Auburn Basketball: Is Third Time The Charm vs. Texas A&M?

The Auburn basketball team has yet to beat Texas A&M in two tries this season. Could the third be the charm in the second round of the SEC Tournament?

Auburn Tigers (13-19, 4-14) vs. Texas A&M Aggies (20-10, 12-7)

Date: Thursday March 12, 2015
Start Time: 2:00 PM Central
Location: Nashville, TN
Arena: Bridgestone Arena
TV Info: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN3.com
Odds (VegasInsider.com): Texas A&M (-8.5)

For the first time since 2009, the Auburn Tigers won a game in the SEC Tournament. And for the first time in 2014-15, K.C. Ross-Miller, Alex Thompson, Devin Waddell and T.J. Lang shared the spotlight.

“Tonight it was about four guys you weren’t expecting from us. K.C., Alex, Devin (and) T.J. Lang,”Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. “We went with that lineup because it was a lineup that was defending and rebounding and we had a bunch of starters on the bench, but just felt like those guys were playing well.”

Mar 11, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl shouts from the sidelines during the second half against Mississippi State Bulldogs of the first round of the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

Ross-Miller had 21 points and Thompson scored a career-high 16 in 23 minutes – many coming at the expense of starter Jordon Granger. K.T. Harrell scored 19 as well, one point above his SEC leading average.

On the defensive end, Lang used his length and energy to grab three rebounds, block a shot and defend against Mississippi State’s best offensive players all night. Waddell also played great defense during a career-high 16 minutes – including the final seven of the game while slumping star forward Cinmeon Bowers sat on the bench.

The 74-68 victory over Mississippi State earned the Tigers a trip to the second round, and a third shot at Texas A&M.

Texas A&M beat the Tigers 71-61 at Auburn Arena January 27, then dominated Auburn 80-55 in College Station a month later.

However, the Aggies haven’t won since – losing 66-62 to Florida in Gainesville and 61-60 to Alabama in the home finale. Also, with Danuel House (who had 22 and 15 points agains Auburn in the first two meetings, respectively) expected to miss this afternoon’s game with a foot injury, it’s the Tigers that have momentum heading into the matchup.

Still, Texas A&M has a bigger, stronger roster. The Aggies are also playing for their NCAA Tournament lives because the losses to Florida and Alabama put them on the edge of the bubble. A loss to Auburn would surely mean a trip to the NIT instead.

For Auburn to win, they’ll need Bowers to break out of his slump and for the team’s second leading scorer, Antoine Mason – who had four points against the Bulldogs after missing the previous three games following the death of his father Anthony – to shake the rust off. They’ll also need Jordon Granger’s size on the defensive end.

Of course, it would help to get another surprising performance from Ross-Miller, Thompson, Waddell and Lang.

Auburn

#5 Cinmeon Bowers, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 278 pounds, 12.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG
#25 Jordon Granger, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, 4.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
#23 T.J. Lang, G, Fr., 6-foot-7, 193 pounds, 2.4 PPG, 1.2 RPG
#1 K.T. Harrell, G, Sr., 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, 18.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG
#12 K.C. Ross-Miller, G, Sr., 6-foot-0, 178 pounds, 6.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG

Texas A&M

#14 Kourtney Roberson, F, Sr., 6-foot-9, 247 pounds, 9.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG
#15 Davonte Fitzgerald, F, So., 6-foot-7, 209 pounds, 3.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG
#12 Jalen Jones, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 223 pounds, 13.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG
#5 Jordan Green, G, Sr., 6-foot-5, 188 pounds, 5.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG
#21 Alex Caruso, G, Jr., 6-foot-5, 184 pounds, 9.4 PPG, 5.6 APG

Next: Auburn Football: 2015 Spring Practice Preview

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