WBB Game Thread: Texas A&M at Vanderbilt

Jan 29, 2023 - 5:00 PM

This is it. This is the day for which we have waited one month and 8 days: the Texas A&M game. If the effort we’ve shown all season is any indication, I think we can easily put the Aggies away. We lead A&M in almost every statistical category including outscoring them by about 13 points per game. Comparing similar games, we have scored 290 total points against our 5 similar opponents compared to their 204 points scored. We score about 17 points more per game against similar opponents, despite only a 1 point per game difference in differential. I take that to mean that teams have to play up to us much more than against the A&M team that went 5-5 prior to conference play.

Not so fast, though. On first glance at the roster, I think I get why this has been a rough year for Texas A&M. Only three players have played every game compared to six for us. As recently as two games ago, Texas A&M only fielded 7 players although in their recent game against Georgia A&M beat the Bulldogs with 9 players getting minutes. If A&M is finally getting healthy after over a month of serious injury trouble, this game could be more difficult than I would expect just comparing records and stats. Texas A&M did start off the season 4-1 against a few not totally incompetent teams, and they are coming off a win over middle-of the-SEC-road Georgia that could give them some confidence coming into this game. It’s hard for me to glean much more given how varied the team’s roster has been all year, but I still think this is a great chance for us to get a much-deserved win.