THE GAME	North Carolina A&T (4-4, 0-0 CAA) at Houston (9-1, 0-0 AAC)
LOCATION	Houston, Texas/Fertitta Center
DATE	December 13, 2022
TIP-OFF	8 p.m.
STREAM	ESPN+

 
STREAM: A&T's game against Houston will be streamed on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. Matt Pedersen will provide the play-by-play and Reid Gettys will be the analyst. 
 
RADIO: A&T's Spencer Turkin will bring the live action from Houston on 1400 AM and 96.3 FM. You can hear him online at tobaccoroadsportsradio.com. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES STORYLINES 
· The Aggies are finally back in action. A&T has not played a game in December yet, but that will change tonight when the Aggies face an AP Top-5 team in the Houston Cougars. 
· The last time the Aggies played was on Nov. 30 at Corbett Sports Center. 
· Last week, the Cougars were the No. 1 team in the country. Despite their loss to Alabama, the Cougars are still an excellent basketball team. 
· Houston made it to the Elite Eight last season before losing to Villanova. The year before, they reached the Final Four before falling to eventual champion Baylor. 
· The Aggies have never defeated an AP Top-25 team, losing their previous 28 games against the AP Top-25. 
· The Aggies are coming off an exciting 73-56 win over crosstown rival UNC Greensboro, where the Aggies used two consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Woods and hot shooting from Woods from the line to pull away from the Spartans late. 
· It marked the Aggies first win over UNCG in seven years; the Aggies first win over a Division I program this season and the first win over UNCG in five tries. Woods finished with 23 points. 
· The Aggies made nine 3-pointers against the Spartans and 76 3-pointers this season. A&T ranks 34th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game and ranks second in the CAA. 
· Woods leads the conference in 3-pointers made per game (3.0), and teammate senior guard Demetric Horton ranks fifth (2.50). 
· On the flip side, Horton leads the CAA in 3-point field goal percentage (.500), and Woods ranks third (.382). 
· The Aggies are looking for their first road win of the season. Their first two road games were against teams who received votes in this week's top-25 in Iowa and Iowa State. 
· Phillip Shumpert is the Aggies head coach on an interim basis. He took over the program for Will Jones in August. He missed three games with COVID but returned to earn the big win over UNCG. 
· Shumpert has been a significant part in helping the Aggies recruit some of their talent. 
· Shumpert took over on an interim basis in August. Shumpert has coached on many levels, including high school, Division II, junior college and Division I, and has head coaching experience on the junior college level for five years. 
 
SCOUTING THE HOUSTON COUGARS 
· Houston took over the No. 1 spot in the nation on Dec. 5. But the Cougars lost to then No. 8 Alabama last week 71-65. 
· After playing the Aggies, the Cougars will have another Top-25 opponent in No. 2 Virginia on Saturday. 
· Houston's average margin of victory is 24.2 points. They lead the nation in scoring defense (49.7) and field goal percentage defense (.319). 
· Additionally, they are top-10 nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.236, 3rd), scoring margin, blocked shots (5.9, 9th), turnover margin (+6.3, 9th) and turnovers (10.2, 10th). 
· Over the previous five seasons, the Cougars have the second-best winning percentage in the nation with a 152-31 record (.826). 
· Senior guard Marcus Sasser leads the Cougars and ranks seventh in the AAC, scoring 16.1 points per game. Sasser had just nine points in the loss to Alabama. 
· Jamal Shead scored 19 points against the Tide, and sophomore guard Tramon Mark added 10 points. Mark is second on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game. 
· Ja'Wan Roberts leads the Cougars in rebounding at 7.1 per game, and he averages 9.8 points per game. 
· Kelvin Sampson is in his 34th season as a Division I head coach. Sampson has had stints at Montana Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana and Houston. He is 707-342 (.746) as a head coach, with 18 NCAA appearances and two Final Four appearances.  
· Sampson is 208-71 as Houston's head coach, leading the Cougars to the Final Four in 2021. 
 
The Series                                   
· The Aggies and the Cougars have played once before, a 71-67 Houston win on Dec. 28, 2011, in Houston. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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