Texas A&M seeks a season sweep of rival Texas while it builds momentum for the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon in a late-season Southeastern Conference clash in College Station, Texas.
Both Texas A&M and Texas are seen as strong at-large selections for March Madness, but a win on Saturday for either team would greatly help secure their spot.
The Aggies (19-9, 9-6 SEC) defeated Texas 74-70 in Austin on Jan. 17 but have gone just 5-5 in the 10 games since.
A&M’s most recent outing was a 99-84 loss at No. 20 Arkansas on Wednesday that snapped a two-game winning streak. Zach Clemence scored 22 of his career-high 29 points in the second half. Rashaun Agee added 17 points and Marcus Hill had 10 for the Aggies in the loss, which came after the visitors culled a 17-point deficit to four with 11 minutes to play.
“What we can’t do is we can’t let (the Arkansas) game affect the next game,” Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan said. “We know what time of year this is, and all these games matter a great deal — and we know that. We got to play good basketball and particularly (we) have to do our job at home.”
The Longhorns (17-11, 8-7) travel to the Brazos Valley after an 84-71 loss at home to No. 7 Florida on Wednesday.
Dailyn Swain led Texas with 21 points, Tramon Mark added 15, Jordan Pope scored 14 and Matas Vokietaitis hit for 12 but the Longhorns went the final 7:27 without a field goal after leading by three at halftime.
“You can’t panic when you lose, and you just can’t celebrate as if the season ended if you win,” Texas coach Sean Miller said. “It’s paramount towards the end that we stay the course and we don’t overreact to the tough loss or a last-second win.”
Texas has dropped two straight games after a season-high five-game winning streak that helped it re-enter the conversation for an NCAA bid.
“(We’re) trying to win every game that we can,” Texas forward Nic Codie said. “(It) doesn’t matter what position we are in. Just trying to find a way to come together and win every game. Play a full 40 minutes every game and come out with a W after.”
The Longhorns have won eight of the past 11 and 45 of the last 57 contests against Texas A&M since the start of the 1989-90 season.
