Around Aggieland (11/30)

After a trio of Maroon & White victories over the weekend, the fish bowl's own Richard Zane joined TexAgs Radio to share another the latest from around Aggie Athletics. Monday's edition of Around Aggieland heard updates from the gridiron and the hardwood.

Football (6-1)
No. 5 Texas A&M took care of LSU on Saturday night, 20-7. It was the Aggies’ fifth-consecutive victory.

It was announced on Sunday afternoon that this weekend’s game with Auburn will kick off at 11:00 a.m. CT on ESPN, immediately following College Game Day.

The College Football Playoff committee’s second rankings of the season will come out on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Aggies were ranked No. 5 in the initial rankings.

• AP Poll: No. 5
• Coaches Poll: No. 6

Senior linebacker Buddy Johnson was named a Butkus Award semifinalist on Monday morning. The Butkus Award honors the best linebacker in college football, and the Butkus Foundation honors the top linebackers at three different levels of college football.

• The finalists are expected to be announced December 7 with the winner being announced in early 2021.
• LSU’s Jabril Cox, Alabama’s Christian Harris and Arkansas’ Grant Morgan were among the 16 semifinalists.

Johnson was also named the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday morning. The senior from Dallas had nine tackles, one pass breakup, and an interception that he returned for a touchdown vs. LSU.

Sophomore defensive end DeMarvin Leal was named the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Lineman of the Week on Monday morning. Leal made seven tackles, had two quarterback hurries and one tackle for loss vs. LSU on Saturday.

Men’s Basketball (1-0)
The Aggies opened the 2020-2021 season with a 82-53 victory over New Orleans on Sunday afternoon.

• Senior guard Quenton Jackson scored a career-high 28 points, shooting 11 of 13 from the field, including 4 for 5 from 3-point range.
• Freshman guard Hassan Diarra scored 14 points in his collegiate debut and added six steals, the most by an Aggie in a single game since Alex Caruso’s six vs. Kansas State in 2015.
• Diarra, Hayden Hefner, LaDamien Bradford and Jaxson Robinson made their collegiate debuts, while graduate transfer Kevin Marfo made his Aggie debut.
• Buzz Williams, Jackson and Andre Gordon spoke to the media following the win.

A&M is back in action on Wednesday, December 2, against the Tarleton State Texans as coach Billy Gillispie makes his return to Reed Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. 

Women’s Basketball (2-0)
No. 13 Texas A&M defeated No. 19 DePaul on Saturday, 93-91, in a top-20 road contest.

• Kayla Wells scored a game-high 22 points
  • Wells nailed two free throws with 4.9 seconds to play, giving A&M a 93-90 advantage.
  • Aaliyah Wilson fouled DePaul’s Lexi Held with 0.9 seconds left to prevent a 3-point attempt and seal the victory.
• N’dea Jones scored another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

A scheduling change was announced on Sunday afternoon. The Aggies will now face the Lamar Cardinals on Wednesday, December 2, at 2:30 p.m. CT. A&M was originally scheduled to play Texas Southern at 11:00 a.m., but the Tigers were unable to travel due to COVID-19.

• A&M-Lamar will stream on the SEC Network+.
• Texas A&M defeated the Cardinals, 77-61, in the season-opener on November 25.
• Gary Blair had this to say: “We are thankful to be able to play a game on Dec. 2. We appreciate Lamar and our Aggie Hall of Famer Aqua Franklin for stepping up and coming back to Reed to run it back another time.”