Two weeks to the day that Texas A&M handed Tennessee a surprising loss in College Station, the Vols will get their second shot at the Aggies on their home floor Saturday night.
Texas A&M entered the previous meeting between the two teams with one of the lowest three-point shooting percentages in the league only to make 11 from deep and beat Tennessee on the glass, 43-35.
The Vols never led.
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Tennessee heads into part two of the regular season series having won three-straight, including two games against Arkansas and Vanderbilt by an average of 32 points.
The Vols' most recent outing was a little closer than expected. They trailed the last-place Missouri Tigers at halftime and early in the second half before a second half resurgence helped them escape with a five-point road win.
Tennessee's turnaround was sparked by a lineup change that feature both bigs in Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka as well as another second half spectacle put on by Dalton Knecht that turned what could have been a disastrous loss into sole possession of second place in the SEC title race.
Texas A&M on the other hand has been in a downward spiral since knocking off the Vols. The Aggies have lose three-straight games, including one at the buzzer to Vanderbilt, another to Arkansas and a 25-point drubbing at the hands of Alabama.
Tennessee sits as more than a 11-point favorite as it looks to draw closer to Alabama for the regular season conference championship as a critical final stretch looms.
Here is a closer look at the match up.
Game Information
Who: Texas A&M (15-11, 6-7) at No. 5 Tennessee (20-6, 10-3)
When: Saturday, Feb. 24 | 8 p.m. ET
Where: Food City Center | Knoxville
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst)
KenPom Projection: Tennessee 77, Texas A&M 66
Series: Tennessee leads, 11-8
Projected Lineups
Numbers Edge
POINTS PER GAME:
Tennessee 80.0, Texas A&M 74.1
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE:
Tennessee 45.4%, Texas A&M 39.8%
THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE:
Tennessee 34.5%, Texas A&M 27.4%
ASSISTS:
Tennessee 17.1, Texas A&M 11.2
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Bracketology update: Vols, Lady Vols slowly climb in March projections
REBOUNDS:
Texas A&M 43.1, Tennessee 38.7
BLOCKS:
Tennessee 4.8, Texas A&M 3.0
STEALS
Tennessee 8.1, Texas A&M 7.2
Pregame Notes
-- Tennessee dominated the paint against Missouri. In the Vols' two-big lineup in the second half, sophomore forward Tobe Awaka scored a career and team-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds. Forward Jonas Aidoo 14 rebounds and four blocks on the defensive end.
-- Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is one win away from another career milestone. A Vols win over Texas A&M would mark Barnes' 800th career victory and would make him the 15th head coach in Division I basketball with that many win and the 26th in all levels of basketball. There are only two active coaches that have reached 800 wins.
-- Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht, who is coming off of a 17-point outing at Missouri, is averaging 24.4 points per game in SEC play. It is the third-highest scoring average among active players. Knecht is on pace to be just the fourth Power Six player in the last 36 years to average 20.0 points per game and 1.5 turnovers.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee looks to show 'poise' as critical final stretch looms
-- Tennessee ranks fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing just 92.5 points per opponents 100 possessions, according to KenPom. By the same metric, the Vols rank 21st in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 118.6 points per 100 offensive possessions.
-- Tennessee had an uncharacteristic performance in its last meeting with Texas A&M. The Aggies started the game 8-of-12 from beyond the arc with guards Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV scoring 27 and 25 points, respectively. Taylor, who is among the SEC Player of the Year candidates, averages a team-high 19.1 points per game.
-- Texas A&M is on a three-game losing skid. The Aggies shot just 33% from the field and 30% from three-point range in its 78-71 loss to Arkansas last week. Taylor was held below his season average with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. He was 0-for-4 from deep. Guard Jace Carter led Texas A&M with 14 points.
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