No. No. 13 Aggies take on No. 4 Houston Cougars at Fertitta Center

HOUSTON – The No. 13 Texas A&M men’s basketball team opens its 2024-25 season with a charity exhibition with the No. 4 Houston Cougars at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27 at UH’s Fertitta Center.

INFORMATION FOR A CHARITY:

Proceeds from the game will benefit the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund, which helps those affected by the storm. Tickets for the match can be purchased here.

The Greater Houston Disaster Alliance is a partnership between the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Houston, both 501I(3) nonprofit organizations. As of October 2, the fund had raised nearly $6 million to help those in need.

Fans can join the Cougars and Aggies in donating to the Recovery Fund by clicking here (https://disasteralliance.org/give/)

TV INFORMATION:

The game will stream on ESPN+, with Matt Thomas (play by play), former Phi Slama Jama-era standout Reid Gettys (analyst) and Austyn Iven (reporter) describing the action.

ESPN+ is a standalone streaming service that requires a subscription ($) separate from your TV provider credentials (YouTube TV, DirecTV, AT&T UVerse, Comcast, etc.). It can be accessed via the ESPN app on smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices (such as Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, etc.) or via watchespn.com. If you do not have the login details of a TV provider you can sign up for ESPN+ here.

AGGIES VS. COUGARS:

With less than 100 miles between the Texas A&M and UH campuses, the two teams have played more than 85 times since first meeting just after World War II. The Aggies and Cougars faced each other twice last season, with UH earning a narrow 70-66 victory in a neutral-court game at the Toyota Center in December and then ending the Aggies’ 2023-24 season in overtime in the second round of the NCAA tournament in March. In the all-time series, the Cougars have a 55-32 lead over the Aggies.

AGGIES AT A GLANCE:

The Aggies return seven of their top eight players in scoring and minutes from a team that won more than 20 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2023-2024.
The Aggies finished 2023-24 with an overall mark of 21-15 as they advanced to the second round of the “Big Dance.”
The Aggies ranked No. 13 in the 2024-25 preseason Associated Press Top 25, matching the highest preseason billing in program history. Billy Gillispie’s 2006-07 squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 was also ranked No. 13 in the first AP poll of the year. .
Leading the way for the Aggies is two-time first-team All-SEC pick Wade Taylor IV, college basketball’s only player to record 500+ points, 100+ assists and 60+ steals in each of the past two seasons.
Also returning is the SEC’s top rebounder from 2023-2024, Andersson Garcia, who finished the year with 327 rebounds, breaking the 42-year-old college standard of 317 set by Claude “The Crockett Rocket” Riley in 1981-82.
Other top players include Jace Carter (16 starts in 2023-24), Solomon Washington (20 starts in 2023-24), Henry Coleman III (73 career starts), Manny Obaseki (started final eight games of 2023-24) and Hayden Hefner (18 starting in 2023-2024).
The Aggies added three impact transfers in guard Zhuric Phelps (leading scorer at SMU), Pharrel Payne (leading shot blocker at Minnesota) and CJ Wilcher (leading scorer at Nebraska), along with high school standouts Chris McDermott, Andre Mills, Janusz Ratowski and George Turkson Jr.