FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 22, 2016
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball
Aggies Head West to Face Sooners in Sweet 16
TEXAS A&M NOTES lOKLAHOMA NOTES lSEC BASKETBALL lNCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
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2016 NCAA Tournament
West Regional • Sweet 16
No. 3 Seed Texas A&M (28-8; 13-5 SEC) vs. No. 2 Seed Oklahoma (27-7; 12-6 Big 12)
March 24, 2016 • 6:30 PM (CT)
Honda Center (18,336) · Anaheim, Calif.
TV: TBS (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Verne Lundquist, Play-by-Play
Jim Spanarkel, Commentary
Allie LaForce, Reporter
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
John Thornton, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
Satellite (Westwood One): Sirius (Ch. 83) / XM (Ch. 202)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS:12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION –After a drama-filled, come-from-behind victory punched the Aggies’ trip to the Sweet 16, No. 15 Texas A&M faces off against No. 7 Oklahoma on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with an Elite Eight berth on the line.
The Aggies (28-8) enter as the matchup as NCAA West Regionals’ No. 3 seed while the Sooners (27-7) are the No. 2 seed. The other regional semifinal in Southern California will see top-seeded Oregon (30-6) battle No. 4 seed Duke (25-10) following the conclusion of the A&M-Oklahoma contest.
The contest will be nationally televised on TBS with Verne Lundquist calling the play-by-play, Jim Spanarkel providing color commentary and Allie LaForce 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).
The Aggies gave March Madness another marquee chapter during Sunday’s win over UNI in the NCAA Tournament’s second round as Texas A&M erased a 12-point deficit with a 14-2 run during the final 33 seconds of regulation to tie Panthers at 71-71. With the score knotted once again after the first extra session, another five minutes was put on the clock before the Aggies emerged with a 92-88 victory in double overtime.
The unbelievable comeback win stands out as the biggest deficit overcome during a game’s final minute in college basketball history.
Additionally, the victory also gave the Aggies their 28th win this year to surpass the 2006-07 Texas A&M squad for the most wins for a single season in school history.
Senior Alex Caruso enjoyed one the finest performances of his four-year career, putting up a season-high 25 points against UNI to approach his second career double-double with nine rebounds. Fellow senior Danuel House, who was held scoreless through the game’s first 34:45, came up huge down the stretch by scoring 22 points during the second half’s final 5:15and the two overtime periods.
Jalen Jones (16), Admon Gilder (11) and Tyler Davis (10) also contributed at least 10 points for the Aggies, who put five players in double figure scoring for the second straight tourney game.
The Sooners, meanwhile, come to Anaheim after defeating Cal State Bakersfield, 82-68, during the tournament’s opening round before outlasting VCU 85-81 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under the leadership of veteran head coach Lon Kruger.
OU features one of the nation’s most prolific scorers in senior guard Buddy Hield, who averaged 25.4 points per game this season while shooting 50 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.
TEXAS A&M IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The selection to this season's NCAA Tournament is the 13th in program history for Texas A&M and the first for the Aggies since 2011 ... Texas A&M has made the field in seven of the last 11 years.
• The Aggies are 11-13 all-time in 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• This season's No. 3 seed in the field matches the highest ever achieved by A&M, sharing the distinction with the 2006-07 Aggies.
• Texas A&M has now advanced to the Sweet 16 three times -- previously, in 1980 under the direction of Shelby Metcalf and in 2007, led by head coach Billy Gillispie.
• A&M enjoyed a school-record run of six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2006-2011.
• Prior to this postseason, senior Anthony Collins stood out as the lone player on the Aggies' roster who had played in the NCAA Tournament during his career. The Houston native, who transferred to A&M from South Florida, helped the Bulls make a run to the third round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
• A&M head coach Billy Kennedy has led three schools to the NCAA Tournament, Southeastern Louisiana in 2005, Murray State in 2010 and now Texas A&M in 2016 ... Kennedy is 3-2 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament.
HISTORIC COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN VAULTS AGGIES TO SWEET 16
The Aggies' path to the Sweet 16 was not without drama as Texas A&M's second round win over UNI featured college basketball's biggest ever comeback with less than one minute left on the clock.
Texas A&M trailed UNI 69-57 before a lay-up by freshman Admon Gilder with 33 seconds to play sparked a 14-2 Aggie run that forced overtime. A&M went on to win 92-88 in double overtime.
Previously, two schools held the record as UNLV (2/12/05) and Canisius (12/22/15) each erased an 11-point deficit in the games' final minute to earn a victory.
AGGIES VS. THE 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
• The Aggies have played 10 games against opponents who heard their names called on Selection Sunday and have compiled an 8-2 record against the group.
• This season, Texas A&M has notched wins over Baylor, FGCU, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kentucky, Texas, UNC Asheville and Vanderbilt.
TEXAS A&M'S NCAA COACHES
Billy Kennedy becomes the fifth Texas A&M men's basketball coach to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament. Legendary Aggie coach Shelby Metcalf (1963-90) is the all-time NCAA tourney appearances leader among the group, leading the school to the Big Dance five times. Only Billy Gillispie (2004-07), who was 3-2 in NCAA Tournament games during his tenure in Aggieland, owns a winning record while guiding the Maroon & White in the tourney.
AGGIES RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST PASSING TEAMS
Led by the two-headed point guard attack of Alex Caruso and Anthony Collins, Texas A&M stands out as one of the best ball-sharing teams in the country.
The Aggies rank 18th nationally in assist per game, averaging 16.6 dimes per contest, while Collins (third - 719) and Caruso (sixth - 644) ranks in the top six for career assists among active NCAA-I players.
