Men's Basketball | 1/4/2023 10:00:00 AM

TV: The game will air live on the CBS Sports Network. John Fanta will handle the play-by-play, and John Giannini will provide the analysis. 

NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES STORYLINES 

• There may not be a better deal in life. Admission into North Carolina A&T's men's basketball game tonight against No. 23 College of Charleston at Corbett Sports Center is free.
• It will be a historic night for the Aggies. For the first time in program history, the Aggies will invite an Associated Press (AP) Top 25 team to #ClubCorbett. 
• It will also be the first time the Aggies have faced a conference opponent that is nationally ranked, as the Charleston Cougars come in as the No. 23-ranked team in the country. 
• A&T will get this historic game at home after being on the road for all of December. A&T has yet to play at Corbett since beating UNC Greensboro 73-56 on Nov. 30. 
• They played seven straight games away from home, going 2-5 in those games, with wins over Texas Southern in overtime and Saturday's win over Hofstra at the buzzer. 
• Included in the Aggies' seven games away from East Greensboro was a game against fifth-ranked Houston, a game against defending Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion Texas Southern, a game against two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion Norfolk State and the A&T's first two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) games in program history at Northeastern and Hofstra. 
• After losing to Northeastern on Thursday, the Aggies rebounded with an inspiring showing against Hofstra in an 81-79 win, where freshman Tyrese Elliott tipped in a Kam Woods miss at the buzzer. 
• Elliott's contribution to the Aggies win in Long Island was more than just the tip-in, however. Elliott scored the final four points of the game and hit a big 3-pointer to help the Aggies rally from a 13-point second-half deficit. Elliott finished with a career-high 12 points, but he was not the only freshman who played big. 
• Freshman forward Duncan Powell had a big-time week. It started with him scoring a career-high 17 points and recording seven rebounds on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 7-for-10 shooting from the line in the loss to Northeastern. 
• He followed that performance with career highs in points (18) and rebounds (12) at Hofstra on 7-for-9 shooting from the field for his first career double-double. 
• For the week, he shot 75 percent (12-for-16) from the field and 10-for-14 from the line, which aided him in winning CAA rookie of the week honors. Powell became the first player in program history to win a CAA weekly honor. 
• An Aggie veteran came through last week in Demetric Horton, who finished 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range in the win over Hofstra. 
• Horton ranks seventh in the nation and leads the CAA in 3-point field goal percentage (.506). Horton and Woods are tied for the conference lead in 3-pointers made (40). 
• 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 CHARLESTON COUGARS 

• The Cougars received good news on Monday when AP voters placed them in the Top 25 at No. 23. 
• Charleston's only loss this season came against the University of North Carolina, which was the No. 1 team in the nation at the time. Perhaps their most impressive win was a 77-75 triumph over Virginia Tech on Nov. 20. 
• The Cougars first two conference games resulted in a blowout win over Hampton on Thursday, 89-61, and an overtime win at Towson, 76-74, on Saturday. 
• Ante Brzovic led the Cougars with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 7-for-14 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 shooting from the line. 
• Towson's Charles Thompson had a chance to win the game in regulation with two free throws but only made one of two, sending the game into overtime tied at 69. Instead, Pat Robinson III won the game in OT for Charleston with two free throws. 
• The Cougars are a well-balanced team, ranking fifth in the nation in bench points, producing 33.7 points per game from their bench. 
• Five players average in double figures, led by Dalton Bolon at 12.3 points per game. Ryan Larson and Reyne Smith both average 11.2 points per game. 
• Robinson III and Brzovic are the other two Cougars averaging double figures at 10.7 points and 10.1 points, respectively.   
• Charleston received one first-place vote in the preseason poll, but voters predicted the Cougars to finish fourth. Smith earned preseason second-team all-conference honors. 
• Head coach Pat Kelsey leads The Cougars in his second season with the program. He is 31-16 as their head coach after leading Charleston to a 17-15 record last season. 
• He spent nine seasons at Winthrop, leading the Eagles to three NCAA appearances and a 186-95 record. He is 217-111 (.662) in 11 seasons as a head coach.  

 THE SERIES                 

• The Aggies and the Cougars have played twice previously, with the Aggies winning the first meeting 71-55 on Dec. 2, 1991, at Corbett. 
• The Cougars won the following season, 68-54, in Charleston on Jan. 4, 1993. 
• Thirty years to the day, they meet again in Corbett.