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After the Texas A&M men's basketball team disappointing showing Saturday against No. 12 Florida, with the Gators blowing them off the court with a 20-4 run to start the game, the Aggies look to rebound in a home game against former SWC rival Rice Thursday.
The loss knocked Texas A&M out of the polls for the first time this season, as the Aggies have dominated most of their non-conference competition en route to an 8-2 record, despite star forward Khris Middleton missing most of the year while recovering from knee surgery.
The Owls return most of the line-up of a team that finished 14-18 last season under fourth-year head coach Ben Braun.
They are led in scoring by two juniors -- 6'7 220 forward Arsalan Kazemi and 6'3 195 junior guard Tamir Jackson -- each of whom average over 14 points a game.
Rice is off to a 7-4 start this season, but most of those wins have come against low-major competition, as their only high-major opponent, Iowa State, beat them by 27 points.
The 7:00 PM game will be televised regionally on Fox Sports Southwest.