{"id":120460,"date":"2026-01-12T22:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T22:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/120460\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T22:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T22:22:08","slug":"prediction-for-sec-clash-and-3-things-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/120460\/","title":{"rendered":"Prediction for SEC clash and 3 things to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLLEGE STATION \u2014 With SEC play in full swing, Texas A&M basketball<\/a> enters Tuesday’s matchup against Tennessee as one of the hottest teams in the country.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Aggies (13-3, 3-0) have won six games in a row and 11 of their last 12. They’ve won their first three conference games for just the fifth time since joining the SEC about 13 years ago, and for the first time since the 2022-23 season, when they started the conference slate 5-0.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

TEXAS A&M VS. NO. 24 TENNESSEE<\/p>\n

When\/where:\u00a06 p.m. Tuesday in Knoxville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

TV\/radio: SEC Network.<\/p>\n

Next up, A&M heads to Knoxville to face No. 21 Tennessee (11-5, 1-2) after its 91-57 loss to Florida. An Elite Eight team last season,\u00a0the Volunteers are 3-2 in their last five games.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0How Texas A&M basketball’s defense, once again, proves its SEC-ready<\/a><\/p>\n

The Aggies have dropped their last two games against the Volunteers, including a 77-69 loss<\/a> at Reed Arena last season.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

However, with A&M adding 14\u00a0players and a new head coach this offseason, along\u00a0with Tennessee\u00a0bringing in nine new additions, there isn’t much familiarity between the programs heading into Tuesday’s meeting.<\/p>\n

\"Solomon<\/p>\n

Solomon Washington (9) of Texas A&M\u00a0blocks a shot by Jordan Gainey (11) of Tennessee during the first half at Reed Arena on Feb. 22, 2025 in College Station. (Photo by Jack\u00a0Gorman\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Jack Gorman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Here are three things to know, plus a prediction, ahead of Texas A&M vs. Tennessee:<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Volunteers leaning on stout defense<\/p>\n

A&M enters Tuesday’s game ranked second in the conference in scoring at 93.7 points per game. That said, it’s yet to face a defense as tough as Tennessee’s, which ranks the conference’s best defense, allowing just 67.3 points per game. The Volunteers lead the SEC in opponent field goal percentage, holding teams to 38.9%. They’re also second in opponent 3-point percentage (29.1%),\u00a0A&M is hitting 37.4% of their attempts from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Tennessee also leads the SEC in combined opponent rebounds, allowing a stingy 30.2 per game. Undersized A&M is averaging\u00a0a 12th-best 38.6 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

As good as the Volunteers have been at keeping opponents off the glass, they have only one player taller than 6-foot-10 and roster nine players shorter than 6-6.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Tennessee finds production from transfer portal<\/p>\n

The Volunteers added three players through the transfer portal, and the return on investment has been immediate. Former Maryland guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie leads the team, averaging 18.3 points. He’s also averaging 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists and is shooting 43.7% from the field. He has scored in double figures in every game except the opener against Mercer and has eclipsed 30 points twice. He also leads the team in minutes, averaging 32.3 per game.<\/p>\n

Forward Jaylen Carey, a transfer from Vanderbilt, ranks fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. Former Louisiana Tech guard Amaree Abram averages 14 minutes per game, scoring 4.4 points and grabbing 1.8 rebounds.<\/p>\n

Rick Barnes has a\u00a0deep history vs the Aggies<\/p>\n

While Tuesday will be Bucky McMillan’s first time facing Tennessee, Rick Barnes \u2014 the Volunteers’ head coach \u2014 is very familiar with the Aggies. Barnes is in his 11th season leading Tennessee, but coached the\u00a0Texas Longhorns<\/a> from 1998 to 2015.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Even before taking over the Longhorns, Barnes faced A&M twice as Clemson’s head coach, going 2-0. Barnes is 33-11 all-time against the Aggies and has won seven of the last 10 meetings.<\/p>\n

Texas A&M basketball vs Tennessee prediction<\/p>\n

Tennessee, 75-72.\u00a0It’s been an impressive start for the Aggies after an offseason of high turnover. But Tuesday is their first game against a ranked opponent since the Round of 32 last season against Michigan. The Volunteers have made the NCAA Tournament seven straight years and pride themselves on defense. Add in that they were beaten soundly by Florida last week, and it’s easy to assume Tennessee will be locked in and focused, hoping to avoid a two-game skid. Expect A&M to keep it close, but the Aggies must prove they can knock off a top-25, Quad-1 team.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLLEGE STATION \u2014 With SEC play in full swing, Texas A&M basketball enters Tuesday’s matchup against Tennessee as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[24264,2692,52474,19752,21398,5277,52473,27,6095,29,28],"class_list":["post-120460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-bucky-mcmillan","tag-college-basketball","tag-mbb","tag-men-s-college-basketball","tag-rick-barnes","tag-sec-basketball","tag-tennessee-volunteers-basketball","tag-texas","tag-texas-am-basketball","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}