What's on the Line For Vanderbilt Basketball Against No. 12 Texas A&M
The Vanderbilt Commodores (18-9, 6-8) face a tall task in Texas on Wednesday as the Commodores take on the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies (20-7, 9-5) in College Station. First year head coach Mark Byington has the Commodores in 10th place in the SEC entering the home stretch and in position to make the NCAA Tournament.
"The big thing right now is we're in the final two weeks of the regular season and the push we've got to make and getting better along the way and trying to find wins along the way," Byington said on Sunday. "It's a challenge. Every team right now in this league's got something to play for. We're in a tough stretch. Texas A&M's lost two games in a row. They're an extremely good team, best offensive rebounding team in the county, but I like the fact that we got a win last game. I thought we've been playing good basketball but being validated with a win, I thought, was important. We've just got to find some more along the way."
The Aggies are playing to right their ship after dropping their last two games at Mississippi State and against Tennessee. Head coach Buzz Williams will look to utilize the massive size disparity between Texas A&M and Vanderbilt as the Aggies are sixth in the nation in rebounding margin and eight nationally in rebounds per game.
The game will feature some of the SEC's best undersized bigs as Vanderbilt enters with Devin McGlockton and Jaylen Carey both excelling in the post under 6-foot-10 while Texas A&M boasts Andersson Garcia at 6-foot-7 leading the Aggies in rebounding.
The programs tip at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network and ESPN analytics gives the Aggies an 81.7% chance to win while ESPNBet has Texas A&M as a 7.5-point home favorite.
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My name is Joe Gaither and I graduated from the University of Alabama in 2018. I began my sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 I began my career with On SI writing and covering predominantly college athletics with a focus on the University of Alabama, University of Missouri and Vanderbilt.