GAME NOTES: The 14th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies will host the Rice Owls this afternoon in a non-conference matchup. Little has gone right for Rice this season, a statement that is backed up by the team's 3-7 record. Fortunately, the Owls were able to get one of those three victories in the most recent outing, a 70-65 decision over TCU on Saturday. Clearly, however, today's clash marks a major leap in competition level. Texas A&M has won its last five games to improve to 12-1, including 10-0 at home. The Aggies are coming off Saturday's 83-54 thrashing of Florida A&M, and all five wins during the current streak have come by more than 20 points. Texas A&M owns a 104-81 edge in the all-time series with Rice.

Generating offense has proven to be a major problem area for Rice, as the team is only averaging 59.8 ppg on 37.9 percent shooting from the floor, including 28.9 percent efficiency from three-point range. The Owls have even struggled a bit from the foul line, as their 63.1 percent accuracy from the charity stripe could certainly stand some improvement. They have already committed 201 turnovers through 10 games, helping to explain the 3-7 record. Patrick Britton leads Rice with 11.3 ppg, and the only other double-digit scorer on the roster is Rodney Foster with 10.0 ppg. In the five-point win over TCU on Saturday, Lawrence Ghoram exploded for 26 points and 10 rebounds. Foster had 14 points in that game, but he committed a staggering total of 14 turnovers. Britton managed 13 points and Paulius Packevicius pulled down 14 rebounds for the Owls.

Texas A&M has played extremely well at both ends of the floor this season. Offensively, the club is averaging 78.4 ppg on 52.5 percent shooting from the field, including 40 percent from three-point range. At the defensive end of the court, the Aggies are limiting foes to 58.3 ppg on 35.8 percent shooting from the field. They are outrebounding opponents by 12.1 rpg as well. Despite all of those positives, there is still room for improvement for Texas A&M. The club is shooting a lowly 59.2 percent from the foul line and has committed 27 more turnovers than the opposition. Josh Carter leads the Aggies with 13.6 ppg, and Joseph Jones checks in with 11.1 ppg. Rounding out the team's trio of double- digit scorers is DeAndre Jordan with 10.1 ppg. Carter scored 20 points in the victory over Florida A&M last time out, and Jordan tallied 15 points in that contest. The Aggies shot 52.5 percent from the field and earned a 44-26 rebounding advantage.

It doesn't take a big-time basketball fan to identify the overwhelming favorite in this tilt. Expect the Aggies to jump on top early and never look back.