Texas A&M (17-6, 7-4 SEC) is attempting to end what has been a disappointing losing streak after falling to Missouri 86-85 in one of the more heartbreaking losses this season, surrendering 56 points in the paint, as the last two losses vs. Florida and the Tigers were mainly due to the size differential in the front court.
Playing in the SEC is never an easy task, and while the Aggies started out 7-1, including Quad 1A road wins over Auburn, Texas, and Georgia, the blowout out loss to Florida was due to poor shooting, while a the three-point road loss to Alabama, followed by Wednesday’s one-point loss to the Tigers proved that Texas A&M can’t be counted out of any game, but need to play much better defense moving forward.
Before hosing a winnable midweek matchup vs. Ole Miss, Texas A&M is back on the road to take on No. 19 Vanderbilt, facing a Commodores team that has both looked like a national championship contender and an average SEC team within the span of two weeks, and will be without it’s star guard Duke Miles for the fifth consecutive game, combined with guard Frankie Collins, who has been out since early December.
Duke Miles is second on the team in scoring (16.6 PPG), while Vanderbilt is 4-1 without him in the lineup, and is considering a 3-seed or higher in the NCAA Tournament. For Texas A&M, facing a similarly sized team should help the offense find some consistency, and it will be tasked with playing better perimeter defense, as the Commodores are shooting 36% from beyond the arc and nearly 50% from the field.
Texas A&M will face No. 19 Vanderbilt on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CT. The game will air on the SEC Network.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
