Vying for tourney berth, Texas A&M faces slumping Ole Miss
Both Texas A&M and Ole Miss look to regain their winning touch and make a late push for inclusion in the NCAA Tournament when the struggling teams square off on Wednesday in a Southeastern Conference dustup in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (17-8, 7-5 SEC) head home after an 82-69 loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday that pushed their season-high losing streak to four. Marcus Hill led the way for the Aggies with 20 points but was the only A&M player in double-figure scoring. Rashaun Agee collected eight points and 11 rebounds.
A&M shot just 38.9% from the field and only 27.6% from 3-point range. The Aggies were just 5 of 10 from the free-throw line, an anomaly in the SEC where fouls are rampant.
The Aggies have not won since the calendar turned to February after producing an excellent beginning to the year that had them on the cusp of a Top 25 ranking. Now they find themselves squarely on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth with six games remaining in the regular season.
"The reality of it is everything's in front of us," Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan said Saturday after the loss. "We've got to get back and take care of business. We have some great opportunities. We've just got to get back and play well here down the stretch."
About the only team that's played worse in the SEC over the past month is Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9), which travels to the Brazos Valley carrying a seven-game losing streak. The Rebels' latest defeat came at the hands of rival Mississippi State 90-78 at home on Saturday.
Ole Miss trailed by 19 at halftime and never made a serious run after the break. Malik Dia tied his career high with 32 points for the Rebels and AJ Storr added 21, but no other Ole Miss player scored more than six points.
"The guys really wanted to win this game; they understood what was at stake with the rivalry game," Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. "But then when things don't go our way a little bit early, you got to hang in there. I thought the first half was where the game was really lost."
Five of Ole Miss' losses in the recent swoon have been by double digits.
"These guys have done some good things in terms of continuing to fight," Beard said. "In (the loss to Mississippi State), though, we weren't physically tough enough. Then there is mental toughness -- you know some guys know how to win, and some guys don't. We're doing everything in our power to teach guys how to win."