The No. 7 Texas A&M will return to the hardwood Tuesday night where they will take on Arizona in Phoenix at 8 p.m. The Aggies are off to a hot start this season, their 7-0 start makes them one of just 13 teams that remain undefeated.
A&M comes into the game after defeating UT-Rio Grande Valley last Thursday, 78-60. Junior forward D.J. Hogg continued his dominant start to the season in the game, posting his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hogg’s ability to rebound the ball has seen much improvement this season, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game as opposed to 5.1 rebounds per game last season. Hogg credits this improvement to increased effort and focus on grabbing the ball off the board.
“[It’s just been] more effort and getting in the right position, watching the ball and where it goes. I’ve got a pretty good sense of where it’s coming off, being in the gym a lot and watching balls when people miss. It’s just being in the right spot in the right time,” Hogg said in an interview with TexAgs.com.
Junior guard Admon Gilder also had a strong performance against UTRGV, finishing the game with 17 points, including netting 3-of-5 from behind the arc.
Arizona enters the game with a (5-3) record and is coming off an overtime victory over UNLV. The Wildcats started the season ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll, and moved up to No. 2 in Week 3 of the season. However, Arizona then dropped three-straight games to in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, which knocked them out of the Top 25.
Despite falling out of the rankings, the Wildcats are not a team to overlook. Junior guard Allonzo Trier leads the Wildcats in scoring with 23.9 points per game. Trier is a sharpshooter that has found success from behind the arc and via knocking down jump shots. Trier enters the game against the Aggies coming off a 29 point game against UNLV in which he played 43 minutes.
Wildcat freshman center Deandre Ayton has also made his presence felt this season, averaging 20.4 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game. Ayton has been dominant in the paint thus far, utilizing his 7-foot-1 frame to get to the rim. Ayton enters the match after scoring 28 points against UNLV.
Tuesday’s game will be the fourth team from the 2017 NCAA Tournament that the Aggies will have faced in the opening weeks of preseason play.
“We’re going to go at them [Arizona] too, just like they’re going to go at (us). We’re going to see who comes out (on top),” Hogg said to TexAgs.com
The game is set to tip off at 8:00 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network Plus.