Texas and Texas A&M are finally butting heads again in one of college athletics' two major sports, but the two sides won't exchange barbs in Austin or College Station or even on middle ground like Dime Box.

Nope, the first bad-blood reunion in nearly four years in either football or men's basketball will take place on a resort island in the Atlantic Ocean, about 185 miles east of Miami and somewhere north of Cuba.

It's a start, anyway, for the Aggies and Longhorns in renewing old acquaintances. A&M and UT meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday on AXS TV in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis basketball tournament on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

"I'd be lying if I told you it wasn't a big game," A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.

In other words, plenty of Aggies and Longhorns fans will be gathered together again, only in front of televisions instead of surrounding a field or court (save for the lucky ones in the Bahamas).

The Aggies exited the Big 12 in the summer of 2012, and the two schools haven't played in men's hoops since the winter of that year. They haven't played in football in four years - Nov. 24, 2011, to be exact, in the regular-season finale won by the Longhorns 27-25 in College Station.

More Information Access to AXS Wednesday's Texas-Texas A&M basketball game will air on AXS TV at 6 p.m.. Where to find that channel in the Houston area: AT&T U-verse: Ch. 1106 Charter: Ch. 770 Comcast: Ch. 673 Consolidated Communications: Ch. 770 DirecTV: Ch. 340 Dish: Ch. 167 Grande: Ch. 880 Verizon Fios: Ch. 569

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Well-known tradition

Forward Connor Lammert is in his fourth and final season with UT but has never played against the Aggies. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 137-85.

"We know the tradition of the rivalry," Lammert said. "We all watched those games growing up."

Like Lammert, A&M guard Alex Caruso is a senior who's never tipped off against the Longhorns. That's not to say he hasn't seen them up close. Caruso served as an A&M ball boy when the likes of UT's Kevin Durant and A&M's Acie Law engaged in memorable showdowns nearly a decade ago.

"It was always heated," Caruso said of stark memories of the rivalry. "Those were always the most important games of the year, the most anticipated."

Just as in football, when kicker Justin Tucker drilled a game-winning field goal as time expired, Texas had the last laugh in basketball against its former conference rival. The Longhorns and then-coach Rick Barnes defeated the Aggies 61-51 in Austin and 70-68 in College Station in the winter of 2012.

That was Kennedy's first season as A&M coach, and by the fall of that year, the Aggies were representing the SEC in basketball action.

"I was excited to come here and get a chance to wear my maroon jacket against coach Barnes," Kennedy said. "I didn't get to do that but one year, and I haven't beaten Texas. This is a big game for me and for our team, and it's a big game for our school."

More important to A&M's long-term fortunes, the Aggies (4-0) this week eased into the Top 25 (at No. 25) for the first time in nearly four years. That, as much as yarns about old rivalries, earned the attention of first-year UT coach Shaka Smart.

"For me, it's a matter of how can our team take a step," said Smart, 1-1 oh-so early in his Longhorns tenure. "This is an important game for a lot of reasons, most importantly because it's our next game."

Asked who serves as UT's biggest rival these days, Smart responded: "I'm still figuring that out."

Hopes to keep it going

Kennedy, an assistant at A&M for a brief time in the old Southwest Conference days, said ideally the two sides can one day soon start playing a game a season.

"Our hope is to be able to play in the state of Texas in the future," he said. "I'd like to do it one game here and the next year there. Kind of like we're doing with Baylor."

The Aggies renewed their basketball acquaintance with former Big 12 foe Baylor last season, losing to the Bears 77-63 on Dec. 9 in Waco. A&M and Baylor play in College Station on Dec. 19.

For now, though, all eyes Wednesday night will be on a court far from Austin, College Station or Waco. One with a pristine beach nearby, not the Colorado or Brazos River in the distance.

"I wish we could play the game here or there, so (Aggies and Longhorns) could come and watch it," Caruso said. "There's a lot of excitement and a lot of history behind it."

San Antonio Express-News staff writer Mike Finger contributed to this story.