Texas A&M Basketball: Preview, prediction, live stream vs Arizona
Texas A&M basketball (7-0) will hit the road to take on an Arizona team with something to prove. Here’s what you need to know for this game.
Texas A&M basketball remains undefeated after their first seven games of the season. The No. 9 team in the nation has already racked up impressive victories over No. 18 West Virginia and No. 25 USC. Although Arizona is no longer ranked in the top 25, this will still be a tough match up for the Aggies.
Unlike Texas A&M, Arizona has had an extremely rough start to their season. The Wildcats began the year as the No. 3 ranked team in the country, but since then they have suffered three straight losses and fallen out of the top 25 altogether.
Here’s how to watch Texas A&M take on Arizona:
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 5
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Venue: McKale Center
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
Keys to Victory
Arizona is a much better basketball team than their 5-3 record suggests. They began the year ranked No. 3 for a reason. They are led by junior guard Allonzo Trier and freshman forward Deandre Ayton. Trier and Ayton are both averaging over 20 points per game so far this season.
For anybody who follows college basketball, it should come as no surprise that these two guys are putting up big numbers. They are as good as any duo in the country. Unfortunately for them, basketball is a five man sport, and Trier and Ayton haven’t been receiving much help from their supporting cast. Texas A&M will be looking to limit these two as much as possible and force somebody else to beat them.
Texas A&M has the players to match up defensively with Arizona’s pair of star players. Expect to see Admon Gilder, one of the most underrated defenders in the SEC, guard Trier. Gilder is usually tasked with defending the opposing team’s best scorer, but he has yet to see someone as elite as Trier who is currently averaging 23.9 points per game. As for down low, expect Robert Williams to guard Ayton. Contrary to the match up between the guards, It is Ayton in this scenario who has yet to go up against a player as elite as Williams.
Offensively, Texas A&M should continue to spread the wealth. Unlike Arizona, Texas A&M currently has four different players averaging over 10 points per game this season, and Robert Williams isn’t even one of them! That will change after this game. Ayton will receive a steady diet of Williams and Davis in this one, giving the freshman more than he can handle.
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Prediction
In their previous game, Arizona avoided their fourth loss of the season by narrowly beating UNLV 91-88 in overtime. This certainly could be a trap game for Texas A&M as Arizona will be looking to add a win over a top 10 team to their resume. However, I believe the Aggies will remain undefeated after this game, escaping with a close win on the road.
Prediction: Texas A&M 73, Arizona 68