Mississippi State @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Texas A&M 54, Mississippi State 80

Mississippi State visits Texas A&M on Saturday in an SEC game that could go a long way toward conference tournament seeding and earning recognition from the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Each club has won two straight games with the Bulldogs sitting tied for fifth - one game ahead of the Aggies - as seven teams are within two contests of each other from second place to seventh in the standings.

Mississippi State outlasted South Carolina 79-76 on Wednesday behind 18 points and six assists by Nick Weatherspoon. "I'm so thankful to the good Lord,'' Mississippi State coach Ben Howland told reporters. "I can't express that enough. I'm very blessed. This group of kids are such tremendous fighters and are so tough." Texas A&M won at Alabama 74-68 on Wednesday as Quenton Jackson, who was inserted into the starting lineup by coach Buzz Williams, delivered a career-high 20 points and went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. "He gets fouled at a high rate for our team," Williams told the media about the junior college transfer. “Because we're so deficient offensively, it's the only way we can cheat the numbers, is to see if we can hurry up and get to the bonus (foul situation)."

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

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (17-9, 8-5 SEC): Reggie Perry records team highs of 17.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as he bids to become the 12th player in school history to average a double-double, and shoots 50.6 percent from the field. Weatherspoon provides 12 points and a club-most 4.4 assists per game while D.J. Stewart Jr. (9.2 points) has averaged 14 over his last six contests. Tyson Carter (13.3 points) scored nine versus South Carolina after recording 26 in a 78-77 victory at Arkansas on Feb. 15.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (13-12, 7-6): Wendell Mitchell (nine points per game) scored 18 against Alabama and is averaging 13.4 over his last seven contests. Josh Nebo leads the team in scoring at 11.5 points while providing 6.5 rebounds and two blocks per game. Savion Flagg has reached double-figure points in three straight games and averages 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while freshman Emanuel Miller paces the team with 6.6 boards.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Bulldogs boast an SEC-best plus-7.6 rebounding margin while the Aggies are at minus-0.2.

2. Nebo and Penn State's Mike Watkins are the nation's active block leaders with 263.

3. Mississippi State has won four straight meetings, including 80-54 in the 2019 SEC Tournament in the last encounter.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 62, Mississippi State 61