Texas A&M is pulling out all the stops for Tuesday’s marquee game against No. 11 Tennessee.
The 25th-ranked Aggies have announced a blackout for the fans in the stands, telling the crowd to wear black for the game located inside Reed Arena.
Reed Arena is a compact, loud arena that packs the fans on top of each other. The capacity for Texas A&M’s Reed Arena is 12,989 spectators.
https://t.co/nt4sheJ8IN pic.twitter.com/fMYpKuWjWk
— 12th Man Photo (@AggiePhotogs) February 19, 2023
The Aggies’ social media accounts have been strongly pushing the blackout throughout the week, the same way that Tennessee promotes something like Checker TBA or Checker Neyland.
tuesday 6pm 🗓️
pack reed 👍
wear black 🖤 pic.twitter.com/pxD8Q4wjgH— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) February 19, 2023
More from RTI: No. 11 Tennessee at No. 25 Texas A&M: How To Watch, Key Stats, Betting Odds, Prediction
#BlackOutReed ⚫️⚫️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/U7iOy7lxFU
— Reed Rowdies (@ReedRowdies) February 19, 2023
The blackout adding to the rowdy atmosphere is something that Tennessee is well aware of heading into the game on Tuesday night. While Texas A&M is ranked ahead of Tennessee in the SEC standings at No. 2, the No. 25 Aggies still very much need this win over No. 11 Tennessee to cement their place in the NCAA Tournament projections throughout the month.
“Coach [Rick Barnes] says it all the time: We are the game,” Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark said on Monday. “We go into a lot of people’s gyms and we’re who they want. They circle the schedule. Like we’re going to play Texas A&M, they’re second in this league, but they’re on the bubble. They’re having a blackout (at the arena). They want us. We could help them get in the tournament. You know what I mean?”
Texas A&M is riding a nine-game home winning streak heading into the Tennessee game, including an undefeated record against SEC teams in College Station. The Aggies’ last home loss came against Wofford by a score of 67-62 on December 20. The Aggies are 14-2 overall since that loss.
Since then, the Aggies have defeated the following teams at home:
- Northwestern State (64-52)
- Prairie View A&M (86-66)
- LSU (69-56)
- No. 20 Missouri (82-64)
- Florida (54-52)
- Vanderbilt (72-66)
- Georgia (82-57)
- Auburn (83-78)
- Arkansas (62-56)
No. 25 Texas A&M will host No. 11 Tennessee on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. ET. ESPN will have the television broadcast.
