Deeper Dive Into The Numbers As Texas A&M Visits Vanderbilt
The Texas A&M Aggies visit Memorial GYm later today to face the Vanderbilt Commodores in a key game for both Squads.
The Aggies have a conference win under their belts already this season so getting the second is key. On the opposite side, the Commodores are looking to win number one in conference and their first such in 20 games.
The Aggies are winless away from College Station so far this season, which is a good sign for the Commodores. They're also 0-4 in neutral site games further indicating issues away from Reed Arena.
They split a pair of home conference games, losing to Arkansas but defeating Ole Miss for their current 1-1 mark. They also have a Power 5 win over Oregon State- not exactly a basketball powerhouse- to their credit.
The Aggies have also had close wins over teams like Troy and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who the Commodores also struggled to defeated, finally taking the win 71-66 earlier this season at Memorial Gym.
The Aggies hang their hats on defense, currently ranked 20th nationally in points per game allowed as opponents are averaging just 60.4 ppg against them.
They also have the conferences leading shot-blocker in Josh Nebo who also leads them in scoring and has the type body that has given the Commodores fits inside the paint this season. Coincidentally, that's where he does most of his damage and it's a good bet that Aggies head coach Buzz Williams will look to force the ball to him early and often.
Offensively the Aggies are not very good right now, averaging just 57.8 points per contest. As a team, they shoot just over 23% from behind the arc, and they are also not good at protecting the basketball, turning it over an average of 15 times per game.
The Commodores are coming off their best game of the season, having committed just nine turnovers in their loss at Auburn. Protecting the ball and getting A&M turnovers will be a key.
The Aggies have the deeper bench, sporting 11 players with eight of those averaging double-digit minutes.
It will be a tough task as the Commodores attempt to stop Nebo and company inside, but if the Commodores team we witnessed earlier this week against Auburn shows up today, the Commodores will likely be celebrating the end of the conference losing streak.
