
Davis needs just six points to move past Rudy Woods (1978-82) and take over 15^th place on Texas A&M's all-time scoring list ... He enters the week with 1,267 career points as well as 694 career rebounds, which places him 13^th on the all-time list of A&M's top rebounders.
Rookie TJ Starks dished out a career-high six assists while being charged with no turnovers Saturday at Vandy ... In nine games since joining the starting lineup, Starks in averaging 15.4 points per game while shooting 47.6 for the field and 51.4 percent from 3-point range.
Junior guard Admon Gilder needs 25 points to become the 37^th member of A&M's exclusive 1,000-Point Club .

SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA (UGA LEADS 4-2)

Wednesday will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Aggies & Bulldogs on the hardwood.
Last season, the Aggies defeated the Bulldogs 63-62 in College Station ... a clock malfunction in the final seconds sullied the ending of a tightly-contested affair ... Robert Williams posted a double-double for the A&M with 18 points and 12 boards.
During their last visit to Athens (Jan. 16, 1016), the Aggies notched their first ever win over the Bulldogs with a convincing 79-45 victory.
Texas A&M floor general Billy Kennedy is 2-4 against the Bulldogs, while Georgia's Mark Fox is 4-2 against the Aggies.

THE SEC STANDS OUT AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S TOP LEAGUES

The SEC's five teams in the Top 30 of the Feb. 26 NCAA RPI are the most in the nation: No. 7 Auburn, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 26 Texas A&M and No. 30 Arkansas.
Eleven SEC teams rank in the Top 75 of the RPI (Tied 1st in the nation)
Twelve SEC teams rank in the Top 80 of the RPI (1st in the nation).
Thirteen SEC teams have Top 60 SOS, six are in the Top 25 and five are in the Top 10.
The SEC's 125 Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 wins are 26 more than any other conference (as of Feb. 26).
Five teams are receiving mention in the Associated Press Top 25 highlighted by Auburn (14th), Tennessee (16th) and Kentucky (23rd). Arkansas and Florida are receiving votes. Texas A&M, meanwhile, is receiving votes in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
Forty percent (45 of 112) of the SEC's games in league play this year have been decided by seven points or less while 20 percent (22) have been decided by one possession. Only nine games have been decided by 20 or more points.

TROCHA-MORELOS JOINS 500-REBOUND CLUB; WILLIAMS CLOSING IN

Senior forward Tonny Trocha-Morelos grabbed six boards at Vanderbilt on Feb. 24 to becoming the 27th member of Texas A&M's 500-Rebound Club. The Cartagena, Colombia, ranks 27th on A&M's rebounding list with 502 career boards.

Trocha-Morelos may not have long before he welcomes another member to the 500-Rebound Club as teammate Robert Williams is also closing in on the honor with 478 boards in only two years.

DAVIS - A&M'S STEADY, RELENTLESS COMPETITOR

The Aggies have seen their share of ups & downs already this season, but one thing that has not changed throughout it all has been the steady play and competitiveness of Tyler Davis. Here's a look at Tyler's season by the numbers.

Only Aggie to start all 29 games this season
10 double-doubles ranks second in the SEC this season (Trails only Georgia's Yante Maten [12])
Among active SEC players, 3rd in career rebounds (694) and 5th in career points (1,267)
16 career double-doubles (3rd in the SEC)
In all games, ranks 14th in the SEC in scoring (14.6 ppg) & second in rebounding (8.8 rpg)
In all games, leads the SEC in field goal percentage (58.0 percent)
In SEC games only, ranks 12th in the SEC in scoring (14.9 ppg) & first in rebounding (9.0 rpg)

AGGIES GRIND THROUGH ONE OF THE NATION'S TOUGHEST SCHEDULES

A&M's non-conference slate has been among the most daunting in the country. The Aggies took on West Virginia (at Ramstein Air Base in Germany as part of the Armed Forces Classic), USC, Arizona (in Phoenix) and, at the end of this month, Kansas, all away from College Station. Additionally, A&M won the Legends Classic (Nov. 20-21) at Brooklyn's Barclays Center where the Aggies defeated Oklahoma State and Penn State to capture the event's title.

In addition to the challenging non-conference slate, SEC play looks to be a grind this year as the league has proven to be one the best conferences in recent years and is coming off an attention-grabbing campaign where it posted an 11-5 record in the NCAA Tournament and had three teams advance to the Elite Eight.

ESPN currently ranks Texas A&M's strength of schedule as the fifth-toughest in the nation.
17 total games vs. postseason teams from last season (13 NCAA / 4 NIT) - A&M is currently 9-6
11 teams that made the 2017 NCAA Tournament (A&M plays Arkansas, Kentucky twice) - A&M is currently 8-5
Of A&M's 31 regular season games, only 14 are against teams that did not make the NCAA or NIT last season.
A&M will play a postseason team away from home (including neutral sites) 10 times - A&M is currently 4-5