Missouri @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2020 ) Texas A&M 66, Missouri 64

Missouri has just one win since the middle of January with three of the five losses by 22 points or more and another by 14. The Tigers will look for a better performance when they visit Texas A&M on Tuesday in search of a season split.

Missouri lost for the fifth time in six games with Saturday's 76-54 loss at South Carolina and is seeking its second true road win of the season (Temple on Dec. 7) and first in conference play. The Aggies, who tied a season high by forcing 20 turnovers, trailed Georgia by three at the half, but the deficit quickly ballooned to 12 after the break. The Aggies won the first contest between the teams 66-64 two weeks ago on the road when Missouri's Torrence Watson missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Texas A&M got 14 points from Savion Flagg and Josh Nebo as well as 12 from freshman Emanuel Miller, while the Tigers were led by 19 points and five 3-pointers from Mark Smith and 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists by Dru Smith.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT MISSOURI (10-11, 2-6 SEC): Sophomore Xavier Pinson led Mizzou with 12 points in his second start of the season Saturday; he tallied a season-high 16 points in a loss to Georgia on Jan. 28. Junior guard Dru Smith (11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists) had his streak of consecutive made free throws snapped at 34 - five shy of tying Mizzou's all-time record and the most free throws made in a row by a Tiger since 1995-96. The Tigers are last in SEC games in defensive efficiency (108.6 per 100 possessions) effective field-goal percentage (54.5) and 3-point percentage (36.0), but they lead the conference in steal percentage (10.6).

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (10-10, 4-4): Senior Wendell Mitchell (8.3 points) led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game with 13 points and recorded a team-high three steals. Freshman Andre Gordon (8.2 points) scored in double figures (10) for the fifth time in conference play and is second on the team in scoring during SEC action with 11 points per game. Leading scorer Josh Nebo (11.5 points, 6.9 rebounds) was limited to two points while junior Savion Flagg (10.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists) was held to five points, but the latter led the Aggies in rebounds with seven and also paced the team in assists (four) for the eighth straight game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Aggies lead the overall series against Missouri 20-18, winning nine of the last 11.

2. Missouri leads the SEC in free-throw percentage (77.4 percent), including a streak of 54 consecutive free throws versus Alabama and Texas A&M two weeks ago - breaking the NCAA record of 50 set by Wake Forest in 2005.

3. Missouri trailed South Carolina by 16 points in the first half but cut the margin to nine after the break before the Gamecocks pulled away.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 65, Missouri 62