Texas A&M @ Vanderbilt preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) Vanderbilt 52, Texas A&M 69

Texas A&M will try to win for the first time away from home this season when it meets Vanderbilt on Saturday in an SEC game. The Aggies, whose away losses include three in the Orlando Invitational and to Arkansas 69-59 on Jan. 4 in their first true road contest, rebounded with a 57-47 victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday behind 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks from senior forward Josh Nebo.

"I felt like it meant a lot to this team to pick up their first win, especially with all the young guys,'' Nebo told reporters. "It's their first time coming through SEC play, and just for them to see and know that we can actually win is huge for our confidence going forward." Vanderbilt will try to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season after taking No. 5 Auburn -- one of two undefeated Division I teams in the nation -- down to the wire in an 83-79 road setback Wednesday. “I’m extremely proud of my team, especially since we had a young team on the road who responded,” Vanderbilt junior guard Saben Lee told reporters after scoring a career-high 27 points. “There’s a lot of stuff to build on from this, but we’re not at all pleased to just be playing with them -- we go out and want to beat whoever is opposing us.” Texas A&M has won three straight meetings, including 69-52 in the 2019 SEC Tournament behind a career-high 29 points from Savion Flagg.

TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (7-6, 1-1 SEC): Nebo paces the team in scoring (11.8 points per game), rebounding (7.8) and blocks (2.8), and narrowly missed his third straight double-double Tuesday. Flagg, a junior guard who averages 11.1 points, has scored 10 or more in six of his last nine games, missing double figures by a total of four points in the other three contests. Senior guard Wendell Mitchell has averaged 11 points in two SEC games, raising his season average to 7.7.

ABOUT VANDERBILT (8-6, 0-1): Sophomore forward Aaron Nesmith leads the SEC in scoring at 23 points per game and has recorded nine 20-point contests while totaling at least 14 in every game this season. Lee averages 16.6 points and with Nesmith forms the highest-scoring duo on a major conference team. Freshman guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (10.8 points, 4.6 assists) scored four points versus Auburn after totaling 33 in his previous two games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Commodores lead the SEC in 3-point shooting at 39.3 percent with Nesmith leading the way at 52.2.

2. The Aggies are last in the SEC at 57.8 points per game and an assist-turnover ratio at 0.7.

3. Vanderbilt is one of three schools (UNLV, Princeton) to make a 3-pointer in every game since the inception of the line for the 1986-87 season.

PREDICTION: Vanderbilt 68, Texas A&M 58