No. 15 Texas A&M turns its attention to overcoming Georgia

Note: See the video playlist above for interviews from Billy Kennedy, Danuel House and Tyler Davis before the Aggies head to Athens, Ga.

It’s been a ground-breaking basketball season for Texas A&M.

The Aggies have gotten off to a 4-0 start in Southeastern Conference play. Next, they look for their first victory over Georgia.

A&M is 0-4 against the Bulldogs, including a 62-53 defeat last season at Reed Arena. The Aggies have lost the other games by seven, six and 12 points.

Even though A&M (14-2, 4-0 SEC) is ranked 15th and has posted seven consecutive victories, the Aggies expect another struggle when they travel to Athens on Saturday.

“They’ve got good, balanced scoring,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “It’s a team we’ve struggled with in the past. Looking back, for whatever reason, we didn’t play our best. They get us in foul trouble. That’s what happened last year. Jalen (Jones) didn’t play most of the first half and Danuel missed seven or eight minutes after hitting his head and going through the concussion protocol.

“We’ve got to have all our guys because they’re really tough to beat in Athens.”

Georgia (9-5, 2-2) is coming off an 81-72 victory over Tennessee on Wednesday. The Bulldogs blew a four-point lead with 42 seconds remaining in a 72-71 loss to Ole Miss last Saturday.

Yante Maten, a 6-8 sophomore forward, leads Georgia with a 16.3 points-per-game average, while junior guard  J.J. Frazier averages 15.6. Senior guards Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann also average in double figures. However, no one else averages more than four points.

Not surprisingly, Georgia ranks 12th among SEC teams in scoring with a 71.9 average.

Previously, the Aggies have had problems with Georgia’s physical style of play.

“Their style of play is just different,” A&M senior guard Alex Caruso said. “They’re really tough. They play their way and kind of muck it up sometimes.

“I’ve told the young guys we’ve got to get this win. This is the only team we haven’t beaten since I’ve been here, so we’ve got to get this one.”

Getting this one may require the Aggies to play better they did in a 61-60 victory at Mississippi State or a 92-88 come-from-behind win at Tennessee.

On the offensive end, Kennedy is looking for his team to make the extra pass for better shots. Defensively, opponents are shooting higher percentages from the field and from three-point range than he feels are acceptable.

However, the Aggies can glean confidence from the fact that they’ve won three straight games without playing their best.

They shot just 30.6 percent against Mississippi State and 36.1 percent in a 71-68 victory over Florida last Tuesday.

They’ve compensated with big games from Jones, who has averaged 23 points over the past four games.

House has averaged 22.5 points in the past two games, but shot just 29.2 percent against Florida.

“I’ve got a lot of room to improve,” House said. “That’s the main focus. They (coaches) have been saying I’ve been good on the defensive end, but I also have to bring more offensively and be more efficient.”

He’s optimistic he can do that, which is a primary reason the Aggies are optimistic they can post that elusive win over Georgia.

“We’re confident but we know it’s going to be a fight,” House said. “We’re going to have to come out with a fighting mentality. We know it’s going to be a 40-minute game no matter what. We just have to brace ourselves for that. Focus on the scouting report the coaches give us and execute it to the best of our ability.”