Tigers Hit Trails for Texas A&M, Playing Saturday on ESPN2

Saturday, January 20

College Station, Texas

3 PM CT

University of Missouri

Texas A&M

Tigers Hit Trails for Texas A&M, Playing Saturday on ESPN2

1/19/2018 2:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

@MizzouHoops and Aggies tip off at 3 p.m. CT from College Station, Texas

Mizzou Men's Basketball (13-5, 3-2) visits Texas A&M (12-6, 1-5) as Southeastern Conference play continues for the Tigers. Head coach Cuonzo Martin's squad looks to add a second SEC road win to its résumé on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Mizzou at Texas A&M
Saturday, Jan. 20, 3 p.m. CT
ESPN2

Game Notes

Story Lines

Martin's Mizzou squad has added 13 wins to his career total thus far, bringing that mark up to 199 victories as a head coach across his 10 seasons.
Mizzou has flipped the script on its 2016-17 season. After 18 games last season, the Tigers were 5-13 overall and 0-6 in conference play.
Martin has installed his patented defensive approach, while also shaping a sharp-shooting squad. Mizzou ranks in the nation's Top 20 in both offensive (56.8, 20th) and defensive (45.4, 17th) effective field goal percentage.
Mizzou's 38.7-percent mark from deep range (46th) and 9.3 three-pointers per game (48th) both rank inside the Top 50, nationally.
The Tigers' 168 three-pointers rank as the most in school history through 18 games, four triples ahead of the 1999-2000 season's pace (164). Mizzou hit 157 triples in 2001-02, for the third-highest mark.
The Tigers are shooting 40.9 percent from three-point territory during conference play to rank second in the SEC. Mizzou ranks first in the SEC from the free throw line (.828) in league action.
Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson has averaged 15.6 points per game overall, but in SEC-play, Robertson's scoring average bumps up to 17.0 points per game -- ranking fifth-best in the league.
Senior forward Jordan Barnett is averaging 17.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game over the Tigers' last 13 games. In that stretch, Barnett has scored in double-figures in 11-of-13 games and is converting 50.3 percent of his field goal attempts (74-147 FG) and 45.9 percent of his three-pointers (39-85 3PT).

Scouting Texas A&M

Texas A&M has started just 1-5 in Southeastern Conference action, but the Aggies are a formidable foe at home with their 8-2 record inside Reed Arena.
Four Aggies have averaged double-figures in scoring for head coach Billy Kennedy's squad during SEC action, led by junior center Tyler Davis' 15.8 points per game. Junior guard Admon Gilder follows Davis with his 13.3 points per game.
On the boards, Texas A&M is led by two players averaging at least 8.0 rebounds per game in conference. Davis' has 8.2 rebounds per game to his credit, but sophomore forward Robert Williams has a team-best 8.6 boards-per-game average in SEC play.
Texas A&M (12-6, 1-5) picked up its first conference victory in its most recent action, defeating Ole Miss by a score of 71-69 at home (Jan. 16).

Notes From The Tennessee Win

With the 59-55 win over No. 21 Tennessee (Jan. 17), Mizzou defeated a ranked foe for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when the Tigers upended No. 18 UCLA, 80-71 at Mizzou Arena (Dec. 7, 2013).
Mizzou held Tennessee to 55 points, 29 points under its conference average of 84.0 points per game in five SEC contests.
The Tigers outrebounded the Volunteers, 31-28; the 15th time in 18 games this season Mizzou has outrebounded its opponents.
Tennessee's 55 points matches the third-lowest scoring output Mizzou has held an opponent to this season. The Tigers held Wagner to 55 points (Nov. 13), and held both Miami (Ohio) and North Florida to 51 points (Dec. 5 and Dec. 16, respectively).
Mizzou shot 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line, matching its season-best performance two games ago against Georgia (Jan. 10) when it also shot 15-of-17 from the charity stripe.

Defense! Defense!

Mizzou has held eight-straight opponents under their season scoring averages entering their respective matchups against the Tigers.
In SEC action, head coach Cuonzo Martin's squad has held its five opponents an average of 14.7 points below their season scoring averages. Tennessee's 55 points (Jan. 16) were a season-low.

Kash Money

Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson is averaging a stout 15.6 points per game, a total that ranks No. 1 among graduate transfers playing at the high major level. That total stands at fifth-best overall among all graduate transfers across the entire NCAA Division I level.
Robertson had his best game to-date as a Tiger, as he scored a season-high 26 points at Arkansas (Jan. 13) and posted season-bests in field goals made (9), three-pointers (6), rebounds (8) and steals (3).
Robertson is shooting 42.9 percent (54-of-126) from deep, which would be the highest mark by a Tiger since Kim English shot 45.9 percent in 2011-12.

Up Next

The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena for an SEC matchup vs. Auburn on Wednesday, Jan. 24, with tipoff slated for 8 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
Mizzou leads the all-time series vs. Auburn, 4-3, with all matchups occurring since the Black & Gold joined the conference.
The Tigers topped Auburn in their most recent meeting, 86-83 in overtime, at last season's SEC Tournament (March 8, 2017). Then-sophomore forward Kevin Puryear hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer to secure the win.