South Carolina @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 5, 2019 ) South Carolina 71, Texas A&M 54

South Carolina looks to follow up its buzzer-beating win over Kentucky when it travels to face Texas A&M in a Southeastern Conference contest Saturday. The Gamecocks snapped their three-game losing streak on Jermaine Cousinard's 3-pointer to beat the No. 12 Wildcats on Wednesday, while the Aggies come into this one off a difficult overtime loss to visiting LSU on Tuesday.

Cousinard's game-winning shot capped his career-high 26-point night in his first collegiate start as coach Frank Martin was trying to shake things up to snap the losing streak. Guard AJ Lawson leads the Gamecocks in scoring on the season with 13.9 points per game, but he's averaged just 7 points in SEC play, connecting on just 12.9 percent of his shots from the field. The Aggies' offense is paced by senior forward Josh Nebo, who leads the team in scoring (12.1 points), rebounding (7.9) and blocks (2.7). Freshman Andre Gordon has stepped up his offensive game in conference play, averaging 13 points, and is coming off a 17-point outing in the loss to LSU

TIME: 1 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (9-7, 1-2 SEC): It was fitting that Cousinard made the winning shot in the Gamecocks' biggest victory of the season, as Martin calls the redshirt freshman the heartbeat of the team. Cousinard was given the green light in his first-ever start, taking 22 shots in the contest, the most by a South Carolina player this season. Martin has talked about wanting a player to take control of the team and make it his, and after the game, he indicated he felt Cousinard could be the team's leader going forward.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (8-7, 2-2): Despite the loss to LSU, Texas A&M has been showing more consistency with its offense, scoring a season high in points against the Tigers with 85 and hitting 40 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies also finished with a season-low seven turnovers in the game, and they are hitting 44.1 percent of their shots in conference play. Nebo has been putting up solid numbers, but he's also been a solid leader for coach Buzz Williams to rely on in his first season on the job.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Sophomore F Keyshawn Bryant had a season-high 15 points in the win over Kentucky.

2. Texas A&M leads the SEC in scoring defense in conference games, allowing 63.8 points per game.

3. Nebo is second among active players in career blocks (252), just one behind Penn State's Mike Watkins going into the weekend.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 75, South Carolina 70