COLLEGE STATION – For the final time during the regular season the Texas A&M men’s basketball team will hit the road when the Aggies face Missouri on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. inside Mizzou Arena.
The last-season match-up is an important one in the race for the postseason and seeding at the upcoming SEC Tournament (March 12-16 in Atlanta, Ga.). Texas A&M (17-12) and Missouri (20-9) each enter the week claiming a share of sixth place in the SEC standings with an even 8-8 league record. The two squads stand just one game out of fourth place as the top 10 seeds at the SEC Tournament receive an opening-round bye and the top four seeds are granted a double-bye.
Wednesday’s contest will be web-streamed at ESPN3.com with Mike Couzens (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (commentary) calling all the action. Additionally, the game can be heard on the Texas A&M Sports Network with local coverage in the Bryan-College Station area on WTAW (1620 AM).
The Aggies are coming off an impressive 71-60 win over Ole Miss on Saturday in College Station. During the victory, junior Jordan Green stepped up to contribute career-highs in both points (16) and minutes played (36) while providing solid defense on the Rebels’ high-scoring guard Marshall Henderson.
Junior Jamal Jones led all scorers with 21 points against Ole Miss, marking the sixth time this season the Wynne, Ark., native has reached the 20-point plateau. Jones enters the week ranking 12th in the SEC by averaging 15.5 points per game during league play.
Sophomore Alex Caruso dished out nine assists against Ole Miss to give him 251 for his career and earn a spot in Texas A&M’s 250-Assist Club. He became the 15th member of the elite fraternity and just the eighth Aggie to do so in two seasons.
The College Station, Texas, native continues to pace the SEC in both assists (139) and assists per game (4.8) while ranking second in total steals (55).
Missouri, meanwhile, enters Wednesday’s contest coming off an 85-66 win over Mississippi State in Columbia on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers are 14-2 on their home court this season under third-year head coach Frank Haith, who served as Texas A&M’s associate head coach from 1996-97 under Aggie head coach Tony Barone.
The Tigers feature a talented roster that includes two of the SEC’s top scorers in guards Jabari Brown, who leads the league by averaging 20.1 points per contest, and Jordan Clarkson, who ranks seventh with an 18.4 point per game average.