Texas A&M Schedule is Shaping Up Nicely For the Rest of the Year

When anyone looks at a sports schedule, the immediate thought is usually which games are winnable and which are losable, or even which are easiest and which are hardest.

With SEC play just now underway, there won't be any easy games in conference play, but when evaluating who Texas A&M basketball has left on its schedule this season, the standings indicate that there are a couple of games where the odds are most in favor for coach Bucky McMillan’s team.

Right now, with the way the Aggies are playing basketball and getting used to the “Bucky Ball” style, there are a bunch of games the program could and should win, given how well the players are performing in points per game, assists, bench production, and 3-pointers made.

So, which teams stick out as schools that the Maroon and White can get wins when they face later in the season? Right now, it is a Lamont Paris and Chris Beard-coached team.

Ole Miss

At 8-6 overall and 0-1 in the SEC, the Rebels are not off to the start anyone really thought was going to happen after the year it had last season in the NCAA Tournament. There are only three players on this roster that are averaging double digits, and those three men are Malik Dia, Aj Storr and Llias Kamardine. The Aggies have five players who are averaging double digits.

Offensively, Ole Miss is averaging 75.1 points per game, along with 35.5 rebounds and 14.5 assists. From the field, they are 45.2 percent, and from downtown, they are going 34.3 percent. At the free-throw line, they are connecting on 73.8 percent of those shots.

Even starting the season out on a 5-game winning streak, the next six of nine games were losses that also included a four-game losing streak. All of the losses came against Iowa, Utah, Miami, St. John’s, NC State, and Oklahoma. A&M’s only losses were Oklahoma State, UCF, and SMU.

The Aggies are also in better shape than the Rebels are with the wins and losses in Quad 1, 2, 3, and 4 games. Signs at the moment point to the Aggies having a better shot to win this, but any given week, anything can happen.

South Carolina

Take a look at the Gamecocks basketball schedule and think about the teams they lost to that could have been great resume builders going into SEC play. The Gamecocks lost to Butler, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Vanderbilt. All of those games are good teams that proved that they could have a better shooting day and apply pressure on the defensive side.

Opening the season with four straight wins isn’t bad for South Carolina, but the team hasn’t done that again, finding only five more wins after that that weren't against powerhouse teams. All of the teams were against smaller schools like North Carolina A&T, Southern Miss, Presbyterian, Radford, Charleston Southern, The Citadel, South Carolina State and UAlbany.

A&M has to feel good going into this contest, which will be on the road on January 24. As a team, A&M on paper appears to be the better team, averaging 94.4 points per game, 20.9 assists, and 9.7 steals. From the field, McMillan’s roster is shooting 49 percent, while from deep it is averaging 38 percent.

The Gamecocks are lower in the points per game, assists, and steals categories. They also trail the Aggies behind the arc and from the field. Even in the rebounding department, the Gamecocks' 34.2 rebounds are behind the Aggies' 39 per game. This is a contest that A&M’s offense and fans should feel good about going into later in the season.