SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Texas A&M at South Carolina

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Texas A&M visits South Carolina on Saturday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
Texas A&M	0.389	0.257	0.675	239	746	224	134	67	295
Texas A&M OPP	0.393	0.303	0.738	231	736	297	135	73	307
South Carolina	0.441	0.313	0.610	255	815	314	165	94	297
South Carolina OPP	0.388	0.298	0.721	218	763	250	127	75	333

Statistical Leaders

Texas A&M Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Josh Nebo	Texas A&M	11.8	81	74	0
Savion Flagg	Texas A&M	10.0	76	31	26
Wendell Mitchell	Texas A&M	8.5	53	41	31
Andre Gordon	Texas A&M	8.1	60	18	16
Quenton Jackson	Texas A&M	7.5	44	58	12
Jay Jay Chandler	Texas A&M	6.4	37	35	19
Emanuel Miller	Texas A&M	5.8	45	29	2
Mark French	Texas A&M	1.9	11	5	7
Yavuz Gultekin	Texas A&M	1.7	12	5	1
Jonathan Aku	Texas A&M	1.3	10	7	0

Texas A&M Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Emanuel Miller	Texas A&M	42	95	137	6.5
Josh Nebo	Texas A&M	57	80	137	6.9
Savion Flagg	Texas A&M	37	75	112	5.3
Quenton Jackson	Texas A&M	8	48	56	2.7
Jonathan Aku	Texas A&M	26	29	55	2.6
Wendell Mitchell	Texas A&M	7	48	55	2.6
Andre Gordon	Texas A&M	5	46	51	2.7
Jay Jay Chandler	Texas A&M	7	34	41	2.1
Yavuz Gultekin	Texas A&M	10	17	27	1.5
Mark French	Texas A&M	1	12	13	0.7
Zach Walker	Texas A&M	1	0	1	0.1

South Carolina Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
AJ Lawson	South Carolina	13.5	99	59	40
Jermaine Couisnard	South Carolina	11.4	86	44	24
Maik Kotsar	South Carolina	10.2	95	35	0
Jair Bolden	South Carolina	9.3	72	19	32
Justin Minaya	South Carolina	7.8	56	33	19
Alanzo Frink	South Carolina	4.8	39	23	0
Trae Hannibal	South Carolina	3.6	24	13	1
Jalyn McCreary	South Carolina	3.5	26	14	0
TJ Moss	South Carolina	2.8	22	5	10
Wildens Leveque	South Carolina	2.4	18	15	0

South Carolina Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Maik Kotsar	South Carolina	46	100	146	6.6
Justin Minaya	South Carolina	40	88	128	6.1
AJ Lawson	South Carolina	8	64	72	3.3
Alanzo Frink	South Carolina	34	36	70	3.3
Jair Bolden	South Carolina	5	52	57	2.7
Jermaine Couisnard	South Carolina	15	42	57	2.7
Wildens Leveque	South Carolina	23	33	56	2.7
Jalyn McCreary	South Carolina	14	32	46	2.4
Keyshawn Bryant	South Carolina	13	23	36	2.8
Trae Hannibal	South Carolina	8	28	36	2.1
TJ Moss	South Carolina	2	22	24	1.1
Micaiah Henry	South Carolina	2	5	7	1.0
Nathan Nelson	South Carolina	2	0	2	0.3
Mike Green	South Carolina	0	1	1	0.2

NCAA RPI

Texas A&M: 129

South Carolina: 79

Texas A&M Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Jay Jay Chandler	G	6′-4″	180	JR	Katy, TX
1	Savion Flagg	G	6′-7″	223	JR	Alvin, TX
2	TJ Starks	G	6′-2″	208	JR	Dallas, TX
3	Quenton Jackson	G	6′-5″	171	JR	Los Angeles, CA
5	Emanuel Miller	F	6′-7″	213	FR	Scarborough, ON
10	Everett Vaughn	F	6′-10″	237	FR	Bellaire, TX
11	Wendell Mitchell	G	6′-3″	183	SR	Rockdale, TX
12	Mark French	G	5′-8″	162	SR	Frisco, TX
13	Cashius McNeilly	G	6′-4″	191	FR	Scarborough, ON
15	Jonathan Aku	F	6′-10″	245	FR	McKinney , TX
20	Andre Gordon	G	6′-2″	185	FR	Sidney, OH
21	Zach Walker	G	6′-4″	195	SO	Deer Park, TX
25	Bakari Simmons	F	6′-4″	210	FR	Chicago, IL
31	Luke McGhee	F	6′-10″	250	SO	San Antonio, TX
32	Josh Nebo	F	6′-9″	245	SR	Houston, TX
35	Yavuz Gultekin	F	6′-7″	201	FR	Cumberland, MD

