Texas A&M will try to run its winning streak to eight games when it faces Missouri on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
The Aggies (14-2, 3-0 SEC) are coming off a 67-51 victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday. They are catching the Tigers (7-8, 1-2) reeling from their 87-43 loss at Arkansas on Wednesday.
After going 24-24 in Buzz Williams’ first two seasons at the school, the Aggies are trying to break out in Year 3 of his regime.
“I think our guys are beginning to gain traction in what we’re trying to do and the identity that we’re trying to have,” Williams said. “And it’s hard to do it. It’s hard to know where you’re going when you’ve never been there.”
Texas A&M features a balanced offense, with six players averaging between 8.2 and 13.2 points per game. The Aggies played all 12 scholarship players against Ole Miss, and their bench outscored the opposing bench for the 15th consecutive game.
Forward Henry Coleman III has been their go-to player in SEC play, with an 18.3 average.
“I think that we’re a hungry team,” said Coleman, who scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds against Ole Miss. “We’re a team that’s still young. I think we’re all learning as a team how to be the best version of Texas A&M, and I think that’s something that we’ll hopefully be able to learn quickly.
“In every game, we learn something new. If we continue to keep growing and learning as a team and individually, I think we’ll hopefully achieve our end-of-season goals.”
Missouri scored a 92-86 upset of then-No. 15 Alabama in its previous home game. Then the Tigers collapsed against Arkansas, missing 22 of 25 shots and committing 11 turnovers in the first half.
After scoring 30 points against Alabama, Missouri forward Kobe Brown was held to six points at Arkansas.
“We came in, let that (Alabama) victory get to us,” Missouri guard Javon Pickett said. “We’ve just got to continue to go into every game how we went into the last one.
“We’ve just got to go out there and get our game plan, play aggressive.”
–Field Level Media