March 22, 2016
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball
Aggies Head West to Face Sooners in Sweet 16
TEXAS A&M NOTES lOKLAHOMA NOTES lSEC BASKETBALL lNCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
--
2016 NCAA Tournament
West Regional • Sweet 16
No. 3 Seed Texas A&M (28-8; 13-5 SEC) vs. No. 2 Seed Oklahoma (27-7; 12-6 Big 12)
March 24, 2016 • 6:30 PM (CT)
Honda Center (18,336) · Anaheim, Calif.
TV: TBS (For more info – 12thMan.com/TV)
Verne Lundquist, Play-by-Play
Jim Spanarkel, Commentary
Allie LaForce, Reporter
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Dave South, Play-by-Play
John Thornton, Commentary
Local: WTAW 1620 AM (Bryan-College Station)
Satellite (Westwood One): Sirius (Ch. 83) / XM (Ch. 202)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS:12thMan.com
LIVE MOBILE LIVE STATS: tamustats.com
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COLLEGE STATION –After a drama-filled, come-from-behind victory punched the Aggies’ trip to the Sweet 16, No. 15 Texas A&M faces off against No. 7 Oklahoma on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with an Elite Eight berth on the line.
The Aggies (28-8) enter as the matchup as NCAA West Regionals’ No. 3 seed while the Sooners (27-7) are the No. 2 seed. The other regional semifinal in Southern California will see top-seeded Oregon (30-6) battle No. 4 seed Duke (25-10) following the conclusion of the A&M-Oklahoma contest.
The contest will be nationally televised on TBS with Verne Lundquist calling the play-by-play, Jim Spanarkel providing color commentary and Allie LaForce 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).
The Aggies gave March Madness another marquee chapter during Sunday’s win over UNI in the NCAA Tournament’s second round as Texas A&M erased a 12-point deficit with a 14-2 run during the final 33 seconds of regulation to tie Panthers at 71-71. With the score knotted once again after the first extra session, another five minutes was put on the clock before the Aggies emerged with a 92-88 victory in double overtime.
The unbelievable comeback win stands out as the biggest deficit overcome during a game’s final minute in college basketball history.
Additionally, the victory also gave the Aggies their 28th win this year to surpass the 2006-07 Texas A&M squad for the most wins for a single season in school history.
Senior Alex Caruso enjoyed one the finest performances of his four-year career, putting up a season-high 25 points against UNI to approach his second career double-double with nine rebounds. Fellow senior Danuel House, who was held scoreless through the game’s first 34:45, came up huge down the stretch by scoring 22 points during the second half’s final 5:15and the two overtime periods.
Jalen Jones (16), Admon Gilder (11) and Tyler Davis (10) also contributed at least 10 points for the Aggies, who put five players in double figure scoring for the second straight tourney game.
The Sooners, meanwhile, come to Anaheim after defeating Cal State Bakersfield, 82-68, during the tournament’s opening round before outlasting VCU 85-81 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season under the leadership of veteran head coach Lon Kruger.
OU features one of the nation’s most prolific scorers in senior guard Buddy Hield, who averaged 25.4 points per game this season while shooting 50 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.
TEXAS A&M IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The selection to this season's NCAA Tournament is the 13th in program history for Texas A&M and the first for the Aggies since 2011 ... Texas A&M has made the field in seven of the last 11 years.
• The Aggies are 11-13 all-time in 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• This season's No. 3 seed in the field matches the highest ever achieved by A&M, sharing the distinction with the 2006-07 Aggies.
• Texas A&M has now advanced to the Sweet 16 three times -- previously, in 1980 under the direction of Shelby Metcalf and in 2007, led by head coach Billy Gillispie.
• A&M enjoyed a school-record run of six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2006-2011.
• Prior to this postseason, senior Anthony Collins stood out as the lone player on the Aggies' roster who had played in the NCAA Tournament during his career. The Houston native, who transferred to A&M from South Florida, helped the Bulls make a run to the third round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
• A&M head coach Billy Kennedy has led three schools to the NCAA Tournament, Southeastern Louisiana in 2005, Murray State in 2010 and now Texas A&M in 2016 ... Kennedy is 3-2 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament.
HISTORIC COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN VAULTS AGGIES TO SWEET 16
The Aggies' path to the Sweet 16 was not without drama as Texas A&M's second round win over UNI featured college basketball's biggest ever comeback with less than one minute left on the clock.
Texas A&M trailed UNI 69-57 before a lay-up by freshman Admon Gilder with 33 seconds to play sparked a 14-2 Aggie run that forced overtime. A&M went on to win 92-88 in double overtime.
Previously, two schools held the record as UNLV (2/12/05) and Canisius (12/22/15) each erased an 11-point deficit in the games' final minute to earn a victory.
AGGIES VS. THE 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
• The Aggies have played 10 games against opponents who heard their names called on Selection Sunday and have compiled an 8-2 record against the group.
• This season, Texas A&M has notched wins over Baylor, FGCU, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kentucky, Texas, UNC Asheville and Vanderbilt.
TEXAS A&M'S NCAA COACHES
Billy Kennedy becomes the fifth Texas A&M men's basketball coach to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament. Legendary Aggie coach Shelby Metcalf (1963-90) is the all-time NCAA tourney appearances leader among the group, leading the school to the Big Dance five times. Only Billy Gillispie (2004-07), who was 3-2 in NCAA Tournament games during his tenure in Aggieland, owns a winning record while guiding the Maroon & White in the tourney.
AGGIES RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST PASSING TEAMS
Led by the two-headed point guard attack of Alex Caruso and Anthony Collins, Texas A&M stands out as one of the best ball-sharing teams in the country.
The Aggies rank 18th nationally in assist per game, averaging 16.6 dimes per contest, while Collins (third - 719) and Caruso (sixth - 644) ranks in the top six for career assists among active NCAA-I players.
