Texas A&M men’s basketball steps into one of its toughest road tests of the season Friday afternoon, traveling to Tampa to face Florida State in the Battle of the Bay at Benchmark International Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2 as the Aggies look to extend their momentum after a pair of explosive wins.

The Maroon & White enter at 5-2, fresh off a 120-84 blowout of Mississippi Valley State — the second-most points ever scored in program history and the most ever at Reed Arena. Mackenzie Mgbako headlined the scoring with 19 points in his first significant action of the year, hitting three 3-pointers. Rubén Dominguez and Zach Clemence added 15 each as A&M posted its second straight game with 100-plus points.

Dominguez continues to be one of the nation’s premier perimeter threats. He ranks fifth nationally with 26 made threes and sits 14th in the country with 3.7 triples per game. As a unit, the Aggies carry elite metrics into Tampa — ranking 14th nationally in made 3-pointers per game (11.7) and second in the country in assists (21.4).

Defensively, A&M has been equally disruptive. The Aggies are second in the SEC in forced turnovers (17.9 per game) while sitting top five in steals (9.0) and turnover margin (+6.3). They’ve scored at least 19 points off opponent turnovers in six of seven games this season.

Depth has been another major advantage. A&M ranks second nationally — and leads the SEC — with 47.0 bench points per game, outscoring opponents’ reserves in every contest. Against Mississippi Valley State, the Aggies’ bench exploded for 66 points, the program’s best total this year.

Friday marks the fifth meeting between Texas A&M and Florida State. The Seminoles lead the all-time series 3-1, with A&M’s lone win coming in Tallahassee in 1956. Their most recent matchup came in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, a 57-50 Florida State victory.

Florida State’s win in 2011 ended two years of frustration of getting to the NCAA Tournament and falling short of winning a game.  The Seminoles lost an overtime thriller to Wisconsin, 61-59, in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament and fell 67-60 to Gonzaga in their first game of the 2010 Tournament.

But on this sunny afternoon in the Windy City, two current members of the Seminole coaching staff helped change history, and quite possibly the trajectory of the Florida State program.

“I remember going into the A&M game, and the Notre Dame game that followed, our scout team just torched us,” said Loucks.  “It’s (an NCAA Tournament game) such a different style; in these NCAA Tournament games you are playing teams you are just not used to.  Usually you have a pretty good feel for your conference, then you play a team like Texas A&M, and they press the entire game, and they fly around, and they shoot a ton of three’s, and they get up a down. It’s completely different from the games you are used to playing.”

How to Watch
TV: ESPN2 (Chuckie Kempf, Debbie Antonelli)
Time: 4 p.m. CT
Streaming: ESPN App

How to Listen – Aggies
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network
Local: 1550 AM

How to Listen – Seminoles
Radio: Seminoles Radio Network
Local: 100.7 FM