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OFF THE BENCH: Texas A&M is led by the SEC's leading scorer, sophomore Chennedy Carter. She, along with sophomores Kayla Wells and Ciera Johnson average 68 percent of the Aggies 70 points per game. Texas A&M is top heavy. However, the team is accustomed to winning despite lackluster performances from its bench. The Aggies are on a seven-game winning streak. During that span, Texas A&M is averaging five points a game off the bench. Missouri will have its hands full with Carter, but the bench shouldn’t be a concern for the Tigers. Sophomore guard Jada Wilson is the Aggies leading bench scorer. Wilson is averaging 2.1 points per game in conference play.

OFF THE BENCH: It was another no-show for Missouri’s bench against LSU. Freshman Akira Levy and sophomore Emmanuelle Tahane combined for eight points in the 10-point loss to the Tigers. The rest of the bench went 0-9 from the field and failed to get to the free throw line. It's hard to consistently succeed if no one is producing off the bench. However, redshirt-freshman Haley Troup’s struggles stand out due to her hot start to SEC play. Troup has four points on 1-10 shooting from the field in her last 53 minutes of play. She is 1-9 from three in the past four games, which brings her three-point shooting down to 31.7 percent. This drought cannot last forever, Troup leads the bench in made threes this season. She needs to come out connecting from deep for the Tigers to stay within striking distance against Texas A&M.

TIPOFF: 6:00 p.m. Central

WHERE: Mizzou Arena

TELEVISION: SEC Network

RADIO: KTGR 1580 AM

1. Survive Chennedy Carter. There are only 20 women in the nation who average 20 or more points. Chennedy Carter is one of them. She averages 21.8 points per game, which is first in the SEC and ninth in the nation. Since Texas A&M’s loss to LSU on Sunday, Jan 6, Carter is averaging 23.7 points a game. However, she is shooting 37.1 percent from the field during that span.

That’s where Missouri could exploit Carter. She will get her points, but the goal for the Tigers defense is to make her night as inefficient as possible. Carter is 12th in the nation in field goal attempts and is willing to jack up shots. Missouri should throw multiple defenders her way and give her several different defensive looks. It's the only way to survive a potential onslaught from Carter if it takes her 20 or more shots to get her points.

The only problem with that is Carter’s ability to get to the free throw line. She is tied with Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee for first in the SEC in free throw attempts this season. Carter went 7-20 from the field against Ole Miss on Sunday, but got to the free throw line 17 times and finished with 28 points.

Her primary defender must pressure without fouling because Carter is a 72 percent free throw shooter. I’ve got my fingers crossed that senior Sophie Cunningham is never matched on her for that very reason.

Honestly, Missouri should just pray Carter has a bad shooting night. It would be exciting to watch Carter at the peak of her powers on Thursday night. However, it would ultimately end badly for Missouri fans.

2. Cunningham and Smith Play Like Stars. Cunningham and Smith, along with great shot selection help the Tigers succeed on offense. Missouri is second in conference play in field goal percentage and eighth in scoring offense.

The Tigers seemed to forget that and their roles in the double-digit loss to LSU and it all starts with leading scorers Sophie Cunningham and Amber Smith.

I must sound like a broken record, but Cunningham finishing with six shot attempts in 31 minutes is ridiculous. She was face guarded and blanketed in the second half. However, stars find a way to get it done and Cunningham is a star.

So, it can't happen to have her shoot twice in the second half of a game Missouri desperately needed her to take over.

Cunningham should have expanded her role due to Smith struggling offensively. She finished with 10 points on 4-13 shooting and eight rebounds. The stats are decent, but she was awful. Smith plays out of position and that reared its ugly head on Monday. Most of Smith’s misses were layups. They were shots that she normally makes. They were shots Missouri can't afford her to miss.

This isn't new though. Smith is averaging 7.6 points and shooting 33 percent in three games against SEC Top-25 opponents.

This is the Tigers first home game against a ranked opponent this season and I expect both players to respond accordingly. These are Missouri’s marquee players. They need to come up big against Texas A&M, especially after the loss to LSU.

This matchup brings two of the top three scoring defenses in the SEC against each other. Carter has proven that regardless of the defense she will get buckets. Cunningham and Smith need to bring that same energy on Thursday night.

3. Bring Effort. There are two Missouri teams. There is the squad that showed up in a dog fight against the Lady Vols. Then the team that got outplayed by South Carolina and Kentucky, as well as losing heartbreakers to Florida and LSU. It doesn’t matter if Missouri pulls out a win or loses by double-digits. The Tigers must strike first in this matchup. I would rather see Cunningham go out swinging and forcing shots than be passive. I want Amber Smith to continue to bang inside and draw contact than settle for mid-range jumpers. Levy and Troup must be aggressive off the bench. Tahane and Hannah Schuchts have to play bigger than they are down low.

The effort also extends to the mental side of basketball, as Missouri’s careless turnovers have reached new heights. The Tigers had 17 against LSU, which led to 17 points. That’s back-to-back games with 17 turnovers and 88 turnovers in the past five games. The numbers are staggering, but what makes it worse are how bad the turnovers have been. Players passing the ball directly at defenders, traveling violations, and struggling to complete defensive possessions with rebounds. It’s a medley of ways to lose a basketball game.

Basically, I want to see Missouri leave everything on the floor against the Aggies. The Tigers performance against LSU left so much to be desired from this team. It's desperation time in Columbia, throw everything at Texas A&M.

LSU was 12-8 overall and 3-5 in the SEC, but on Monday night the Tigers dominated Missouri. Missouri led by seven with 7:40 left in the second quarter and Cunningham had 9 points on 3-4 shooting. Then that lead fell to two points at halftime and LSU outscored Missouri 40-28 in the second half.

It was a collapse that rivaled the one against Florida. It was like the Gators put on LSU jerseys at halftime and decided to take over in the third instead of late in the fourth quarter.

I bring up the Florida loss for several reasons. Missouri controlled the first half in both games, Cunningham fouled out in both, and both performances were an embarrassing display of execution and composure late in the game. Missouri went 2-2 in the SEC after the Florida loss. I hoped that the team learned their lesson. Obviously not. The SEC is loaded and there aren’t any easy games left on Missouri's schedule.

There is a silver lining for the Tigers. Missouri responded to that debacle with a 61-35 drumming of Georgia four days later. The Tigers are 1-2 against ranked opponents in SEC play, but those games were all on the road. Missouri is much better within the confines of Mizzou Arena.

However, Missouri fans could also think about Texas A&M’s dominant 82-63 victory over the Tigers in the 2017-18 regular season finale. Carter dropped 23 points and Missouri’s duo of Cunningham and Smith finished with 25 points.

It all falls on which Missouri team shows up against the Aggies. Missouri could lay down like it did against South Carolina and Kentucky or fight like the Tigers did against Tennessee earlier this season.

Do people even remember that victory? It feels like forever ago.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this game will be competitive. The Tigers fall to 5-5 in conference play after a lopsided home loss to Texas A&M.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 67, Missouri 55

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carter finishes with 25 points and leads the Aggies to victory.