Southeastern foes will collide when the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-9) face the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (18-5) at Coleman Coliseum. Action gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and will air on SEC and ES3.
The Crimson Tide come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, beating Missouri 80-71 on Saturday. Riley Norris was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The Aggies are coming off a close 81-78 loss against South Carolina on Saturday. Alex Caruso had a good game for Texas A&M, registering 16 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.
Over the last five games, Retin Obasohan has taken his game to another level for the Crimson Tide, averaging 21.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.8 three-pointers.
The ineffective offense of Alabama (267th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 101.0) will square off against the elite defense of Texas A&M (21st in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 94.6). The Aggies figure to have the advantage on that end of the court.
The Crimson Tide come into this game 13-9 Straight Up (SU) and 12-9 Against The Spread (ATS). The Crimson Tide are the 30th-best team in the country at blocking shots, averaging 5.2 blocks per game.
Across the court, the Aggies head into the game with records of 9-8-2 ATS and 18-5 SU. The Aggies will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their most recent 10 games, their scoring has dropped to 69.9 PPG, compared to 68.0 for the duration of the season. The Aggies are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 23rd in Division I at 1.47. Shifting to the other side of the court, the Aggies allow just 65.4 points per game, ranking them 33rd in the nation.
The conference rivals will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Texas A&M came out on top, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 3-3 SU. The Aggies hold the advantage ATS with a record of 4-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – TexA&M, ATS Winner – TexA&M
Notes
Alabama averages 68.0 points per game, placing the team just 216th in the nation. Texas A&M ranks 33rd in points allowed, giving up 65.4 points per game.
Alabama scores just 73.1 points per home game (ranked 191st). Texas A&M ranks 33rd in points allowed on the road, giving up 68.1 points.
In its last game, Texas A&M lost by a margin of three points. Alabama is 4-1 in games decided by a margin of three points or less. Texas A&M has a 3-2 record in close games.
Ranked 64th, the Texas A&M Aggies have an offensive rating of 111.9. The Alabama Crimson Tide rank 126th with a defensive rating of just 101.0.
Alabama has an average field goal percentage of 42.9%. Texas A&M is a superb 6-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas A&M Aggies both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Alabama is 247th and 180th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Texas A&M is 97th and 74th in these categories.
Ranked eighth in the nation, Texas A&M has an average of 18.1 assists per game. Alabama ranks lower at 316th with 11.1.
Alabama, the 30th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.2 per game. Texas A&M does worse, ranked 158th with 3.5.
The Texas A&M Aggies rank 73rd in offensive rebounds. The Alabama Crimson Tide rank 181st in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Though Texas A&M is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 22.8% (ranked 15th), Alabama has a solid 5-3 record SU when it has a TO% of 22.8% or greater.
