No. 21 Texas A&M faces tough test at Arkansas (Feb 16, 2018)
No. 21 Texas A&M responded to its return to the Top 25 by losing at Missouri on Wednesday and now the Aggies likely must win at Arkansas on Saturday to remain in the rankings.
The Aggies (17-9, 6-7 SEC) have rebounded from their 0-5 start in the SEC, but they are just 2-6 in true road games this year. Arkansas (18-8, 7-6) is tough to beat at home, where the Razorbacks own a 13-1 record. They have also won their last three games.
Texas A&M is in a state of flux after freshman guard J.J. Caldwell was dismissed from the team for multiple violations of team and school policies. Also, graduate senior transfer guard Duane Wilson's career is over because of a knee injury.
With Wilson out, shooting guard T.J. Starks is transitioning to become more of a playmaker at point guard. The Aggies had only four assists in a 62-58 loss at Missouri.
Starks is averaging only 1.6 assists. Wilson averaged 4.0 assists.
"(Starks is) a kid that didn't play a lot of point guard out of high school," Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. "He's more of a scoring guard (averaging 8.2 points), really a scorer first, but he's done a better job getting us in the offense and not looking to score when has to.
"His ability to score has really been a weapon when we've needed it. He's getting more consistent with his play on both ends of the floor. That's been a plus for our team."
Texas A&M's offense revolves around center Tyler Davis (team-leading 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game) and forward Robert Williams (10.8 points, 9.5 rebounds).
Texas A&M won the first meeting this season against Arkansas 80-66 on Jan. 30 at College Station. Davis and Williams dominated and the Razorbacks did not have an answer for either of the Aggies' big men. Davis finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds and Williams had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Starks also had 16 points (on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range) with five assists.
"They've got one of the bigger frontlines in the country, and beat us pretty bad on the glass at their place," said Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, whose team was dominated on the boards, 45-30. "We need to have a better performance Saturday. The Aggies have a plus-7.5 rebounding margin for the season."
Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford and wing Darious Hall combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds in a 75-64 win at Ole Miss on Tuesday. Gafford had only five points and four rebounds in the loss at Texas A&M.
That win by the Aggies sparked a three-game winning streak after they dropped consecutive games to LSU and Kansas by double digits.
"A&M is better than even when we played them," Anderson said. "I think that was their coming-out party against us. We're talking about it being won in the paint, getting to the free-throw line. We've got to make the game as chaotic as we possibly can."
