Texas A&M will travel to the SEC’s last place team, Missouri, to try and secure a convincing win to remain in the race for first place in the conference.
The Aggies (21-7, 10-5 SEC) trail the SEC’s top team, Kentucky, by only one game. While they are in third because South Carolina owns the tiebreaker, two teams trail behind by one game. Like last season, the top four seeds are not a given with three games remaining.
Missouri (10-18, 3-12 SEC) has lost 11 of its last 13 games. The Tigers’ only decent win this year was a 72-67 victory over South Carolina at home on Feb. 16.
The last matchup between the two took place Jan. 23 and saw the Aggies come out on top 66-53 at Reed Arena. Tyler Davis, however, did not play because of a precautionary measure. The team’s regular scoring duo of Jalen Jones and Danuel House led the way with 20 and 17 points, respectively.
Davis is averaging almost 14 points during A&M’s three-game winning streak. He also recorded his second double-double of the year against Kentucky and currently contributes over 11 points an outing for the team.
During A&M’s five-game losing skid, Davis was a factor, registering single-digit performances in four of the five losses. His recent play earned him SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors.
The Tigers have just one player averaging double-digits in scoring — freshman Kevin Puryear. The next-best player, Wes Clark, was dismissed from the team last week for academic failures. Sophomore guard Namon Wright stepped up in his absence, scoring at least 11 since the departure.
House has stuck to his averages but has not produced great numbers from the floor, shooting just over 26-percent in the past three wins — a marked difference from his 40-percent average this year.
Senior shooting guard Alex Caruso’s numbers aren’t flashy, but he continues to do the little things. He’s joined the 600-assist club in Wednesday night’s win — only the second Aggie ever to accomplish the feat. He remains at the top in assists and steals in the NCAA for current players, and still contributes by being the fourth-leading scorer this year.
While A&M faces one of the only SEC teams it beat by double-digits, Kentucky travels to Vanderbilt on the same day. A win for the Aggies could continue to mount pressure on the Wildcats.
Tip-off versus Missouri starts at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the game can be seen on ESPNU.
