The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide (17-5, 12-1) look to close in on a SEC regular-season title as they travel to face struggling Texas A&M Aggies (8-7, 2-6) on Thursday. The Aggies haven’t played since Jan. 30 because of COVID protocols and their last SEC win came on Jan. 13. Originally scheduled for Wednesday night, tipoff was pushed back because of the ice storm in Texas to 3:00 p.m. ET at Reed Arena in College Station and will be televised on SEC Network.
The Aggies upset Alabama as 11-point underdogs last year with a 74-68 road win and have won three straight in the series. Alabama’s last win in College Station was a 71-70 win as an underdog in 2018. While Texas A&M has won four of the last five, the series is tied 5-5 in the last 10 meetings.
Bama Back on Track
After struggling to start the month, Alabama is back on track with two straight wins heading into this matchup. Last time out, they throttled Georgia 115-82 and set a school record for most points in a conference game. With five conference games left on the schedule, Alabama has a three-game lead in the loss column over Arkansas and LSU.
Alabama’s offense ranks 24th in the nation in scoring at 80.8 points per game and 43rd in rebounding with 43.1 per game. They shoot 36.6 percent from 3-point range and rank seventh in the country at 10.9 made three’s per contest. The defense ranks 11th in 3-point defense at 28.5 percent and 41st in FG percentage defense (40.3%).
The Tide has six players scoring between 7.8 and 13.9 points per game, led by guard Jaden Shackelford. Guard John Petty Jr. averages 13.4 ppg while forward Herbert Jones leads the Tide at 5.9 rpg to go with his 11.9 ppg.
In the historic blowout of Georgia on Saturday, the Tide drilled 18-of-30 from beyond the arc while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. Jones led the way with 21 points while guard Joshua Primo added 19, and Shackelford scored 18 points.
Aggies Return from Break, Rusty or Rested?
Thursday’s game is the first for Texas A&M in 18 days and their first home game in 22 days. The team has not announced which players have been cleared to resume team activities, but they have been practicing this week despite both the COVID situation and the blizzard in Texas.
The Aggies offense ranks 310th in the nation in 3-point shooting (30.2 percent) and 284th overall from the field at 41.7 percent. They also rank 329th in the county at 63.5 points per game. The defense has kept the Aggies in games as they allow just 65.1 points per game, 55th in the country, and are +1.5 in rebounding on the season.
Forward Emanuel Miller leads the Aggies with 14.8 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. Guard Quenton Jackson (9.5), guard Andre Gordon (9.3), and guard Jay Jay Chandler (8.4) balance out the scoring.
The last time the Aggies took the court was Jan. 30, with a 68-61 win at Kansas State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Chandler led the way with 14 points while Miller scored 12 and Gordon added 10. The Aggies gave up 10 3-pointers in the win but made 22-of-26 from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Wildcats by five.
Betting Line and Pick
Alabama is 13-8-1 ATS this season while the Aggies are 5-10, and the visitors are 2-0-1 when favored by double digits. The Tide have scored at least 80 points in six of their last eight wins, a number the Aggies have surpassed just twice this season. Texas A&M needs to control the pace to have any chance of keeping this game close, but that will be easier said than done against a Tide team hitting on all cylinders.
FREE PICK: Alabama by double digits
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