Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION -- The Padre Island Invitational and games against Arizona, Alabama and LSU highlight Texas A&M's 2008-09 non-conference men's basketball schedule.

The Aggies will open the regular-season at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 16) and Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 18) before playing host to the first two games of the Padre Island Invitational. A&M will play Jackson State in the first round game on Nov. 21 and North Carolina Wilmington in the second round on Nov. 25.

Like civilizations, all great basketball programs eventually fall.. replaced by an upstart newcomer. In this week's Rise & Fall series, we'll take a look at which BCS programs are rising, falling, or merely treading water. Up today, the:

BIG 12

They don't get to shake David Stern's hand. They don't get to show off new suits, try on their team hats, or get interviewed by Stephen A. Smith.  Occasionally, the television audience has to wait until the commercial break ends to see who was selected. They only get to listen to the analysts talk about them for about two minutes before they move onto the next pick. Yes...the life of a second-rounder isn't easy.

DeAndre Jordan

The 2008 freshmen class may go down in history as one of the most talented classes of all-time. They breathed life into dormant programs (Kansas State), filled holes for dominant teams (UCLA, Memphis), and filled highlight reels (USC). In many case, they lived up to their extraordinary hype, and benefited not only their schools, but themselves, in their time on campus.

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site.  Each day, CHN will feature a Picture of the Day, which might include a newsworthy, funny, or simply interesting subject. At the bottom will be a caption or headline that might be informative or amusing. The possibilities are endless!

Texas A&M Aggies

Big 12 (24-10, 8-8)

Seed: #9

West Region

RPI: 39

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

Three Stars of The Day

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances.  Either way, its our way of showing the love: