Texas A&M

I think the last time I wrote about the Aggies was when Khris Middleton was still their, so it's been some time. That said, this team has quietly risen to 5th in the nation in the polls and 7th in KenPom.

Head Coach Billy Kennedy has done a good job assembling talent at College Station during his tenure and it's paying off this year. They're a defensive-minded team, 7th overall in defensive efficiency. Teams only have an effective fg% of 45.6%, 29th best. What they do best is force turnovers. They have a turnover % of 24%, 7th best and a steal % of 11.2%,  24th. The only area of concern is defensive rebounding. That's 234rd in the nation.

Offensively, they have a solid effective fg% of 53.4. While they don't do a good job eliminating 2nd chances, they do offset that a bit by being a good offensive rebounding team. Their offensive rebounding is 35%, 45 th best. They can be sloppy with the ball at times but isn't a drastic concern.

If you've seen any notes about this team, you're well aware this is a senior laden squad. Jalen Jones and Danuel House are the primary scoring threats. The backcourt is run by fellow seniors, Alex Caruso & Anthony Collins. Though he's not a volume shooter, Collins is 52% from 3 and 26-26 from the FT line so far.

A&M is the class of an improving, yet still underwhelming SEC. They have the makeup to make a deep run in March and are favorites in the rest of their games. Going undefeated in conference play seems like a longshot with trips to Vandy, Arkansas (tonight) and LSU on the docket but they get BBN at home. They also play Iowa State (part of the Big XII-SEC Challenge) at home this weekend in what should be a real good game.