After a three-game losing streak, Texas A&M men’s basketball defeated Missouri on Saturday in a road game to improve to 9-13 on the season and 2-8 in conference play. Now, the Aggies put their focus toward a matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday at Reed Arena.
Georgia travels to College Station in hopes to break a losing streak of their own after dropping the past four contests. The Bulldogs have a 10-13 season record and are 1-9 in SEC play. Their only conference win came against Vanderbilt on Jan. 6, who is winless in conference play.
Freshman forward John Walker III and junior forward Josh Nebo did not play on Saturday against Missouri. A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said Walker would be ready to play on Tuesday, while Nebo will be a game-time decision.
“Hopefully we will have [Nebo],” Kennedy said. “It would be a big help if we have him tomorrow because Georgia has a very physical front line.”
A&M’s first conference home win won’t come easy. The lineup for Georgia is one of the biggest in the SEC, with the shortest starter being just 6’4” in junior point guard Jordan Harris.
Sophomore forwards Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton both lead the team in points per game with 12.7 and 12.5, respectively.
Claxton, a 6’11” forward, has been a player that has consistently brought the ball up on the back-court for Georgia. He has been described as more of a point guard than a forward.
“We won’t let that affect us,” A&M junior guard Wendell Mitchell said. “We have a game plan for it and make sure we key on the person we really have to key in on.”
Between a tough loss at Ole Miss on Feb. 6 and a win on the road at Missouri, A&M has seen a positive trend in their play.
“When you’re poised you can execute down the stretch and do the things you need to do to win,” Mitchell said. “ I feel like during the Missouri game we did feel poised opposed to the Ole Miss game.”
In the second half of the Missouri game A&M, held the Tigers to just 29 points and scored 47. The Aggies will have to repeat their performance this weekend to secure the win at home.
Mitchell led a 12 point comeback at Missouri with 20 points and six rebounds, along with senior forward Christian Mekowulu and sophomore guard TJ Starks both contributing 15 points a piece.
The Aggies face off against the Bulldogs on Tuesday at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network.