Alabama vs. Texas A&M: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

Alabama and Texas A&M are two teams who desperately need a win for both their at-large resumes. Who gets the big win this weekend?

TV schedule: Saturday, March 3, 2:00 p.m. ET. ESPN2

Arena: Reed Arena in College Station, Texas

In the most recent edition of Bracketology, eight SEC programs were projected to get a bid. Two of them are playing in this game, but neither are safe in any way.

Alabama 17-13 (8-9) was a projected nine seed before the loss to Florida, a 21 point drubbing at home that was never close. The Crimson Tide scored just 18 points in the first 20 minutes, and shot 30% from the field. Collin Sexton, the team’s leading scorer on the season, had 14 points on 5/16 shooting.

It’s the fourth consecutive loss for Avery Johnson, who has to find a way to get the team’s once vaunted defense to return. In the six games before this losing streak, the team never gave up more than 73 points, That’s been the very minimum of this skid.

They take on Texas A&M 19-11 (8-9), a team projected as a seven seed as of now. The Aggies ended a three game losing streak of their own with winning their last couple of battles, including a 61-60 road win at Georgia. TJ Starks was the MVP of the game, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He also had four of the team’s nine total assists in the game.

Despite the inconsistencies, Texas A&M deserves credit for not having too many bad losses on their resume, with the exception of getting swept by LSU.

Next: March Player of the Year rankings

These two teams faced off in the very beginning of SEC play, with the Aggies getting stomped by the Crimson Tide rather easily. The final score was 79-57, with four players for Alabama scoring at least 16 points. That was then, and the momentum has completely changed in the Aggie’s favor, who continues the slide for Alabama on Saturday.

Prediction: Texas A&M 76 – Alabama 70