NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — The Texas A&M men’s basketball team takes on Xavier for the National Invitation Tournament Championship on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT inside Madison Square Garden.
Scouting the Aggies
The top-seeded Aggies (27-12) are coming off a dominant 72-56 victory over Washington State on Tuesday to advance to the finals of the NIT for the first time in program history. Through the first four games of the tournament, A&M has won each game by double digits and is outscoring its opponents by 14.5 points. The Aggies had an astonishing 58 points in the paint as they connected on 48.5% of their shots, including 58.1% in the second half. The Aggies' 58 paint points were more than WSU scored in the game (56).
Quenton Jackson leads the team at 14.6 points per contest. Jackson has led the team in points 18 times this season and has scored in double-figures 31 times. Henry Coleman III has dominated in the paint, averaging 11.1 points, and 6.2 rebounds per game. Tyrece Radford has led the team in rebounds in four-straight games, and averages 6.2 boards. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native also averages 10.7 points.
Scouting Xavier
The Musketeers enter the game with a 22-13 ledger and advanced to the finals after defeating St. Bonaventure, 84-77, on Tuesday. Xavier is led by Jack Nunge, who averages 13.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Paul Scruggs adds 11.7 points, while Colby Jones averages 11.4 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds. Xavier registered wins over Cleveland State, Florida and Vanderbilt to reach the semifinals.
With A Win
The Aggies are seeking to end their season with a victory for just the second time in the last 49 seasons. The Aggies also closed the COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season with a win (77-69 over Arkansas).
A victory would give Texas A&M men’s basketball its first postseason tournament title of any kind since the 1987 Southwest Conference Tournament when Shelby Metcalf’s eighth-seeded Aggies swept through No. 15 TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor to earn the SWC’s automatic NCAA bid.
Follow the Action
The game may be seen on ESPN with John Schriffen, Fran Fraschilla and Myron Medcalf on the call. Authenticated subscribers can access the game through the ESPN app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs, and other connected devices.
Additionally, the game airs on the Aggie Radio Network or locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton calling the action.
