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Texas A&M vs Kansas basketball

January 28, 2018 01:13·
Kansas vs. Texas A&M preview: Players to watch, keys to victory, etc.

Kansas vs. Texas A&M preview: Players to watch, keys to victory, etc.

Texas A&M vs Kansas live stream is on WatchESPN.

The Aggies are a bottom-half tempo team, ranking 197 in the KenPom adjusted tempo rankings, and with Kansas ranking 100 in those same rankings, the Jayhawks want to get out and run a bit more. For whatever reason that hasn't translated to the floor since conference play began. The underdog is 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings and the home team is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

On paper, the Aggies have all of the pieces to be a contender both in this game and in the SEC.

Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said one of the biggest factors is the team's guard play. The Jayhawks made 52.6 percent of their 3-point shots during the opening 20 minutes. The loss dropped the Aggies to 2-6 in conference play.

No player on Texas A&M's active roster has lost to Vanderbilt in her career, as the Aggies have taken three straight contests against the Commodores, evening the all-time series at four games apiece. They're also 1-4 against the spread in their last five road games when facing an opponent with a winning home record.

C - Tyler Davis, 6-10, 266, Jr.

The top scorer for the Aggies this season has been Tyler Davis with 14.3 points per game. Kansas has five guys scoring double digits per game.

This year's Aggies, who opened the season ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll, raced out to a 7-0 start and climbed as high as No. 7 in the poll. Texas A+M will have a tough time guarding the Jayhawks, and even tougher keeping up with the Jayhawks offensively.

"We know inside what we've still got, what we believe we still have", sophomore forward Robert Williams said. 6-9, 215, jr.

The Aggies are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Saturday games, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall. Expected to be the primary perimeter threat, he's converted just.219 percent of his three-point attempts and averaged just 8.0 points in SEC play.

So far this season, 56.8 percent of A&M's points have come off of 2-point shots and that number has grown to 59.8 percent during SEC play. He was suspended for three games in December for an undisclosed violation of school policy and earlier suspended for the team's season opener.

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F - Robert Williams, 6-10, 241, Soph.

On the season, Kansas basketball averages 84.0 points, 36.4 rebounds and 17.8 assists per game. He was last season's SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

G - Admon Gilder, 6-4, 199, Jr.

Has Texas A&M let its guard down?

By contrast, the Aggies hit on only 20 percent of their 3-point shots during the first half. Averaging 11.7 points, the Dallas native is shooting 38.3 percent from deep. He's an 83.3 percent free-throw shooter. 6-3, 175, sr. Poor shooting seemed to be the overlying theme for the Aggies as they finished the game shooting just 39 percent (26-of-66) from the field. It will take a team effort for the Aggies to pick up a W this weekend. Lagerald Vick is the third double-digit scorer and Udoka Azubuike is grabbing 7.7 rebounds. Wins over Ole Miss and Missouri got them back on track until their road loss at LSU.

Despite playing through their post players in the paint, A&M has plenty of trouble with turnovers. Once considered a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament, they may be playing their way out of March Madness with six losses in eight SEC games. Perhaps more alarming was the Aggies inability to convert from behind the arc. The Jayhawks are seeking their 46th trip to the NCAA Tournament, and 15th Final Four appearance.

Prior to his time at College Station, Kennedy was the head coach for five seasons at Murray State and six years at his alma mater Southeastern Louisiana.

In addition to being a battle of two power leagues, today's game also is a reunion of sorts for the Jayhawks and Aggies, who spent years battling one another in the Big 12.

The fact that the Aggies are big makes this the flawless game for KU to bring its unselfish nature to the forefront to force the Aggies to defend all over the floor and find open players for jumpers whenever possible.

My prediction: Kansas 81, Texas A&M 65.

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