We’ve made it to Rally for Rhyan as the No. 15 Tigers (17-5, 6-3) are set to take on the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies (17-5, 6-3) at 2:30 p.m. today (SEC Network).
Here’s a scouting report, some Missouri notes, matchups to watch and what I think will lead to a Tiger bounce back win.
Scouting Report
Texas A&M enters today’s matchup on a two-game winning streak after beating Oklahoma (75-68) and South Carolina (76-72).
The Aggies went 11-2 in non-conference play, beating then-No. 21 Ohio State, then-No. 21 Creighton, Rutgers, Texas Tech and then-No. 11 Purdue in games against major-conference opponents. The Aggies opened the season with losses to then-No. 4 Houston and UCF.
Texas A&M opened the conference season with wins against Texas and then-No. 17 Oklahoma, but dropped three of its next five games.
The Aggies score 75.4 points per game and allow 66.2, but in conference play, those numbers are 74.2 points scored and 71.33 allowed.
Texas A&M opened the conference schedule with consecutive 80-point performances, but hasn’t reached the mark since and has scored fewer than 70 points four times.
Texas A&M shoots 42.5 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from 3 (where the Aggies average 7.1 makers per game) and just 68.5 percent from the free-throw line (where they average 17.1 makes per game).
The Aggies allow opponents to hit just 39.8 percent of their attempts from the field, 32 percent from 3 and 75.7 percent from the free-throw line (where teams are averaging 14 makes per game against Texas A&M).
They also outrebound opponents by a margin of 41.6-31.7 per game.
The Aggies force 14.2 turnovers per game and average 16.4 points scored off of them.
Graduate guard Wade Taylor (6-foot-0, 180 pounds) leads the Aggies with 16.1 points per game to go with a team-high 4.44 assists per contest.
Taylor missed a few games earlier in the season, but has been back leading the way after posting 25 points against South Carolina.
Senior guard Zurich Phelps (6-4, 190) adds 14.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as the only other Aggies averaging double figures on offense.
Junior forward Solomon Washington (6-7, 220) has started all 20 games he’s played, but did not suit up in either of the past two games after playing just 13 minutes against Texas because of an ankle injury. He is expected to be out once again today.
Graduate forward Henry Coleman (6-8, 250) has started 16-of-22 games and averages 8.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Graduate guard Hayden Hefner (6-6, 190) has started 13 games, but no other Aggies has made 10 starts after him.
Texas A&M is No. 13 in the NET rankings, Missouri is No. 18.
The Aggies lead the all-time series 26-20 and has won all four games since Dennis Gates took the helm in Columbia. Missouri has beat the Aggies just twice in the past five years.
Once was a 70-66 win in College Station on Feb. 5, 2022, the other a 68-52 win in College Station on Jan. 16, 2021.
The last time the Tigers won in Columbia was a 62-58 victory on Feb. 13, 2018.
Mizzou notes
The Tigers have won the rebounding battle in 6-of-9 SEC games this year after doing so in just 1-of-36 SEC games in the first two years of Gates' tenure in Columbia ... Missouri holds the second-longest home winning streak in the country at 15 games ... Tamar Bates is averaging 17.3 points on 57.1 percent shooting overall and 52.8 percent shooting from 3 in the past seven games ... Mark Mitchell is 28 points short of 1,000 for his career ... Today is the 10th-annual Rally for Rhyan game. The Tigers have raised $588,000 to help fight pediatric cancer in the first nine games. The Tigers are 6-3 in Rally for Rhyan games ... Bates currently holds the single-season Tiger record for free-throw percentage, hitting 92.4 percent last season to best Brian Grawer's 90.5 percent from 1999-2000. Bates is currently at 92.6 percent this year, looking to best his own record ...
Matchups
Ant Robinson vs. himself
We’ve had a few straight games of Ant Robinson being over aggressive early and needing to sit with foul trouble.
Gates has called him out in postgame press conferences a couple of times now about how his decision making, our lack there of when it comes to when to dial back the aggression, has hurt the team.
It’s time to see whether the message has stuck.
No matter who he’s guarding, Robinson’s defense is a key part of the Tigers’ strategy, but if he’s only able to be out there for 10 minutes because he can’t stop fouling, he’s doing more harm than good.
Wade Taylor vs. whoever is guarding him
I know you guys know who Taylor is. He’s been around long enough and done enough damage against the Tigers for that name to be very recognizable.
He had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists in the teams’ first matchup last year, then added 18 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists the second time.
He had 21 points, six assists and four rebounds in a game against the Tigers in 2023, too.
He’s even more of the Aggie offense this year, so if the Tigers are finally able to contain him the way they have with a lot of leading scorers recently, that should set Mizzou up well.
What I'm looking for
Just a continuation of how the Tigers have played recently. Don’t let one loss turn into two.
The Tigers played pretty darn well at Tennessee, they lost because the Volunteers had the best shooting night of their season.
I’m just keeping an eye on whether the team allows the result to distract from the performance itself.
If the Tigers just keep up the way they’ve been playing, they should get back on track today.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription.
Talk about this story in the story thread and discuss so much more in The Tiger Walk.
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines.
