* A&M leads the series, 3-1, and has won three straight.The Aggies had a 69-65 win in their only other visit to Seattle in the second round of the 1982 postseason NIT.
* The teams last met in the semifinals of the 2007 NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Aggies broke away for a 77-63 victory and went on to beat Ohio State (70-47) to capture the title in Coach Mark Turgeon’s first season.
* A&M’s Donald Sloan, then a sophomore, started at point guard against the Huskies at the NIT and scored a team-high 18 points. Bryan Davis came off the bench to add 9 points and 6 rebounds. B.J. Holmes (3 points) and Nathan Walkup (0 points) also played. Current Huskies who played in the game were Quincy Pondexter (2 points), Venoy Overton (4 points), Matt Bryan-Amaning (6 points) and Justin Holiday (0 points).
* A&M is 4-22 against current members of the Pac 10 Conference, but has won two straight. The Aggies defeated Arizona (67-66) last year in College Station.

Key Game Notes
* Both teams are coming off home victories on Saturday. A&M beat The Citadel (71-50) and Washington downed Portland (89-54). The Huskies are 7-0 at home while the Aggies are 1-0 in true road games (80-68 win at SMU).
* The game is the final matchup in the 2009 Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series. The Big 12 has a 9-2 lead in series games this season. A&M is 1-1 all-time in the series, splitting with Arizona in 2007 and 2008. The Aggies beat the Wildcats (67-66) last year at home after losing in Tucson (78-67) in the inaugural series game in 2007.
* A&M is 2-1 against ranked teams this season, only the second time in school history the Aggies have beaten two nationally-ranked opponents in non-conference play. The 1978-79 team posted four non-conference wins against ranked opponents.
* A&M Coach Mark Turgeon is 37-4 in regular-season non-conference games at A&M, including wins against Minnesota, Clemson, Arizona, Washington, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU.
* A&M has won 13 straight games when its opponent scores fewer than 70 points, including a 9-0 mark this season.
* Senior Bryan Davis leads the Aggies in the "hustle stats" of rebounding, steals and blocked shots. Davis has averaged 2.5 blocks over the last six games.
* A&M is 0-2 when senior Derrick Roland has more than three fouls. A&M is 7-0 when Roland plays at least 25 minutes.
* Senior Donald Sloan has averaged 21.0 points over the last four games. He is making .474 (18-38) this season.
* Junior Nate Walkup tied his career high with 12 points against The Citadel, making a career-best 4-of-6 three-pointers.

About Washington
* The Huskies are the defending Pac 10 Conference champions. Last season, they finished 26-9 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Three starters return from that team.
* Washington has been ranked as high as No. 10 this season in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Huskies’ losses have been on the road at Texas Tech (99-92 in overtime) and to Georgetown (74-66) at the Wooden Classic in Anaheim. Both teams are now nationally ranked.
* The Huskies are in their eighth season under Head Coach Lorenzo Romar, who was a standout player at Washington in the last 1970s. Romar later served as an assistant coach at UCLA before becoming a head coach at Pepperdine and then Saint Louis.
* The Huskies’ are led by senior forward Quincy Pondexter (6-6), who is averaging 21.6 points and 8.2 rebounds. Sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas (5-8) adds 19.9 points. Pondexter is a top candidate for national player of the year honors.

The Citadel Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Texas A&M wanted to get back to playing the kind of defense it prides itself on Saturday night. The No. 23 Aggies accomplished their goal, allowing just 11 first half points en route to a 71-50 win over The Citadel. It was the Aggies’ first game since last Saturday’s 84-81 loss to New Mexico and their first win over The Citadel in the second meeting with the school. The Aggies used a dominant first half to put the game away--the Bulldogs didn’t get within 10 points after the first few minutes. Texas A&M (9-2) had six 3s by halftime, when they led 33-11, and scored the first seven points of the second half to stretch the lead to 29 points. Another run a few minutes later, keyed by six points from Sloan, saw Texas A&M outscore the Bulldogs 13-4 and push the lead to 53-20 with about 11 minutes remaining. The Citadel (6-6) was led by Cameron Wells with 28 points. He was the only Bulldog who shot well, making 11 of the team’s 18 baskets. The Bulldogs shot just 33 percent in their first trip to College Station and the first game against the Aggies since a 62-61 win in 1971. Texas A&M got a career-high four 3-pointers and 12 points from Nathan Walkup, and Khris Middleton added 11 points.The Aggies got in an early hole last week against the Lobos and were unable to overcome the deficit despite a late surge. This time they nipped an early deficit quickly and took this one over to cruise to the win. Turgeon made defense a focus in practice after his team’s performance against New Mexico. The Citadel led 4-0 before Texas A&M went on a 19-2 run with about 13 minutes left in the first half.

#23/RV Texas A&M Aggies
(9-2, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
#24/21 Washington Huskies
(7-2, 0-0 Pac 10 Conference)

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009
8:06 p.m. (PT)/10:06 p.m. (CT)
Bank of America Arena (10,000 cap.)
Seattle, Wash.

TELEVISION: Fox Sports (national)
Play-by-Play: Barry Tompkins
Analyst: Marques Johnson
Direct TV: Channel 643
Dish Network: Channel 416

RADIO: Texas A&M Sports Network
http://www.aggieathletics.com/multimedia/aggies-on-the-radio.html
Dave South, play-by-play
Colin Killian, commentary
Sirius Satellite Radio: 126