GAME NOTES: Both the Texas A&M Aggies and the Baylor Bears will try to extend winning streaks on Tuesday night when the teams meet up for a non-conference clash at the Ferrell Center.

Since losing its only game of the season in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off against Dayton (55-53), Texas A&M has reeled off five straight wins to pull to 6-1 on the season. The Aggies most recently edged out Arizona State on Saturday, 72-71, and this matchup will mark their first true road contest.

Baylor lost in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational to Illinois, 62-54, but has since improved to 7-1 with back-to-back wins over Texas Southern (75-49) and Vanderbilt (66-63). The Bears are 4-0 at the Ferrell Center and have won eight in a row in Waco dating back to last season.

These old conference rivals have met 205 times before in the Battle of the Brazos, as the series is referred to. Texas A&M has a 127-78 advantage, although Baylor has won five straight.

The Aggies faced an early 13-point deficit in their latest game but battled back to capture a one-point win on a Kourtney Roberson free throw with five seconds to play. They made 50.9 percent of their field goal attempts on the night and only turned the ball over eight times, while ASU was plagued by 17 miscues. Alex Caruso was the catalyst in the comeback. He not only scored a game-high 23 points but he also tallied six rebounds, six assists and six steals. Jordan Green and Jalen Jones scored 13 points apiece in the winning effort.

Texas A&M's early-season success is mostly thanks to its outstanding play on the defensive end of the court, as it allows just 60.4 ppg on 38.3 percent field goal shooting while boasting positive rebounding (+5.7) and turnover (+4.7) margins. Its offensive production has been stellar as well (.465 FG percentage, 72.9 ppg), with Jones (12.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg), House (11.8 ppg) and Caruso (10.6 ppg, 6.1 apg). Seven others net at least 4.4 ppg for the deep squad.

The Bears had their hands full with a difficult road game their last time out, but even after their double-digit advantage was erased late in the second half by Vanderbilt, they regained control with a 6-0 burst and held on for the three-point win. They shot 45.3 percent from the field, including 10-of-18 from 3-point range, while the Commodores made only 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. Royce O'Neale was especially hot from long range (4-of-5) on his way to a game-high 22 points. Taurean Price chipped in with 19 points.

On the season, Baylor is one of the few teams that play better defense than Texas A&M, and it ranks ninth in the nation in points allowed (52.6 ppg) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (.350). Its modest scoring offense (67.8 ppg) is still plenty good enough for a comfortable +15.1 scoring margin. Prince (13.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and O'Neale (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) both shoot greater than 52 percent from the field and can stretch the floor with 14 3-pointers apiece. Rico Gathers is a nightly double-double threat with 9.0 ppg and 10.3 rpg. Kenny Chery (10.3 ppg) has missed four games with a foot injury and is questionable to return on Tuesday.

In what's expected to be a slow-paced, low-scoring game between two physical teams, expect Baylor's homecourt advantage to be the deciding factor against an Aggies squad that has yet to face a road atmosphere.