Texas A&M vs Auburn: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
Texas A&M and Auburn meet in another exciting SEC matchup; can the Aggies score a necessary upset win or will the Tigers take care of business at home?
TV schedule: Wednesday, March 4, 7:00 pm ET. ESPN2
Arena: Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama
Barring an amazing run through the conference tournament, Texas A&M (14-14) will not be an NCAA Tournament team. Buzz Williams is still in the beginning stages of rebuilding this program and they just haven’t shown that they can win big games quite yet. They lost to both Kentucky and LSU last week, though that did follow a three-game winning streak. However, do the Aggies have a real chance in this one?
This Aggies squad is slightly better than last year, led by senior forward Josh Nebo (12.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Nebo put up 21 points in the Aggies’ most recent win, a nice performance against Mississippi State. Senior guard Wendell Mitchell (9.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) is a small guard with some impressive offensive performances while junior guard Savion Flagg (10.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) just had 17 points at LSU.
Texas A&M is 141st in KenPom and 124th in the NET rankings, clearly one of the SEC teams that aren’t in the at-large conversation anymore. The offense struggles mightily, but they do sit at 77th in defensive efficiency. The Aggies are among the worst teams in the nation at grabbing defensive boards and shooting free throws, an awful combination against talented SEC rosters.
On the other side, Auburn (24-5) looks to rebound off their road loss to Kentucky this past Saturday, hoping to take out some of that frustration on the Aggies. After a 15-0 start, Bruce Pearl’s team has struggled on the road in SEC play. They’ve only had two road games all season that they won in regulation, though they’ve consistently taken care of business at home.
There are new faces that weren’t part of last year’s Final Four run, but there’s plenty of old blood on this Tigers team. Senior guard Samir Doughty (15.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg) might be the most dangerous, with his 23-point effort in a win over Kentucky as the most recent standout performance. Though recently injured, freshman forward Isaac Okoro (12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) has been a real force for the Tigers while senior center Austin Wiley (10.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg) is a nightly double-double just waiting to happen.
Auburn sits at 38th in KenPom and 27th in the NET rankings. This team will make the NCAA Tournament, but can’t afford to blow very winnable games like this one. This is a very solid offensive team that makes their free throws but struggles shooting consistently from long-range. Their very talented, though the offensive has slipped a few times, though typically away from their home arena.
For the Aggies, they can win this game if they catch Auburn off guard and hit their shots early and often. This offense was putrid early on but has been improving as the season progressed. For the Tigers, they just need to play a clean and loose game on both sides of the ball. They’ll need to do a better job at causing turnovers and preventing long-range shooting, but neither area is something Texas A&M exactly succeeds doing.
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This Aggies team has progressed as the season has gone on, but they don’t appear ready to pull off a shocker like this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very possible that Texas A&M catches fire, but I expect Auburn to come out fired up after that Kentucky loss. Defense will be key for the Tigers once again.