COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 11 Texas A&M aims to bounce back Tuesday when the Aggies host their first SEC contest by welcoming Florida to Reed Arena for an 8 p.m. contest. The game is the final contest of A&M Athletics’ Holiday Hoops promotion, which features $5 tickets.
The contest will be televised on ESPN2 with Tom Hart calling the play-by-play action, Jay Bilas providing color commentary and Kris Budden reporting. 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).
The Aggies (11-2; 0-1 SEC) will be looking to rebound after dropping their SEC opener Saturday at Alabama. Against the Crimson Tide, A&M struggled shooting the ball from distance, finishing 2-for-21 from 3-point range (9.5 percent), including misses on their first 10 attempts from long range. In total, A&M shot a season-low 30.0 percent from the field (21-of-70).
A return to Reed Arena will be a welcome sight for the Aggies as they have shot 47.5 percent on their home court while producing a perfect 7-0 home record. Texas A&M has emerged victorious in 10 of its last 13 home conference openers, but dropped a 73-63 contest to Tennessee inside Reed Arena to tip-off SEC play a year ago.
Florida (9-4; 1-0 SEC) opened SEC play on Saturday with an 81-74 win over Vanderbilt in Gainesville. The visit to Aggieland will be the Gators’ first true road game this season but their fourth contest against a ranked opponent. Florida is 2-1 vs. ranked teams, with wins over Gonzaga and Cincinnati and a loss to Duke.
The two most recent meetings between the Aggies and Gators in College Station have been nail-bitters as Texas A&M has won both games by a combined four total points. UF leads the all-time series 6-4, however, A&M holds a 3-1 edge during games at Reed Arena. The Aggies do not make a return trip to Gainesville this season.
