SEC: Tuesday’s Games To Have Big NCAA Tournament Impact

By Courtney Smith | Feb 24, 2015

LSU (19-8, 8-6) at Auburn (12-15, 4-10) 7 p.m. ET: The last time these two teams met was on Feb. 5 and Auburn had got the best of LSU, defeating the Tigers 81-77 inside Pete Mavarich Assembly Center. In that game, Antoine Mason scored a season-high 28 points and KT Harrell added 17. Junior college transfer Cinmeon Bowers had his way inside the painted square, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin combined to score 37 points and pull down 28 rebounds for the Tigers. Now, both players and the entire team are out to seek revenge against Bruce Pearl’s squad under third-year coach Johnny Jones.

After a tough road loss to hot streaking Texas A&M last Tuesday night, LSU had looked fatigued and out of breath heading into its final stretch of games that will determine whether or not the Tigers are worthy of a bid in this year’s NCAA tournament.

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LSU, behind Martin’s career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds, defeated the Florida Gators Saturday night 70-63 to stay in the hunt for March. It was a big game for Martin, who had combined to score just 22 points in the Tigers’ previous two games. Against the Gators, he went 8-for-15 from the field and 11-of-16 from the foul line with the 11 made foul shots a career-best for Martin.

Mickey added 13, which was all he needed to give with Martin showing off all of his offensive assets. LSU will go as far as its frontcourt of Martin and Mickey will take them. Without those two guys, the Tigers are not even close to a 20-win season.

LSU prepare to take on the Auburn Tigers Tuesday night inside Auburn Arena. Auburn is coming off a 110-75 beat down from No. 1 Kentucky and will look to get win No. 13 in front of its home crowd. The Tigers’ double-double machine, Bowers, will have to display a better outing after finishing with six points, five rebounds, and three assists against the Wildcats.

Texas A&M (19-7, 10-4) at 18 Arkansas (22-5, 11-3) 9 p.m. ET: Arkansas, under head coach Mike Anderson, is currently riding a six-game winning streak after defeating Mississippi State 65-61 on Saturday night. The Razorbacks have Kentucky coming up, but have to get past the Aggies first. Texas A&M has won three in a row and it’s because of Danuel House’s hot shooting from the field.

The Houston transfer has averaged 19.7 points during the Aggies’ three-game hot streak and his team will need him to continue shooting at a high percentage from the field. In its first meeting, Texas A&M lost to Arkansas 70-64, but House had a breakout game, scoring 25 points.

Both teams are not only playing for a spot in March, but they are also playing for a top seed in the Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball tournament. The Razorbacks trail the Wildcats by three games in the SEC standings, while the Aggies and Mississippi are one game back of Arkansas.

Texas A&M is looking to get to 20 wins for the first time since the 2010-11 season, the last season the Aggies made it to the NCAA tournament. Getting to their 20^th win won’t be easy inside Bud Walton Arena, where the Razorbacks have won 22 of their last 23 games.

Next: Dunk of the Weekend: LSU Tigers forward Jarell Martin goes dunk contest on Florida

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