Aggies Seek 4-0 SEC Start Saturday Gamecocks – Texas A&M Athletics

COLUMBIA, SC The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is looking to get off to a 4-0 start in SEC play when the Aggies take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday at 5:00 PM at Colonial Life Arena.

• The Aggies have opened SEC play with a trio of Keystone wins — the program’s first-ever win over Florida in Gainesville, a 10-game losing streak to LSU and the season’s first against No. 20 Missouri.
• Saturday’s matchup with the Gamecocks is another important opportunity as the Aggies look to snap a six-game losing streak to South Carolina, the last five of which have come by double-digit margins.

TRENDS AND SLIDES:

• In three SEC wins, the Aggies have left a total of 5 minutes and 25 seconds.
• The team is looking for a 4-0 SEC start for the second year in a row (the program’s best SEC start is 7-0 as of the 2015-16 team).
• Texas A&M’s season-high five-game winning streak came after back-to-back losses before the holiday break.
• After the holiday, Tyrece Radford has scored 14 or more points in each game (team-high 17.6 average over last five games).
• The Aggies have made a mistake. The team had 20+ in 7 of the first 8 games of the season, including 24 or more 6 times. In the last 8 games, the Aggies have been held to 20 or less 7 times and less than their opponents 7 times.
• Since going on a five game streak of 6 points or less, Dexter Dennis has reached double figures in past two games – 17 vs. LSU, 13 vs. Mizzou. In a 5-game winning streak, Dennis has a team-best 6.8 rebounds.
• Hayden Hefner came off the bench to hit his first FG of 2023 and scored 12 points in the first half against Missouri on 3-of-3 shooting.

GETTING INTO JOVO

The Aggies rank No. 1 nationally in free throws per game and No. 2 in FT attempts. Texas A&M has made over 100 more free throws than seven SEC teams.

• The Aggies average 19.3-26.4 FTM-FTA per game. Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV are among the top five in free throws made in the SEC with 74 and 69, respectively. Both reach over 80.0% of their FTAs ​​- 81.2% for Taylor and 80.4% for Radford.
• Texas A&M has been at the line at least 25 times in 13 of 16 games and has hit at least 20 FTs seven times.

DO IT-ALL DYNAMO

Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IVThe 6-foot-6 do-it-all dynamo from Dallas, Texas ranks in the SEC’s top 10 in several statistical categories:

Statistical Average SEC Rank

Sections 15.3 No. 9
Assit 3.6 No. 9
Steals 2.0 No. 8
69 free throws in total No. 4
FT companies 85 in total no. 7
FT% 81.2% No. 5
Three points 2.3 No. 9
3-point attempts 98 total No. 7

UNIQUE
Tyrece Radford is the ONLY active 6-2 or shorter player in the NCAA to hit over 50.0% of his career field goals (at least 500 attempts).

Active 6′ 2″ or shorter Shooting Pct. Leaders
(at least 500 FGA)
Rk Player, School FGM-FGA FG%

1. Tyrece RadfordTexas A&M 442-854 .518
2. Jayden Saddler, Saint Peter’s 400-802 .499
3. Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown St. 351-712 .493
4. Brandon Whitney, Montana 268-551 .486
5. Marquise Kennedy, Loyola (Chi) 297-614 .484

HCIII as directors:

Junior F Henry Coleman III, along with women’s basketball player Jada Malone, represent Texas A&M as members of the SEC Basketball Leadership Council. The council serves as a channel of communication from student-athletes to the conference office on issues related to the student-athlete experience and well-being and provides feedback on proposed SEC and NCAA rules.

• Coleman is an avid fisherman and hunter. “Fishing and hunting teach you to be calm under pressure,” Coleman said. “When you put that hook on that fish, you can’t just start reeling it in. You have to be a little calm and work it. When you’re hunting and you see a buck right in front of you, you have to wait a little bit. I know you want to pull the trigger as soon as you see it, but you have to wait for the right time. It teaches you to be calm in the moment and stay in the moment.” (Source: 12thMan.com)
• Coleman’s father, Hank, was a standout defensive end at Virginia Tech and started on the Hokies’ 1995 Sugar Bowl Champion team. HCIII told the Bryan-College Station Eagle (January 7, 2022), “Enter Sandman is one of my favorite traditions. A&M football is fun, but Virginia Tech football is deep in my heart.”
• Coleman transferred to Texas A&M from Duke prior to 2021-22. Former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of HCIII, “I hope I’ll be there when he’s done playing to see who he becomes, not just as a player. I just think he’s going to be a very special guy in our country. He’s that. good.” (Source: USA Today Network, 11/18/2020)

OCCASIONAL NOTES

• This week’s SEC Player of the Week Julius Marble has combined for a team-high 58.7 percent of his FGAs (at least 10 FGAs) and has made 50 percent or more of his shots in 14 of 16 games.
• Easily the Aggies’ prolific shooter from deep, Wade Taylor IV has improved by 3 points to % almost 0.10 from last year. Taylor is hitting 36.7% in 2022-23, up from 27.8% as a freshman.
• The Aggies’ starting lineup has a definite Pelican State flavor, with at least two Louisiana natives in every game this season – Tyrece Radford (Baton Rouge) and Dexter Dennis (Baker). In addition, Solomon Washington (New Orleans) has joined them in the starting lineup four times.
• The Aggies have used the same starting lineup (Coleman III, Dennis, Marble, Radford and Taylor IV) in their last five games (all wins). 6-1 on the season five with the only loss coming to Boise State on December 3rd.
• Defensive duo Anderson Garcia and Andre Gordon have been the first players off the bench in the last four games.
• The Aggies’ 2022-23 roster was bolstered by six newcomers in the offseason – five transfers and one scholarship freshman. The title of the group was Dexter Denniswho was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Wichita State in 2021-22, and Julius Marble, which helped Michigan State advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Both have earned places in the starting five.
• Six Aggies have played more than 1,000 minutes leading the way Dexter Dennis and Tyrece Radford both of which have crossed the 3000 minute plateau.

FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES:

• SEC Network will televise the game with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Joe Kleine (analyst) on the call.

• The game will be broadcast on the Texas A&M Radio Network or locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton calling the action.