The No. 24 Texas A&M men’s basketball team will host No. 2 Alabama on March 4 at Reed Arena.
This will be the final home game for the Aggies and the team will face their toughest test yet in the Crimson Tide. Despite recent controversies regarding freshman star forward Brandon Miller, Alabama has the Crimson Tide have accumulated a record of 25-4 and sit atop the SEC with a conference record of 15-1.
The maroon and white will look to bounce back following a close loss against Mississippi State. Before facing Alabama, the Aggies will face-off against Ole Miss on Feb. 28.
A&M and Alabama have headlined this season as the top-two teams in the SEC and the winner of the conference will be decided after this week. In order for A&M to win, the team will need to beat Ole Miss as well as hope for an Alabama loss against Auburn to have a winner-takes-all showdown on March 4.
In order for the Fightin’ Farmers to win, the team will need to shut down the Crimson Tide’s best player in Miller. He’s had a terrific freshman campaign, especially offensively. He has a dangerous outside shot, with a 3-point percentage of 42.4% and is regarded as a top NBA prospect. He is one of the top-scorers in college basketball, including a 41-point game against South Carolina on Feb. 22 and is averaging 28 points-per-game in the Crimson Tide’s last three games.
A&M has been largely led by sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV, who has been averaging around 17 points-per-game during the Aggies’ last seven games and is averaging a career-best 16.1 points-per-game on the season. The team will look for him to score against the heavily favored Crimson Tide. The Aggies will also need to win the rebound battle to help their chances in winning, though they will come into the contest undersized as the Crimson Tides’ 44.5 rebounds-per-game outmatch the Aggies’ 36.8 rebounds-per-game.
The Fightin’ Farmers will also need to limit their foul trouble which plagued them during the Mississippi State game, especially from their bigger players. The Aggies need to have a strong offensive showing, especially in the second half which has been problematic at times for the Aggies. The maroon and white will look to play a game at their pace as well as keeping its turnovers to a minimum.
A&M is experiencing a comeback this season after being removed from the No. 24 spot in Week 2 by the Associated Press Top 25. Though the Aggies dropped a game against Mississippi State, they had a six-game winning streak which included a victory over No. 11 Tennessee and has landed the Aggies back at No. 24, a spot up from last week’s poll.
The maroon and white have won four-straight games against the Crimson Tide and will look to make it five this upcoming Saturday.
This game will serve as Senior Day and the Aggies’ last game before heading to Tennessee for the SEC Tournament starting on March 8. A victory against such a top-seeded team would be a positive momentum changer for the team heading into the tournament that will feature four top-25 teams besides the Aggies.
