Texas A&M Takes On Vanderbilt For Shot At SEC Finals Appearance

The Aggies could return to the SEC finals for the second consecutive season with a win over Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon.

Win, and you're in. It's that simple for Buzz Williams and the Texas A&M men's basketball team.

The No. 18 Aggies rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat Arkansas 67-61 in the SEC quarterfinals Friday night. One more win and A&M will return to the SEC Championship for a shot a redemption after falling to Tennessee last season in Tampa. 

The opponent? Vanderbilt, which shocked the college basketball community with its 80-73 win over Kentucky at Bridgestone Arena. 

Under coach Jerry Stackhouse, the Commodores have assembled one of the more surprising rosters in the SEC. After finishing the regular season on a three-game win streak, Vanderbilt surged Thursday night in a 77-68 win over LSU. A day later, the Commodores led by as much as 11 over John Calipari's Wildcats, a heavy favorite to win the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed.

“We still got a plan on something more,” Stackhouse told reporters following the game. “I honestly feel that we can win it all. If we get an opportunity to get in, this team deserves, the country deserves to see.”

While there isn't a frontman scorer in terms of productivity, the Commodores are consistent. Three players are all averaging at least 10.6 points per game. Four Vanderbilt starters are averaging at least 4.2 rebounds per game. 

Forward Liam Robbins garnered SEC honors Monday after leading Vanderbilt in scoring with 15 points per game. Robbins, a 7-foot senior, was named to the All-SEC team first team and the SEC All-Defensive team. Robbins led the conference in blocks with 3.2 per game. 

Vanderbilt's path to the semifinals is similar to A&M. After starting the season 7-6 in non-conference play, the Commodores rallied once SEC play began. They won four straight in February, including one over No. 6 Tennessee in Nashville. After dropping a mid-week game to LSU, Vanderbilt rallied to end the season with back-to-back wins over then-No. 23 Kentucky and Mississippi State. 

A&M and Vanderbilt met on the hardwood at Reed Arena in late January. Behind an 18-point performance from Henry Coleman III, the Aggies picked up a 72-66 win, marking their seventh conference victory of the season. Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece "Boots" Radford each scored 14 points, while Dexter Dennis picked up two rebounds and two blocks. 

With a victory over Vanderbilt, A&M would advance to play the winner of 1-seed Alabama and 4-seed Missouri Sunday at noon. The Aggies defeated both the Tigers and Crimson Tide during the regular season. 

Tip-off from Bridgestone Arena is set for 2 p.m. 

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