Coming off a 55-48 win against UC Riverside on Sunday, Stanford welcomes North Carolina A&T to Maples Pavilion tonight. The game can be heard live on KZSU.
The Cardinal (5-2) is looking to extend its winning streak to three before hitting the road for a pair of games that should tell us a lot about what to expect from this young team in Pac-10 play. Stanford plays at 2010 national runner-up Butler on Saturday and at Oklahoma State in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series on Tuesday. While it's only natural for Johnny Dawkins' players to be excited about playing a nationally televised game in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Cardinal hasn't proven it's the type of team that can afford to look past anyone.
Just in case you were thinking about looking past North Carolina A&T, here are a few notes about the Aggies:
- North Carolina A&T (5-4) has played six of its first nine games on the road, including trips to nationally ranked Ohio State and Florida. The Aggies lost those two games by a combined score of 207-112, but they certainly won't be intimidated by the name on the front of the Cardinal's jerseys. A&T is coming off a 74-58 loss at Mississippi State.
- The Aggies scored a season-high 100 points in a win against Division III UNC-Wesleyan in November. That's not especially noteworthy in and of itself, but it provides an opportunity to mention that Wesleyan's teams are known as the Battling Bishops.
- Senior Thomas Coleman leads the Aggies with 15.3, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. Coleman is also making 64 percent of his shots.
- A&T's distinguished alumni include Jesse Jackson and Al Attles, a former player and coach for the Philadelphia and San Francisco/Golden State Warriors.