Aggies look to sharpen game versus South Carolina St. as Zona looms

Good things and bad things are said to occur in threes.

The Aggies certainly hope so.

They hope not, too.

That may seem like a contradiction, but it makes perfect sense for Texas A&M basketball. The Aggies on Saturday night seek their third straight easy victory when they take on South Carolina State at Reed Arena. That game will serve as a final tuneup for next week’s clash with Arizona when the Aggies will try to avoid a third loss to a Pac-12 opponent. A&M (6-2) previously lost to USC 65-63 and to UCLA 74-67.

If past games are any indication, South Carolina State (2-6) may struggle to be as competitive against A&M as was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Denver, who the Aggies defeated by 17 and 22 points, respectively. South Carolina State lost to Wichita State by 46 points, to South Carolina by 42, Syracuse by 42 and Miami by 36.

The Bulldogs are one of the nation’s lowest-scoring teams with an average of just 62 points per game. They’re also 341st in the nation in rebounding margin at minus-11.9 per game. Only six teams are worse in rebounding margin. That doesn’t bode well for facing Texas A&M, which is allowing an average of 63.3 points to rank 42nd in the nation in defense and has a plus-5.3 rebounding margin.

Tashombe Riley, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, is the Bulldogs’ only real inside threat. He’s averaging 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds. The majority of scoring comes from the backcourt. Guards Eric Eaves, James Richardson and Greg Mortimer average in or near double figures.

South Carolina State figures to have major difficulty trying to contain A&M 6-10, 270-pound Tyler Davis, 6-11 Tonny Trocha-Morelos and 6-9 Robert Williams.

Also, the Aggies got a boost from senior guard J.C. Hampton on the perimeter. He had 21 points and hit five three-pointers in the victory over Denver. The Aggies will look for continued production from the back court and to maintain a high level of performance inside.

That should result in a third-straight victory.

And may ultimately help end a three-game losing streak against Pac-12 teams.

Logan's Take

As Olin laid out above, on paper this looks to be a horrible match up for South Carolina State. However, you never know what's going to happen when the lights come on and the game gets going. Texas A&M needs to get out to a strong start and put the Bulldogs away early.

The way to take the Bulldogs out of the game is to exploit their lack of size by dominating the paint, winning the rebounding battle and doing exactly what Billy Kennedy and the Aggies have set out to accomplish heading into every game this season: Tyler Davis, Tonny Trocha and Rob Williams should touch the ball every possession. In fact, if the Bulldogs play man-to-man defense, DJ Hogg should also get some touches on the block with his back to the basket.

No matter what defense South Carolina State plays, whether it's a zone or man, the Aggies should get the ball in the paint and play at the rim.

This is a game the Ags should have the ability to control from the start. If that happens, BK will have the opportunity to experiment with some new wrinkles and get more players some extra playing time and experience.