Mizzou Tigers men’s basketball at Texas A&M Aggies: Prediction, time, TV, lineups
THE DETAILS
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Betting line: Texas A&M by 10
About Texas A&M (15-7, 4-5 SEC): The Aggies started SEC play with four consecutive wins, but have since dropped five games in a row. Three of those losses have come against ranked teams — Kentucky (64-58), LSU (70-64) and most recently Tennessee (90-80). Texas A&M is still without a Quad 1 win and has fallen off the NCAA Tournament bubble with its current skid, which it will be eager to reverse in front of a home crowd this weekend. The Aggies are still a scary defensive team though; they rank seventh in the country in both turnovers forced per game (18.09) and steals per game (10.6). KenPom ranks Texas A&M No. 66.
About Missouri (8-13, 2-6 SEC): The season continues to drudge on for the Tigers, who have lost four in a row and six of their last seven games. They’ve led by at least nine points in four of those losses, but have fallen apart down the stretch and repeatedly proven unable to close out games late. Most recently, Mizzou dropped a 66-65 result to Florida at home after holding just under a double-digit advantage with eight minutes left. Senior guard Javon Pickett was out for that contest with a head injury he suffered against Iowa State last Saturday; it remains unclear whether he’ll be available for this weekend’s matchup. KenPom ranks Missouri No. 134.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
P | No. | Texas A&M | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
G | 1 | Marcus Williams | 6-2 | So. | 9.4 |
G | 20 | Andre Gordon | 6-2 | Jr. | 8.0 |
G | 23 | Tyrece Radford | 6-2 | Jr. | 9.4 |
F | 10 | Ethan Henderson | 6-8 | Sr. | 2.9 |
F | 15 | Henry Coleman III | 6-8 | So. | 10.8 |
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
G | 5 | “Boogie” Coleman | 6-5 | Jr. | 10.2 |
G | 1 | Amari Davis | 6-2 | Jr. | 10.3 |
G | 12 | DaJuan Gordon | 6-3 | Jr. | 8.9 |
F | 23 | Trevon Brazile | 6-9 | Fr. | 5.4 |
F | 24 | Kobe Brown | 6-8 | Jr. | 12.7 |
PREDICTION
Missouri’s startling trend of giving up big leads and dropping close games started with its first game against Texas A&M this season.
In that Jan. 15 contest, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run out of the gates. They led for most of the game and were up 10 points midway through the second half before starting to unravel. Missouri lost 67-64 after allowing Texas A&M to shoot 51.7% from the field in the second half.
The Tigers will need to play a more complete defensive effort if they want a shot in this one, though they haven’t shown they’re capable of doing so. They’ll also need to take care of the ball and keep the Aggies off the offensive glass. In that first matchup, Texas A&M scored 14 points off turnovers and had 14 second-chance points.
If Pickett remains out, it’s hard to see Mizzou winning this one. He plays a key role in setting the tone on the defensive side of the floor and his absence made a noticeable difference against Iowa State and Florida.
KenPom gives Mizzou a 20% chance to win and the ESPN BPI has the odds at 9.4%.
Texas A&M 72, Missouri 62
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
