LSU Tigers at Texas A&M Aggies Pick

Wednesday night on ESPN2, no. 19 LSU will travel to Reed Arena in College Station, TX, and take on Texas A&M. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., as LSU looks to build off of their 6-0 record against SEC opponents. The Tigers are currently second in the conference with a 16-3 record behind no. 1 Tennessee. LSU enters this matchup against Texas A&M on a nine-game winning streak and 3-1 when playing on the road this season. It’s been a rough year for the Aggies, as they sit second to last in the SEC with a conference record of 1-5. They were able to snap a three-game losing streak with a 65-53 victory over Kansas State, pushing their home record to 6-5. This marks the first time these two teams face off this season, as they’re scheduled to play once more towards the end of February.

Tigers Favorites

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, LSU has a 71.3% chance to win against Texas A&M. The Tigers have four players that average 10 or more points. We’ll start with sophomore guard Tremont Waters, who leads this team in minutes (31.6 min). Waters leads this team in scoring and passing, as he averages 14.2 ppg and 6.2 APG. Waters is averaging an absurd 3 STPG, which ranks him fourth in steals out of the entire NCAA. Junior guard Skylar Mays is the only other Tiger who averages more than 30 minutes per game (30.7 min). Mays sits second in scoring averaging 13.8 ppg and a team-best free throw percentage (87%). Naz Reid, a freshman forward out of Asbury Park, NJ, averages 13.2 ppg and 5.7 RPG in just 23.3 minutes per game. Freshman guard, Ja’vonte Smart, rounds out the four double-digit scorers for LSU averaging 10.5 ppg, as him and Reid are two freshmen who give head coach Will Wade quality minutes. Kavell Bigby-Williams stands at 6-11 and 230 lbs and should be on the Aggies game plan, as the London native leads this team with 2.2 BPG.

Aggies Seeking Upset

Can head coach Billy Kennedy this Texas A&M team over the hump and upset LSU? They were able to come back against Kansas State in their previous game, as Wendell Mitchell scored a game-high 22 points. All of Mitchell’s points came in the second half in Saturday’s game, as he is the third highest scorer for this team averaging 11.9 ppg. Sophomore guard TJ Starks leads the way for the Aggies with 12.8 ppg. Alongside him is fellow sophomore guard Savion Flagg who averages 12.6 ppg and a team-high 8.1 RPG. Things don’t get much easier for Texas A&M, as they will host Tennessee on Saturday following this showdown against LSU.