Everything You Need to Know About Texas A&M’s Potential Opponents In SEC Tournament

The regular season finale is now in the past, and the future is the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, where Texas A&M basketball will try to make a run to cut down the nets.

Right now, the Aggies are planning which team they could play, and the two options are the Sooners or the Gamecocks.

Regardless of which school it is, head coach Bucky McMillan is going to have his crew ready to fight and make a deep run in the tournament, and even the NCAA Tournament when Selection Sunday comes around.

All eyes currently turn to what happens between Oklahoma and South Carolina, as A&M has won all the matchups that it has had with both squads, so everyone in Aggieland will have to wait to see the outcome, but which team would they rather see? Here’s the scouting report before one of them punches a date to face A&M.

Oklahoma

The 17-14 Sooners are hoping to remain on the bubble and make a late statement to punch its ticket into the NCAA Tournament, but to do so, it’s going to take a deep run to have an outside shot at earning the respect on Selection Sunday to get in.

First order of business is to get a victory over the Gamecocks, but that won’t be easy, considering it's the first day of the tournament with little rest going into Wednesday. What the offense needs to see is a lot of points recorded, because that is one of the only ways it can pull off several wins.

On the season, Oklahoma is averaging 82.7 points per game and is probably going to need that or even more. From the field, they are going 46.8 percent and only 37.2 percent from three. At the charity stripe, Oklahoma is converting 74.5 percent of its shots, which is key to getting to teams early.

Getting production from the top shooters on the roster, including guard Nigel Pack, and help from forward Tae Davis will definitely help out in a season that hasn’t been as successful as they hoped. Defense also has to step up in this game, as they are only averaging 3.8 blocks and 6.3 steals. Rebounding the ball can be one of their strong suits with 35.7 per game, and it will be a huge factor in this one.

In the SEC, the Sooners are ranked No. 9 in scoring offense and defense, and No. 2 in three-point field goal percentage. Another notable area is being No. 5 in opponent free throw percentage and No. 7 in turnover margin.

South Carolina

On the other hand, the Gamecocks are 13-18 on the season and are really desperate to get all the way to the championship game to keep their season alive. As the No. 14 seed in the bracket, there is plenty of work to get done, but never count out the underdog.

This season, the Gamecocks' best shooter has been Meechie Johnson, who has appeared in 31 games and averages 31.5 minutes and 17.3 points per game. He leads the team in steals and assists and has also been one of the players with the most turnovers, with 2.2.

As an offense, South Carolina is going only 30.8 percent from three and 43.5 percent from the field. The offense is scoring 75 points per game and pulling down 32.5 rebounds per game, along with 13.3 assists. There will need to be a lot of communication with this team and a sense of urgency, because their season has quickly gotten away from them, and there haven’t been enough players making clutch baskets.

In the conference, head coach Lamont Paris has led the team to rank No. 16 in scoring offense and No. 16 in field goal percentage. Another area that this group struggles in is three-point field goal percentage and blocked shots as it is No. 16 in the SEC. A strong suit of this team, though, is drawing fouls and getting to the charity stripe, as they are No. 2 in the conference in that category.

Whoever A&M draws in the second round, it is going to be a fight on both ends of the floor as the offense and defense is going to need to be ready to shoot because the team that wins the first round matchup will be fresh off a game and could be on fire like teams in the past have been after playing early on in the week.

Tipoff is scheduled for Thursday, March 12, on the SEC Network.