Men's Basketball | 12/17/2022 1:29:00 PM

STREAM/TV: A&T's game against Texas Southern will be played on ESPNU, and its game against Norfolk State will air live on ESPNU. 

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 in Las Vegas for the Boost Mobile HBCU Challenge created by NBA superstar and HBCU graduate Chris Paul. 

· The Aggies will compete in an HBCU basketball event for the second straight season after they traveled to Newark, N.J. last season to compete in award-winning actor and producer Michael B. Jordan's QQQ Invesco HBCU Classic. 

· The Aggies dropped a game to the Howard Bison during the event. 

· A&T will open with Texas Southern on Saturday. The two teams have not met since December 2000. Meanwhile, the Aggies and the Norfolk State Spartans had many battles against each other. 

· A&T is coming off a 74-46 loss to No. 5 Houston in which the Aggies trailed 29-21 with four minutes remaining in the first half before the Cougars went on a 19-0 run that extended into the second half. The run helped the Cougars pull away. 

· A&T will be looking for its first win away from Corbett Sports Center when the weekend of games begins. The Aggies are 0-4 on the road and lost a neutral site game to Gardner-Webb on Nov. 19. 

· Three of their four road opponents have been the Big 10's Iowa Hawkeyes, the Big 12's Iowa State Cyclones and the fifth-ranked Cougars. 

· A&T has started the season looking for its 3-point shot. The Aggies have taken 245 3-pointers this season, which ranks 25th in the nation in attempts per game.

· The Aggies are shooting 33.5 percent from 3-point range and have made 82. They are 47th in 3-pointers made per game nationally and second in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). 

· Kam Woods has been the leader behind the 3-point arc. It has helped him become the Aggies leading scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game to rank third in the CAA. 

· Woods makes three 3-pointers per game, which ranks 35th nationally and first in the CAA. 

· 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 TEXAS SOUTHERN 

· Texas Southern's schedule has been a brutal one. It is the 50th toughest schedule in the nation. 

· Thus far, it has included Texas Tech, Houston, Auburn and defending national champion Kanas. 

· The Tigers beat the Pac-12's Arizona State Wildcats in overtime on November 13 in Tempe, Ariz., 67-66. 

· The Tigers have not played in 13 days. Their last time out, they defeated North American 95-47. 

· Kehlin Farooq led the Tigers with 20 points and nine rebounds. Zytarious Mortle added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Joirdon Karl Nicholas added a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double. 

· Davon Barnes leads the Tigers in scoring at 15.1 points per game. He did not play against North American but had a combined 52 points in TSU's previous two games. 

· Nicholas averages 8.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and has two double-doubles this season. 

· Texas Southern is led by head coach Johnny Jones in his fifth season. He has led the Tigers to the last two NCAA tournaments. He holds a 78-60 record at TSU. 

· Jones has made previous stops at Memphis, North Texas and LSU. His career record is 373-294. 

SCOUTING NORFOLK STATE 

· Norfolk State will open the event against archrival Hampton. 

· The Spartans are one of the best teams in the MEAC. They have put together four straight winning seasons and are coming off two consecutive MEAC tournament championships. They have two 20-win seasons within those four consecutive winning seasons. 

· The Spartans are on a two-game winning streak coming into the game against Hampton. They are coming off an 81-75 win over Bowling Green in Echols Memorial Hall in Norfolk, Va. 

· Caheim Brown led the Spartans with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. He added four assists on 8-for-12 shooting. 

· Kris Bankston also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting. 

· Joe Bryant Jr., who had 17 against Bowling Green, leads the Spartans in scoring at 15.1 points per game. 

· Bankston averages 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. 

· The Spartans are led by Robert Jones, who is in his 10th season. Jones has led the Spartans to seven postseason appearances, including two NCAA tournaments. He is 175-131. 

The Series                  

· The Aggies and Texas Southern will play for the third time, with the Aggies leading the series, 2-0. 

· The Aggies and the Spartans will meet for the 50th time, with Norfolk holding a 28-21 advantage.