FACTS & STATS: Anaheim Convention Center (7,734) -- Anaheim, California. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: TAMU 2-0, Minnesota 3-0. Away Record: TAMU 1-0, Minnesota 0-0. Neutral Record: TAMU 1-1, Minnesota 1-1. Conference Record: TAMU 0-0, Minnesota 0-0. Series Record: Minnesota leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The Texas A&M Aggies and 22nd-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers go toe-to-toe in this evening's third-place battle of the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The Aggies are set to play their third ranked team in a four-day stretch. Texas A&M topped 19th-ranked Clemson, 69-60, in the first round of this event on Thursday before dropping a 73-66 decision to No.8 West Virginia in the semifinals on Friday. The Aggies are now 4-1 and will try to cap off this event with a winning record against ranked opponents.

As for the Gophers, they were surprised in the semifinals on Friday, falling 61-56 to the University of Portland. It was the worst performance of the season for Minnesota, which upended 12th-ranked Butler, 82-73, in the first round of this tourney. Now at 4-1 overall, the Gophers will try to salvage the final game of the event for a third place finish.

Minnesota and Texas A&M have met just one time previously on the hardwood and the Gophers won that clash by a 69-63 score back in 1979.

The Aggies struggled from long range (2-of-8) as well as at the foul line (18- of-31), meanwhile, WVU went 8-of-20 from downtown and 17-of-22 at the stripe in Friday's 73-66 decision. Texas A&M also coughed the ball up 16 times which resulted in 26 points for the Mountaineers. Donald Sloan and B.J. Holmes each tallied 18 points to pace the team in defeat, while Bryan Davis ripped down 10 caroms. Through five games, Sloan is averaging 17.4 ppg and 3.2 apg to lead the Aggies and Derrick Roland is a distant second with 11.8 ppg.

The Gophers turned in their worst offensive showing of the season, as they shot a dismal 33.3 percent from the field in a 61-56 loss to Portland on Friday. Minnesota also had issues from three-point distance (3-of-19) and at the foul line (13-of-22) and it even lost the battle on the boards, 42-33. Al Nolen paced the squad in defeat with 13 points and four boards, while Lawrence Westbrook and Devoe Joseph each had 11 points. For the season, Westbrook heads the club in the scoring department at 14.2 ppg, and Damian Joseph follows him with 12.4 ppg.

These are two evenly matched clubs, so a tight and hard fought affair can be expected. Go with the Aggies though, as they have a few more capable scorers to lead them to victory this evening.

Predicted Outcome

Texas A&M 69, Minnesota 65