No. 11 Tennessee heads back on the road Tuesday night to face red-hot No. 25 Texas A&M in a critical game for SEC seeding.
The Vols are losers of three of their last four after splitting games against then-No. 1 Alabama and Kentucky last week.
Texas A&M is winners of five straight and has played its way onto the right side of the bubble after a disappointing non conference slate.
Here’s everything you need to know about the SEC matchup.
More From RTI: Everything Tennessee Assistant Coach Rod Clark Said Ahead Of Texas A&M Game
How to Watch – No. 11 Tennessee (20-7, 9-5 SEC) at No. 25 Texas A&M (20-7, 12-2 SEC)
- Start Time: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
- Location: Reed Arena
- TV: ESPN. PxP: Karl Ravech, CC: Jimmy Dykes
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Team Statistics (via ESPN)
What Assistant Coach Rod Clark Said About The Aggies
On Texas A&M turning things around in SEC play
“Honestly I don’t think anything flipped. They were always my darkhourse team early in the year when everybody was making the rankings for teams in the league and where they would finish. I always said that Texas A&M was a team that a lot of people weren’t talking about. I think Coach Buzz Williams is a great coach and he’s one of those guys that has always had his players adapt to his toughness. And they’ve adapted the longer they’ve been around. I think Julius Marble, a Dallas kid from Michigan State, obviously he was new, he was adjusting to Coach Buzz and they had Dexter Dennis transfer from Wichita State, they were adjusting to him and the moment those guys got comfortable and acclimated to their new program, I think they’ve taken off since then.”
Betting Lines
- Spread: Texas A&M -1.5 (-110), Tennessee+1.5 (-110)
- Total: Over/Under 129
- Spread: Tennessee -1 Texas A&M
- Total: Over/Under 131
Probable Starters (via UT Sports)
Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
- Points: Santiago Vescovi – 12.5 PPG, 39.7 FG%, 35.8 3PT%
- Rebounds: Jonas Aidoo – 5.2 RPG
- Assists: Zakai Zeigler – 5.4 APG, 2.3 TOPG, 29.4 MPG
Texas A&M:
- Points: Wade Taylor IV — 15.6 PPG, 41 FG%, 37.3% 3PT%
- Rebounds: Henry Coleman III — 5.9 RPG
- Assists: Wade Taylor IV — 4.2 APG, 2.3 TOPG, 27.7 MPG
Last Five Games
Tennessee
- 02/18/23 — W — Tennessee lost at Kentucky 66-54
- 02/15/23 — W — Tennessee def. Alabama 68-59
- 02/11/23 — L — Tennessee lost versus Missouri 86-85
- 02/08/23 — L — Tennessee lost at Vanderbilt 66-65
- 02/04/23 — W — Tennessee def. Auburn 46-43
Texas A&M
- 02/18/23 — W — Texas A&M def. Missouri 69-60
- 02/15/23 — W — Texas A&M def. Arkansas 62-56
- 02/11/23 — W — Texas A&M def. LSU 74-62
- 02/08/23 — W — Texas A&M def. Auburn 83-78
- 02/04/23 — W — Texas A&M def. Georgia 82-57
Prediction
Picking up a win at Texas A&M would be a massive boost for Tennessee as they begin the final stretch run of the season. The Vols would seriously boost their chances of a double bye at the SEC Tournament and the likelihood that Tennessee earns a top three seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee is likely to be at least partially undermanned for the third straight game and has not played well on the road this season. The Vols best road win is Ole Miss— who will likely be looking for a new head coach at the end of the season.
Combine that with Tennessee’s struggled and inconsistencies as of late and the fact that Texas A&M is playing as well as anyone in the country, I have a hard time seeing Tennessee getting the win.
Texas A&M 68, Tennessee 61