No. 7 Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC) stumbled into Week 17 with aspirations of adding to what was a five-game winning streak in SEC play, but consecutive losses to Mississippi State on the road and No. 6 Tennessee at home have placed the Aggies in a bind heading into Wednesday’s home test vs. Vanderbilt.
Needing a win to get back on track, this will take a much-improved performance from star guard Wade Taylor IV, who finished 0-9 from a 3-point range paired with the Aggies’ 5-30 stat line from beyond the arc against the Volunteers. While the amount of attempts is shocking, Texas A&M is near the bottom of the conference in nearly every offensive metric and 327th nationally in 3-point percentage.
After 27 games this season, it’s uncertain whether the Aggies will enhance their three-point shooting. However, they need to be more efficient at reducing attempts and concentrating on a higher percentage of shots. With the loss, Texas A&M dropped in the NET rankings, which wasn’t a surprise, but the program is still in good shape heading into the postseason, still predicted as a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
With four games remaining in the regular season, defeating Vanderbilt at home looks like a must-win before facing No. 2 Florida on the road, followed by hosting No. 1 Auburn before finishing the season in Baton Rouge against LSU. Finishing 2-2, at the very least, should be the goal.
Throughout the SEC, the leading teams performed well after Tennessee’s victory, with Alabama bouncing back against Kentucky and Auburn and Florida both achieving wins. However, No. 15 Missouri’s surprising loss on the road to Arkansas has disturbed the SEC standings as we head into next week.
Updated SEC standings:
|
No. 1 Auburn Tigers |
25-2 (13-1 SEC) |
|
No. 2 Florida Gators |
24-3 (11-3 SEC) |
|
No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide |
22-5 (11-3 SEC) |
|
No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers |
22-5 (9-5 SEC) |
|
No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies |
20-7 (9-5 SEC) |
|
No. 15 Missouri Tigers |
20-7 (9-5 SEC) |
|
No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels |
19-8 (8-6 SEC) |
|
No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats |
18-9 (7-7 SEC) |
|
No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs |
19-8 (7-7 SEC) |
|
Vanderbilt Commodores |
18-9 (6-6 SEC) |
|
Arkansas Razorbacks |
16-11 (5-9 SEC) |
|
Texas Longhorns |
16-11 (5-9 SEC) |
|
Georgia Bulldogs |
16-11 (4-10 SEC) |
|
Oklahoma Sooners |
17-10 (4-10 SEC) |
|
LSU Tigers |
14-13 (3-11 SEC) |
|
South Carolina Gamecocks |
11-16 (1-13 SEC) |
Texas A&M will host Vanderbilt in Reed Arena on Wednesday, February 26 at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will air on the SEC Network.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Updated SEC basketball standings after Texas A&M’s loss to Tennessee
