Auburn @ Texas A&M preview
Reed Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 4, 2020 ) Texas A&M 78, Auburn 75
Texas A&M and Auburn will look to get back on the winning track when they square off on Saturday afternoon in a key early season Southeastern Conference game in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (5-2, 0-1 SEC) return to play following a 77-54 loss at LSU to begin conference play on Tuesday that snapped their two-game winning streak. Auburn heads to the road on the heels of a 97-85 home loss to Arkansas on Wednesday that came after five straight victories.
Quenton Jackson led the Aggies with 17 points at LSU while Emanuel Miller added 14 in the loss. Texas A&M shot 38.2 percent from the field and managed to reach the free-throw line just 13 times, a season low.
Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said his team needs to be able to turn its good work on the practice court into execution at game time.
"Our consistency in training for a fight such as this has to improve so that the consistency comes to life in the figurative fight," Williams said. "We were OK the last 30 hours. It's got to be the whole time. That's what we have to work on."
Miller has been a force to be reckoned this season as he has recorded three double-doubles with at least 20 points and has also scored in double digits in every game he has played. Miller leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game and rebounds, and his 9.2 boards per game ranks first in the SEC.
Jamal Johnson scored a career-high 21 points for Auburn in the loss to unbeaten Arkansas. Allen Flanigan scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds for the Tigers in defeat, while Devan Cambridge made 5 of 6 3-pointers to account for his season-high 15 points. Jaylin Williams also reached double figures, scoring 13.
The Tigers committed 19 turnovers while forcing just 10, leading to a 27-11 Arkansas advantage in points off turnovers.
"They took better care of the basketball than we did," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's great to have the size and the length that we have, but only if you can utilize that size and length by blocking shots or helping more defensively.
"We do know what's ailing us. We've got to get guys to rotate over and help each other, take charges and block shots, strip and rip and make plays defensively."
Flanigan is averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game this season, bettering his average of 3.2 points last season. His difference of 11.1 is third-best in the SEC.
The Tigers have one of the youngest rosters in college basketball with 14 underclassmen -- six freshman and eight sophomores.
Saturday's contest is the 17th meeting between the two schools with Texas A&M holding an 11-5 all-time edge. The Aggies have won four out of the past five meetings against Auburn and six of the last eight.
--Field Level Media