Texas A&M's attempt to right the ship begins at home against Ole Miss

The February free fall has changed Texas A&M from a championship contender to an also-ran in the Southeastern Conference basketball race.

The Aggies (18-7, 7-5 SEC) have to figure out how to change back.

One factor that figures to help the Aggies against Ole Miss (16-6, 6-6) on Tuesday night is the return to Reed Arena. The Aggies are 13-1 on their home court.

“We’ve lost one game here,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said on Monday. "That game (an 81-78 loss to South Carolina) we played well, but didn’t play well enough. We’re glad to be home.”

However, recent performances in A&M’s four-game losing streak indicate home court advantage isn’t enough. The Aggies have suffered four consecutive losses and have fallen in five of their last six games. They need considerable improvement in a variety of areas to defeat Ole Miss.

The Aggies have committed 77 turnovers in their five SEC losses. They’ve also allowed 55 offensive rebounds, including 14 in the past two games.

And although LSU hit just five of 15 attempts from three-point range, opponents have done considerable damage to A&M from beyond the arc.

“We’ve definitely done some of that and we’re playing really good teams,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to execute better. We didn’t execute very well the last four or five minutes (against LSU). Our interior defense wasn’t as good. LSU had a lot to do with that.

“We’ve got to be a better rebounding team. Jalen only had one rebound — he was on the perimeter too much. Some of that, he was afraid to get hit. He’s feeling much better. We’ve got to have all our guys rebounding.”

Ole Miss has won three of its last four, but has struggled away from Oxford. The Rebels are 1-4 on the road in SEC play.

Still, Ole Miss is extremely dangerous primarily because of guard Stefan Moody, a 5-10 senior who averages 23.0 points per game. He’s also hit 70 three-point goals, which is another reason he’s a major point of concern for A&M.

But Moody is by no means the Rebels' lone threat.

Sabastian Saiz, a 6-9 forward, averages 12.2 points and 9.3 rebounds. Also, 6-5 junior Rasheed Brooks and 6-9 forward Tomasz Gielo both average 9.3 points and both have hit 39 three-point goals.

“The Gielo kid is shooting the ball well,” Kennedy said. “He was averaging eight. The last four or five games he’s averaging 17. They shoot a lot of threes and they’re shooting the ball better.”

A&M remains more concerned with its own issues, though.

Jones was slowed by a hip-pointer against LSU. Alex Caruso has been uncharacteristically unreliable with the basketball. Tyler Davis was held scoreless and took just one shot in the second half of the loss to LSU. Danuel House has been inconsistent.

If the Aggies solve those issues they can end their slump and resurface as championship contenders.

“Four of our next six are at home,” Kennedy said. “We have to just keep grinding through it. Tougher teams will rise up. I think we’ve got some good toughness.”