Texas hosts rival Texas A&M in early SEC showdown
Expect the fur to fly when rivals Texas and Texas A&M square off on Saturday in a Southeastern Conference clash in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (11-6, 2-2 SEC) are playing their best basketball of the season as of late, having defeated two ranked conference opponents over a five-day stretch. Texas' latest win was an 80-64 dismantling of previously unbeaten No. 10 Vanderbilt at home on Wednesday in which it held the Commodores to a season low in points and to just 26.7% shooting in the second half.
Matas Vokietaitis scored 22 points to lead the Longhorns in the victory while Tramon Mark added 21 points, Dailyn Swain posted 14 points, nine boards and seven assists and Jordan Pope hit for 12 points. Texas outrebounded Vanderbilt 42-24, marking the 15th time in its 17 games that it won the battle on the glass.
Combined with their 92-88 win over No. 13 Alabama on Saturday, the Longhorns have garnered consecutive victories over ranked teams for the first time since January 2023. Those wins came after Texas started the SEC season with two straight losses.
"(The win over Alabama) gave us confidence and really fed us for this game," coach Sean Miller said after Wednesday's victory. "I thought we picked up where we left off. If we had been a little bit stronger with the ball, it would have been a great performance against an excellent team."
"We're a great team, and we're still getting better," Mark said. "We're still not playing our best basketball -- best believe that we're still getting better."
The Aggies (13-4, 3-1) have been one of the nation's most surprising teams in their first year under coach Bucky McMillan. A&M won its first three league games by a combined 11 points before falling at No. 24 Tennessee 87-82 in double overtime on Tuesday in a game that featured eight lead changes in the final 5:29 of regulation.
"You look at the fight in our guys," McMillan said. "It could have gone either way. The fight and being there. Being what we are, man, scrapping and clawing to be in that game. ... It is what it is. I'm proud of it."
Jacari Lane led the Aggies with 20 points and nine assists in the setback while Pop Isaacs had 16 points, Ruben Dominguez finished with 15 and Rashaun Agee scored 11 points and collected nine rebounds. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for A&M.
"We're not just happy because we played (Tennessee) close," McMillan added. "We've improved every game. We have to keep improving."
Saturday's game is the first of two between the Lone Star State rivals this year, with the rematch on Feb. 28 in College Station.