After a heartbreaking loss on Saturday at South Carolina, Texas A&M looks to bounce back at home in a rematch vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide.
A&M is currently 10-14 overall and 3-9 in SEC play while Alabama sits at a 15-10 season record and is 6-6 in conference play.
The Aggies won the last meeting at Alabama off a 3-point buzzer beater from sophomore guard TJ Starks on Jan. 12. It was also A&M’s first conference win of the season.
“Hopefully we can stay out of that situation,” A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “We do not have to be in that situation and that we can win easier.”
Junior forward Savion Flagg is excited to get the South Carolina loss behind him after a 24-point and seven rebound performance on Saturday. It was Flagg’s best scoring performance since the South Alabama game on Nov. 23.
“We’re just going into the game with confidence that we can win with a good game plan and putting that [South Carolina] game behind us and obviously learning from it,” Flagg said.
Now the Crimson Tide travel to College Station with revenge on their mind as well as breaking their two-game losing streak. Alabama lost to Mississippi State by 19 followed by a 18-point home loss to Florida this past week.
Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads the team with 14.4 points per game along with sophomore guard John Petty with 11.2 points per game.
“Petty and Lewis shot it really well last time,” Flagg said. “[Dazon] Ingram hit two and those are the only guys that hurt us. Petty had five and we have to limit those.”
It has been no secret that A&M has struggled in perimeter defense this season. That along with poor defensive stretches in the final minutes of games have costed the Aggies dearly this season.
“Three [pointers] have been hurting us all year,” Kennedy said. “We’ve gone back and charted every 3 and it seems that teams are shooting the ball really well against us. We’ve got to do a better job at pressuring the ball and closing out with high hands. Sometimes we don’t finish off possessions with the maximum effort. It’s something that we’ve emphasized the last couple of games.”
According to NCAA.com, Alabama shoots just under the average of three-point shots made, making 34.2 percent of their shots against their opponents. The Crimson Tide shot 37 percent from 3 against A&M on Jan. 12.
In addition to A&M’s defensive struggles, it’s also clear that the team will not be leaning back on shooting from three point range. The Aggies have shot 30.9 percent from beyond the arc on the season, and shot 15.9 percent against the Crimson Tide earlier this year.
“We can’t rely on the 3 ball,” Flagg said. “We didn’t really shoot it well last time but we can get other things done around the paint.”
The Aggies face off against the Crimson Tide Tuesday at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network.