A pair of SEC teams take to the parquet floor in the Magnolia State. The Texas A&M Aggies are on the road as they make the trip to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs Wednesday night. Texas A&M was dropped 68-54 at home by #9 Tennessee in their previous contest on Saturday. Mississippi State earned an 84-81 road victory over Vanderbilt in their previous contest Saturday. The all-time series between the programs is even at seven victories apiece with the Aggies taking an 87-75 home victory in the most recent matchup on February 22, 2020. That snapped a four-game Mississippi State win streak in the series.
Texas A&M Aggies Trying to Get Back on Track
Texas A&M suffered their second straight defeat as they were knocked off by #9 Tennessee at home their last time out. The Aggies fell to 6-4 overall and stand 1-3 in the SEC with the defeat. Texas A&M gave up an early 8-0 run to trail 18-9 and never got back in the game. The Aggies trailed by seven at the half and then saw the second half open with a 7-0 Tennessee run to leave them in a 44-30 hole. Texas A&M never made a charge the rest of the way and ended up with the defeat. The Aggies shot 34 percent from the field, including eight of 23 from three-point range, and allowed Tennessee to shoot 58.6 percent in the game. Savion Flagg led Texas A&M with 12 points off the bench in the loss.Highlights from the Aggies' 68-66 victory over Auburn πΉπ pic.twitter.com/Ju2WIkMEIN
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) January 2, 2021
The Aggies score an average of only 66 points per game this season coming into this contest, putting them just 292nd in the nation in scoring offense. Texas A&M pulls down 33.4 rebounds per game on the year and dishes out 12.3 assists a night. The Aggies are 71st in the nation in scoring defense as they allow 65.3 points a night. Emanuel Miller leads the team with 17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. Quenton Jackson is the only other player in double figures with 12 points per game this season. Andre Gordon, Savion Flagg, Hassan Diarra, Jay Jay Chandler, Hayden Hefner, Kevin Marfo and Jonathan Aku are critical pieces for coach Buzz Williams. Texas A&M is shooting 43.2 percent from the floor as a team. The Aggies splash 6.4 three-pointers a night but are connecting on just 29.8 percent from beyond the arc. Texas A&M is converting just 71.9 percent of their chances at the charity stripe on the year.
Mississippi State Bulldogs Look to Maintain Momentum
Mississippi State earned their second straight win and their fifth in the last six games as they edged Vanderbilt on the road. The Bulldogs improved to 8-4 overall and stand 3-1 in the SEC, leaving them one game behind Alabama for the top spot in the conference. Against Vanderbilt, Mississippi State trailed by as many as seven in the first half before rallying to take a one-point lead at intermission. In the second half, the Bulldogs led by 11 with 11:01 to play and led by six with two minutes to play. Mississippi State did just enough at the charity stripe to preserve the win. The Bulldogs shot a blistering 60.8 percent from the floor, including four of seven from three-point range, and overcame missing 10 of their 28 free throw attempts. Iverson Molinar led the Bulldogs with 24 points and eight boards in the victory.ππππ¦π§π¦ ππ‘ π§ππ π£πππ‘π§ π€@AbdulhakimAdo & @ToluSmith1 combined for 26/42 points in the paint and 16/34 rebounds against Vandy.#HailStateπΆ pic.twitter.com/Fdtdc2ilwz
— Mississippi State MBK (@HailStateMBK) January 12, 2021
The Bulldogs are 121st in the nation in scoring average with 75.2 points per game on the season. Mississippi State is 52nd in rebounding by collecting 40.4 boards per contest and hand out 12.9 dimes per game, which is 208th in the nation. The Bulldogs have been decent on the defensive end, ranking 101st in scoring defense by allowing an average of 66.9 points per game. Iverson Molinar leads the team with 19.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game this season. D.J. Stewart contributes 18.6 points a night while Tolu Smith chips in 13.2 points plus 8.8 boards per contest. Jalen Johnson, Abdul Ado, Javian Davis, Deivon Smith, Quinten Post and Cameron Matthews are all looked at for solid minutes. Mississippi State is shooting 46.8 percent from the floor as a team on the year. The Bulldogs are knocking down 6.2 triples per game while shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. Mississippi State has been brutal at the free throw line this season, hitting just 63.2 percent of their chances.
Team Trends
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The top trends for this contest are:
- Aggies are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games overall
- Aggies are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600
- Bulldogs are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS loss
- Bulldogs are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games
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