South Carolina Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	A.J. Lawson	G	6′-6″	178	SO	Toronto, ON
1	T.J. Moss	G	6′-4″	195	FR	Memphis, TN
2	Trey Anderson	F	6′-6″	203	FR	San Diego, CA
4	Jalyn McCreary	F	6′-7″	225	FR	Marietta, GA
5	Jermaine Couisnard	G	6′-4″	211	FR	East Chicago, IN
10	Justin Minaya	F	6′-6″	215	SO	Harrington Park, NJ
12	Trae Hannibal	G	6′-2″	217	FR	Hartsville, SC
13	Micaiah Henry	F	6′-9″	235	SR	Decatur, GA
14	Nathan Nelson	F	6′-6″	189	SO	Murfreesboro, TN
15	Wildens Leveque	F	6′-11″	230	FR	Brockton, MA
20	Alanzo Frink	F	6′-7″	260	SO	Jersey City, NJ
21	Maik Kotsar	F	6′-11″	270	SR	Tallinn, Estonia
23	Mike Green	G	6′-1″	188	FR	Myrtle Beach, SC
24	Keyshawn Bryant	F	6′-5″	197	SO	Winter Haven, FL
25	Seventh Woods	G	6′-2″	189	SR	Columbia, SC
52	Jair Bolden	G	6′-3″	215	JR	Brooklyn, NY

Scouting Report

South Carolina (13-9, 5-4 SEC) fell to Ole Miss 84-70 on Oxford. In the first half the Rebels built a 23-12 lead with 10:09 to play in the first half. Ole Miss continued to maintain the lead for remainder of the half and would lead 43-32 at the half. In the second half the Rebels built as much as a 19 point lead with 6:47 to play. In the final minutes the Gamecocks were able to pull the score within 9 points but they could not get closer. Breein Tyree led the Rebels with 38 points. Jermaine Couisnard topped the Gamecocks with 28 points.

AJ Lawson leads the Gamecocks in scoring averaging 13.5 points per game. Maik Kotsar pulls down a team leading 6.4 rebounds a game. South Carolina as a team averages 71.6 points per game while allowing opponents 67.4 points per contest. For the season, Carolina is making 44% from the field, 31.8% from 3-point range and 61.1% from the line.

Texas A&M (11-10, 5-4 SEC) defeated Missouri 68-51 on Tuesday in College Station. Except for a brief period in the first half, Texas A&M led the entire game. The Aggies’ stiffing defense limited the Tigers to just 18 points. The Aggies weren’t much better scoring just 25 points in the half. In the second half the Aggies maintained their lead and went on to lead by as much as 20 points. Josh Nebo led the Aggies with 18 points. Mitchell Smith was Mizzou’s leading scorer with 9 points.

Forward Josh Nebo leads the Aggies in scoring (11.8 ppg) and is second on the team in rebounding (6.9 rpg). Emanuel Miller leads the team in rebounding (6.5). Six-foot-7 guard Savion Flagg is the team’s second leading scorer (10.0). A&M’s biggest strength is its defense. The Aggies currently limit opponents to just 62.6 points a game. That’s second best in the SEC. Texas A&M is fourth in the conference in field goal defense (39.7%) and eighth in 3-point defense (30.3%). The Aggies are last in the SEC in scoring offense scoring just 60.9 points a contest. They are 14th in the league in both field goal accuracy (38.9%) and 14th in 3-point accuracy (25.7%). The Aggies rank at or near the bottom of the SEC in most of the other SEC statistical categories.

Texas A&M has the worst offense in the league. South Carolina at home is a tough team to beat. Look for the Gamecocks to prevail but A&M has already surprised a couple teams on the road so you never know.

Texas A&M-South Carolina Prediction

South Carolina 67, Texas A&M 61

Saturday‘s game tips off at 1:00 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network.