No. 12 Texas A&M (11-2, 0-0 SEC) will host Texas (10-2, 0-0 SEC) in the opening of conference play at Reed Arena for the first meeting since the Longhorns joined the SEC,
Fans of both teams couldn’t ask for a better game to start the new SEC season. Over the past year, Texas A&M has fared well against the Longhorns across all sports; however, with the recent loss in football knocking the Aggies out of the SEC Championship game, any chance to face them in any capacity is always a plus.
The Aggies will need to play their best defense to contain Tre Johnson and Arthur Kalmua, who average a combined 33.5 points a game. Where A&M holds the biggest advantage is rebounding, averaging almost six more boards than the Longhorns.
Efficiency will be the name of the game on Saturday night, and whoever can limit their turnovers and get the most second-chance points will come out the victor and have bragging rights as the first SEC basketball win between them.
Here is how they match up in key categories and the key players in the game:
Points Per Game: A&M – 76.2 / UT – 84.5
FG%: A&M – 43.1 / UT – 51.7
Rebounds Per Game: A&M – 42.9 / UT – 37.5
Turnovers Per Game: A&M – 12.8 / UT – 8.9
Streak: A&M – W6 / UT – W4
Texas A&M Key Players
- Wade Taylor
- Andersson Garica
- Zhuric Phelps
- Pharrel Payne
Texas Key Players
- Tre Johnson
- Arthur Kaluma
- Julian Larry
- Jordan Pope
Texas A&M will start conference play against the Texas Longhorns at Reed Arena on Jan. 4 at 7:00 p.m. CST. The game can be watched on the SEC Network.
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