Texas A&M's pursuit of SEC title heads next to Missouri

Above: Watch a video interview with Danuel House from Texas A&M's Friday practice.

The Southeastern Conference basketball standings would suggest an easy victory awaits No. 21 Texas A&M on Saturday at Columbia, Mo.

After all, the Aggies (21-7, 10-5 SEC) are tied for second place in the SEC, while Missouri (10-18, 3-12) is at the bottom of the standings.

However, a closer look shows a victory may not come easily.

Sure, Missouri has struggled. However, the Tigers defeated Tennessee and South Carolina in their last two home games.

And just in case anyone needs a reminder, the Aggies have had their issues on the road. A&M is 3-4 away from Reed Arena in SEC play and have lost its last four on the road.

“We’re ready to go on the road. I feel like our guys have gotten better the last couple of weeks playing three games at home,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said on Friday. “Going to a Missouri team that has won two games at home going against Tennessee and South Carolina, so we’re not going in there not prepared and not ready.”

He later added: "Missouri is good. They demand our respect, the way they’ve played at home the last couple of games.”

Still, the Aggies, who trail Kentucky by just one game in the SEC race, should win. They’ve posted consecutive victories over Ole Miss, UK and Mississippi State, while Missouri has lost at Arkansas and at Ole Miss in its last two games.

Furthermore, the Aggies already defeated the Tigers, 66-53, at Reed Arena on Jan. 23. They did that without 6-10 freshman center Tyler Davis, who rested a foot injury that day.

Davis is now playing at a high level, averaging 13.6 points over the past three games.

“We missed Tyler the last time we played them,” Kennedy acknowledged. “They played 40 minutes of zone. When we have him posting up against the zone it helps.”

In that first game, A&M shot just 36.1 percent, was out-rebounded 45-40 and was outscored in the paint 28-24 without Davis.

His presence figures to make a significant difference. Missouri likely won’t stay in a zone as much, which could lead to better looks for A&M’s perimeter shooters. He’ll provide A&M more inside scoring and rebounding.

Yet even with Davis’ presence the Aggies say they aren’t taking a win for granted.

“We’re not going to disrespect Mizzou,” senior guard Danuel House said. “Missouri is a great team. Having Tyler is a plus for us. It gives us our post presence against the zone, which we struggled with. Having Tyler back will help us with the zone.”

Frankly, the Aggies in general and House in particular need help. House has shot just 26 percent from the field in the last three games.

But as previously mentioned, A&M won all those games. That raises the question of just how good the Aggies can be if House and fellow senior Jalen Jones, who shot 36 percent in the same span, have strong shooting performances in the same game.

They combined for 37 points in the first game against Missouri, which was the last victory in a 10-game winning streak.

“I feel like we got our flow back a little bit … just a little bit,” House said. “We’re not back to playing the way we were playing. That’s a good thing. It’s still early. We still have a few conference games left and then the conference tournament to change things around and get back to where we were.”

A&M would figure to benefit from Missouri’s loss of junior guard Wes Clark, who was dismissed from the team three games ago.

Clark was Missouri’s second-leading scorer with a 9.8 average. He led the Tigers with 12 points in the previous game against A&M.

Some feel Missouri has played better without Clark, however.

Senior forward Ryan Rosburg has. He scored 21 and 18 points in the wins over Tennessee and South Carolina, though he struggled in the two recent road losses.

“They are different without Clark,” Kennedy said. “They move the ball a little better and they’ve gone inside to Rosburg. Clark was really good, but (Rosburg) is stepping up like seniors do. He’s hurt us in the past.”