After routing Northwestern State 109-68 Friday, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team faces an early season test in a Puerto Rico Tip-Off matchup against the Dayton Flyers at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Coliseo Roberto Clemente.
Dayton kicked off the season with a 76-52 win over Alabama A&M Friday in Dayton, Ohio. Head coach Archie Miller returns 10 players from last season’s Elite Eight squad that defeated sixth-seeded Ohio State, third-seeded Syracuse and tenth-seeded Stanford in the NCAA tournament.
For the Flyers, senior guard Jordan Sibert was selected to the All A-10 first team and junior forward Dyshawn Pierre was selected to the All A-10 second team.
Sibert finished the 2013-2014 season averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting 43 percent from behind the 3-point line. Pierre shot nearly 50 percent from the field and averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is an eight-team tournament that features three 2014 NCAA Tournament teams — Dayton, New Mexico and the defending national champion Connecticut.
The winner of the A&M-Dayton matchup will move on to the second round to face the victor of the Charleston-Connecticut game at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
The Aggies will play a third game Sunday at a time yet to be determined.
Thursday will be the second-ever meeting between A&M (1-0) and Dayton (1-0). The Flyers hold the 1-0 advantage in the series with an 81-68 win over a Melvin Watkins-coached Aggie squad on Dec. 21, 1999.