The Aggies are wrapping up a less than ideal 15-13, 7-9 SEC season as they pay a visit to the Missouri Tigers (7-21, 2-14 SEC) on Tuesday. The men will hope to get a victory as tournament play approaches.
“[We’re] going into a tough place — Missouri,” said A&M head coach Billy Kennedy. “It’s strange looking at their record, seeing how they’ve played and how many games they’ve lost at the end. Every game they’ve been competitive. We have to go in there and have the same approach we’ve had the last few games.”
A&M notched a 76-73 win over Mizzou earlier this season and is looking to capitalize again in Columbia. Freshman Robert Williams led the Aggies with one of his 10 double-doubles that boasted career-highs in both points and rebounds. The young rookie has quickly become one of the most impressive players in the SEC and the nation, ranking 14th in the country with 73 blocked shots.
“It’s nice to have [Williams] in tournament play, scrimmages and practice,” Kennedy said. “He’s got a special talent and he keeps getting better. I just want to be sure he finishes strong, healthy, and we enjoy every minute we have with him.”
Alongside Williams is rising star Admon Gilder who carded 20 points in the squads’ last meeting and is in the midst of a hot streak. The sophomore leads the team with 16.2 points per game over the last 12 games.
Gilder also continues to make for himself defensively ranking 31st in the nation with 2.0 steals per game.
“If we can get off to a good start every game, we should be fine offensively,” said senior transfer JC Hampton. “[Missouri] plays a lot of zone. I think we settle too much in the zone but if we stick to our game plan we’ll be fine.”
Sophomore Tyler Davis has continued to shine in the absence of classmate DJ Hogg, who is sidelined for the remainder of the season. Davis currently ranks 11th nationally in field goal percentage (62.7 percent) while Mizzou struggles in that department, ranked last in the conference. Davis and Williams however could face trouble in the paint where the Tigers are also last in rebounds allowed.
The squads hit the hardwood at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.
