Texas A&M @ Arkansas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) Arkansas 73, Texas A&M 71

The emergence of Savion Flagg has helped Texas A&M win three of its last four games, and the Aggies hope for more from their sophomore guard as they visit Arkansas on Saturday for an SEC game. Flagg has averaged 21 points and eight rebounds in his last two contests, including 18 points and nine boards in Tuesday's 65-56 victory over Alabama.

"You can see him growing and maturing," Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy told reporters about Flagg. "We've got a lot of young guys and I think they're getting better and maturing at the right time." The Razorbacks lost 79-56 at Auburn on Wednesday for their fourth straight loss, falling behind 22-1 and allowing 17 3-pointers. "We've obviously had a lot of tough losses this season, but taking one like that - it hit us hard," Arkansas freshman guard Isaiah Joe told reporters. "We've just got to bounce back. We can't put our heads down now and give up. We've got to keep going." The Razorbacks prevailed 73-71 on Jan. 5 for their second straight victory in the series and fifth in six meetings behind 11 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore forward Daniel Gafford.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (11-14, 4-9 SEC): Flagg averages 12.4 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds, including 25 boards in his last three games. Junior guard Wendell Mitchell (club-best 13.1 points) is averaging 18.0 over his last six contests to raise his number in conference contests to 15.1. Sophomore guard TJ Starks (12.7 points, team-most 3.6 assists) scored four points versus Alabama after averaging 16.7 in his previous three contests.

ABOUT ARKANSAS (14-12, 5-8): Gafford leads the club in scoring (16.3 points), rebounding (8.8), blocks (2.0) and field-goal percentage (66.4) but has scored only 18 points in his last two games. Junior guard Jalen Harris (8.6 points, 5.5 assists), who leads the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.15, has recorded seven games with zero turnovers and five with one. Joe (13.8 points) leads the SEC with 91 3-pointers - a school record for freshmen and on pace to break the school standard for all players - but is 5-for-19 from beyond the arc in his last two games, lowering his season percentage to 42.3.

TIP-INS

1. Gafford is one of four players in Division I averaging at least 15 points and eight rebounds, and shooting at least 60 percent from the field, joining Duke's Zion Williamson, Gonzaga's Brandon Clarke and Furman's Matt Rafferty.

2. Aggies junior F Josh Nebo (8.3 points, 5.8 rebounds) is second in the SEC with 2.48 blocks per game.

3. Razorbacks sophomore G Mason Jones (14.0 points) followed his career-high 30-point game against Mississippi State on Feb. 16 with four versus Auburn.

PREDICTION: Arkansas 76, Texas A&M 71