Bucky McMillan and Texas A&M Basketball head up to Rocky Top tonight looking for another road upset, this time against the Tennessee Volunteers. The Aggies enter the contest with a 13-3 record and sit at 43 in the NET rankings while the Volunteers enter with an 11-5 record and 27th in the NET rankings.
The performance tonight will show just how well this team can compete with the top of the conference. A win would put the Aggies firmly into the NCAA tournament field, while a loss will have them right back on the "bubble". Some bracketologists have the Aggies on the right side of the bubble while others have them on the outside looking in.
The Aggies better be ready to play tonight. Tennessee is currently 1-2 in conference play and in desperate need of a solid win after getting blown out in Gainesville on Saturday. The Volunteers seem to be safely in the NCAA tournament as of now due to their huge non-conference wins against both Houston and Louisville.
Texas A&M basketball faces a measuring stick game in Knoxville
What do the Aggies need to do to win? Continue to do what they've been doing well: distributing the ball and forcing turnovers. Five active players are averaging over 10 points per game, led by Ruben Dominguez with 13.7 per game. If those players can continue their good play, along with assistance from role players like Jacari Lane, Ali Dibba, and Josh Halloway. There's no reason this team can't compete with anyone in the conference.
The Aggies will need to start fixing some things, however. Rebounding has been atrocious all season. We all can understand that this is an undersized team, but the effort on the glass has been lackluster all season. The Aggies did a great job limiting turnovers in their last game against Oklahoma, but they still need to continue protecting the ball and stop giving away possessions.
Defensively, there's two players to watch out for with Tennessee. Ja'kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament. Gillespie has came in as a transfer and taken over this team averaging 18.3 points per game, with Ament coming into his own as a freshman with 14.9 points per game. I've seen this team live this year, and both of these guys are the real deal. The key to beating them will be to limit Gillespie's shooting as much as possible and limiting offensive rebounds. When Gillespie is knocking down 3s, and Tennessee can extend possessions, this team is dangerous.
The Aggies are currently anywhere from an 8.5-10.5-point underdog tonight. This is the best team they have faced all year, and will be one of the toughest places they will play all year as well. Check back tonight for my full reaction and analysis of the hopeful Aggie upset.