Three weeks ago, Missouri held Texas A&M without a point for nearly nine minutes to start the game in Mizzou Arena. The Tigers led by 10 points with 10 minutes to play. Yet Texas A&M stormed back to pull out a three-point win.
It was the start of the trend for the Tigers and the end of one for the Aggies.
That marked the first of four Missouri losses in its past six games in which the Tigers have held at least a two-score lead late in the second half but managed to lose in regulation. That pattern played out again Wednesday, with Missouri squandering a three-point lead with less than 40 seconds to play against Florida, ultimately falling 66-65. In all, the Tigers have lost four in a row and six of their past seven.
For Texas A&M, meanwhile, the comeback victory over Missouri marked its eighth straight victory. The Aggies haven't won since, having dropped five contests in a row. They most recently lost 90-80 at Tennessee on Tuesday.
Thus, one team will have to snap its losing streak Saturday when Missouri travels to College Station. Here is everything you need to know to get set for the rematch between the Tigers and Aggies.
TIP TIME INFORMATION
Missouri (8-13) vs Texas A&M (15-7)
WHEN: 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
TV: ESPN 2
RADIO: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, Chris Gervino)
SERIES: Texas A&M leads 22-19
KenPom Prediction: Texas A&M 71-62
THE STARTING LINEUPS
BY THE NUMBERS
MIZZOU KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Take care of the ball. The one thing Texas A&M does very well is generate turnovers. That has been an issue all season for Missouri, including in the first matchup between these two teams. The Tigers turned the ball over 11 times in the second half compared to five for the Aggies as it coughed up the lead. On the season, Texas A&M ranks No. 11 nationally in turnovers forced and second in steal rate. Missouri needs to do a better job dealing with the defensive pressure it will face Saturday, not allowing it to turn into turnovers (and thus easy points on the other end of the floor) or disrupt the flow of the offense.
2. Stay in front of A&M's guards. Incredibly, in a game in which Missouri held Texas A&M without a point for nearly nine minutes, Cuonzo Martin was most upset about his defense after his team's loss to the Aggies last month. But he had a point. Texas A&M came back because it made nine of its final 12 shots. Seven of those nine were layups. The Aggies got those shots because Missouri couldn't stay in front of their guards. Marcus Williams, Quenton Jackson, Tyrese Radford and Hassan Diarra all scored at least seven points in the second half. The Tigers have been playing better defense of late, but stopping a point guard who has a knack for getting into the lane has been an issue at times. That was the case Wednesday, when Florida's Tyree Appleby scored all 17 of his points in the second half, 10 of them from the free throw line. If Missouri can improve its on-ball defense, it shouldn't have to worry about Texas A&M running away with this one. The Aggies have shot the ball poorly from three-point range of late, making just 24.6 percent of three-point attempts across their past six games.
3. Avoid the late-game lapses. Missouri has put itself in position to win several games lately, but the Tigers simply haven't been able to close out close contests. The cause hasn't always been the same — we've seen the offense go cold, the defense struggle to get a stop or commit untimely fouls, coaching blunders — but the net has been that whenever this team needs to make one or two more plays, it hasn't been able to. In what figures to be another fairly close, low-scoring game, someone is going to have to step up and make a winning play if Missouri is going to end its losing streak.
POWERMIZZOU PREDICTION
Missouri should be hungry to avenge its earlier loss to Texas A&M. But the Aggies should have plenty of motivation, too, to snap out of their skid and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Add in the fact that we don't know whether Missouri will have Javon Pickett available and we can't talk ourselves into picking the less-talented team on the road.
FINAL SCORE: Texas A&M 70, Missouri 65
