Texas A&M will try to stop a four-game losing streak when it hosts South Alabama on Friday night.
The Aggies started the season with a 98-83 victory over Savannah State but have since lost games to UC Irvine, Gonzaga, Minnesota, and Washington.
Meanwhile, South Alabama is 3-2 on the season with its two Division I wins coming against Chattanooga and Southeast Missouri State.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this game.
Game Details
- Texas A&M (1-4) vs. South Alabama (3-2)
- Location: Reed Arena – College Station, TX
- Game Date: Nov. 23
- Game Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network+
Players to Watch
Jay Jay Chandler (Texas A&M)
With fellow guard TJ Starks struggling from the field right now, the Aggies could really benefit from more consistent production from Chandler.
The 6-4 sophomore had back-to-back double-digit scoring performances to start the season, and after struggling against Gonzaga and Minnesota, he came back with a 21-point outing in the loss to Washington.
Admon Gilder’s availability is still unknown at this point, so Chandler needs to be a reliable scoring presence at shooting guard moving forward.
Rodrick Sikes (South Alabama)
The 6-2 senior has had his own problems with consistency this season, but he responded in a big way by going for 30 points in the win over Southeast Missouri State.
Sikes leads the team with 15.6 points in 32.4 minutes per contest, and he’s attempted nearly double the amount of shots as the next closest player on the team.
If he gets off to a good start in this one, it would undoubtedly help the Jaguars have a shot at pulling off the upset.
Key Stats
Simply put, Texas A&M has been awful from 3-point range through the first five games of the season.
The Aggies rank 344th nationally at 23.3 percent from beyond the arc, and that’s just not ideal when you’re trying to become a more perimeter-oriented team that plays at a higher tempo.
South Alabama has been pretty good at limiting opponents on the perimeter (105th nationally at 30.7 percent), so we probably shouldn’t expect Billy Kennedy’s team to completely flip the script in this one.
However, the Jaguars have had their own offensive issues, as they rank 323rd in effective field-goal percentage (42.7 percent) and 337th in 2-point field-goal percentage (39.6 percent).
Game Outlook
- Spread: Texas A&M -13.5
- Over/Under: 147.5
- KenPom Projection: Texas A&M, 88 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Texas A&M, 80.1 percent chance to win
Texas A&M has room for improvement in a lot of different areas, but it’s just hard to beat good teams when you can’t find any sort of consistency on offense.
Gilder’s contributions will obviously help once he’s able to return, so it’s really a matter of getting everyone else on track so things can click much faster once he’s back in action.
Luckily, after four straight top 80 teams in KenPom’s rankings, Texas A&M will play an opponent that should field a few more weaknesses.
With several difficult non-conference games still on the schedule, the Aggies can’t afford to lose this type of game at home.
That shouldn’t be a problem, as Kennedy will likely have his team’s full attention after the rough start.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 52-10
Game Prediction: Texas A&M 78, South Alabama 63
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