Saturday, November 30
Las Vegas, Nev.
2:30 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Rutgers
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 20 Aggies Close Out Players Era Against Scarlet Knights
Nov 29, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – The No. 20 Texas A&M men's basketball team (5-2) and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-2) will meet for the first time in the fifth-place game at the Players Era Festival at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
RUTGERS-TEXAS A&M STATISTICAL COMPARISON
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
First Round (Tuesday, Nov. 26)
Oregon 80, Texas A&M 70
Rutgers 85, Notre Dame 84 (OT)
Second Round (Wednesday, Nov. 27)
Texas A&M 77, No. 21 Creighton 73
#9 Alabama 95, Rutgers 90
TV/RADIO
PLAYERS ERA TRENDS
100 W's FOR BUZZ AT THREE POWER CONFERENCE SCHOOLS
With the 77-73 win over Creighton, sixth-year head coach Buzz Williams earned his 100th win at Texas A&M.
QUICK HITTERS
Zhuric Phelps has led the team in scoring in three of six games he's played and he's the team leader in steals (14) ••• Five Aggies have logged 10+ offensive rebounds, including four with 18 or more ••• Team averages 4.3 blocks/G, which would easily be the highest of the Buzz Williams era (2021-22 team averaged 3.4 blocks/G) ••• The Aggies have taken over the national lead in offensive rebounds/G at 18.4 and rank No. 2 in offensive rebounding % (45.6%) ••• The Aggies have enjoyed at least an 6-rebound advantage in every contest and average a +12.4 rebound margin (45.1-32.7) ••• The Aggies have earned at least 20 FTA in every game since the season opener when they shot just 14 vs. UCF (11/4) ••• Texas A&M averages 33.7 points/G from its reserves and outscored Creighton 20-2 in bench points.
CONTINUITY IN COLLEGE STATION
Texas A&M Basketball is an outlier in collegiate landscape where roster movement among players and coaches is common.
RETURNING FIREPOWER
With seven of the top eight players in terms of minutes-played returning in 2024-25, the Aggies have an uncommon percentage of returning points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
Back For More in 2024-25
RUTGERS-TEXAS A&M STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| Statistic | Rutgers | Texas A&M |
| FGM/G | 27.9 | 26.3 |
| FGA/G | 59.9 | 62.7 |
| FG% | .465 | .419 |
| 3PM/G | 6.6 | 7.6 |
| 3PA/G | 19.7 | 24.1 |
| 3P% | .333 | .314 |
| FTM/G | 19.7 | 17.1 |
| FTA/G | 26.7 | 25.6 |
| FT% | .738 | .670 |
| Offensive Rebounds/G | 10.1 | 18.4 |
| Defensive Rebounds/G | 26.1 | 26.7 |
| Total Rebounds/G | 36.3 | 45.1 |
| Assists/G | 14.1 | 13 |
| Steals/G | 8.1 | 7 |
| Blocks/G | 3.6 | 4.3 |
| Turnovers/G | 9.1 | 11.7 |
| Points/G | 82 | 77.3 |
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
First Round (Tuesday, Nov. 26)
Oregon 80, Texas A&M 70
Rutgers 85, Notre Dame 84 (OT)
Second Round (Wednesday, Nov. 27)
Texas A&M 77, No. 21 Creighton 73
#9 Alabama 95, Rutgers 90
TV/RADIO
- The Texas A&M-Rutgers matchup will be broadcast on TruTV with J.B. Long (play-by-play), Candace Parker (color) and Lauren Jbara (reporter) describing the action.
- The matchups air on the Texas A&M Radio Network, locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM or worldwide on the 12th Man Mobile App with Todd Kalas and Dr. John Thornton describing the action.
PLAYERS ERA TRENDS
- A trio of Aggies are averaging 10+ points in Vegas: Wade Taylor IV (16.5), Zhuric Phelps (13.5) and Henry Coleman III (11.5). Taylor is the only Aggie with 10+ points in both contests - 15 vs. UO and 18 vs. CU.
- Coleman is connecting on a team-high 78.6% of his FGA (11-of-14) while also logging a team-best 16 rebounds.
- "Big Hen" returned to the starting lineup for the first time since last February vs. CU and responded with 17 points/9 rebounds and made it a two-possession game with a crucial FT.
- A&M has a plus-8.5 rebound margin after two games (46.0-37.5) and have nearly doubled up their opponents in offensive rebounds (42-22).
- The 6-foot Taylor has pulled down a team-high 11 defensive rebounds.
- With 1,691 points, Taylor has passed a pair of HOFers on the school scoring list, overtaking 2007 Cousy Award winner Acie Law IV (1,669, 2003-07) vs. UO and Joseph "Normangee Tractor" Jones (1,679, 2004-08) vs. CU.
- Team is hitting 72.1% from the FT line, with Zhuric Phelps (.875) and Andersson Garcia (.833) leading the way (min. of 4 FTA).
100 W's FOR BUZZ AT THREE POWER CONFERENCE SCHOOLS
With the 77-73 win over Creighton, sixth-year head coach Buzz Williams earned his 100th win at Texas A&M.
- He joins Tennessee's Rick Barnes as the only head coaches to win 100+ games at three power conference schools. Williams won 139 games at Marquette/Big East (2008-14) and 100 exactly at Virginia Tech/ACC (2014-19).
- He is the third member of Texas A&M's 100-Win Club, joining Shelby Metcalf (438 from 1963-90) and Billy Kennedy (151 from 2011-19).
QUICK HITTERS
Zhuric Phelps has led the team in scoring in three of six games he's played and he's the team leader in steals (14) ••• Five Aggies have logged 10+ offensive rebounds, including four with 18 or more ••• Team averages 4.3 blocks/G, which would easily be the highest of the Buzz Williams era (2021-22 team averaged 3.4 blocks/G) ••• The Aggies have taken over the national lead in offensive rebounds/G at 18.4 and rank No. 2 in offensive rebounding % (45.6%) ••• The Aggies have enjoyed at least an 6-rebound advantage in every contest and average a +12.4 rebound margin (45.1-32.7) ••• The Aggies have earned at least 20 FTA in every game since the season opener when they shot just 14 vs. UCF (11/4) ••• Texas A&M averages 33.7 points/G from its reserves and outscored Creighton 20-2 in bench points.
CONTINUITY IN COLLEGE STATION
Texas A&M Basketball is an outlier in collegiate landscape where roster movement among players and coaches is common.
- Among the 12 players that saw action for the Aggies in 2023-24, only one player that didn't finish his eligibility isn't back in 2024-25.
- Texas A&M's coaching staff has remained unchanged except for internal promotions for the past three seasons.
- Buzz Williams' staff has a combined 107 years together, led by associate head coach Devin Johnson's 14 seasons on Team Bus #1. Others with double-digit years of service with Williams are: Lyle Wolf (13), Dale Layer (12) and Josh Chambers (10).
RETURNING FIREPOWER
With seven of the top eight players in terms of minutes-played returning in 2024-25, the Aggies have an uncommon percentage of returning points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
- Last year's team leader in every statistical category across the board returns in 2024-25.
Back For More in 2024-25
| Statistic | 2023-24 Total | Returning | Pct. |
| Points | 2,736 | 2,105 | 76.9% |
| Assists | 412 | 318 | 77.2% |
| Rebounds | 1,541 | 1,233 | 80.0% |
| Steals | 250 | 224 | 90.0% |
| Blocks | 107 | 82 | 76.6% |
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