No. 14 Auburn travels to College Station on Wednesday to take on Texas A&M in the Tigers’ third matchup against SEC competition.
Last season, Texas A&M bested the Tigers 81-80 after Auburn fought back from a 17-point deficit. It was Auburn's lone home loss in its past 25 games in Auburn Arena. Now-departed Mustapha Heron led the Tigers with 28 points and TJ Starks led the Aggies with 23.
With roster changes throughout both squads, here are some players to watch and keys to victory for Wednesday night’s matchup.
Players to watch
Austin Wiley (Auburn):
The Tigers were without big man Austin Wiley in last year’s contest and his presence down low was missed. A&M out-rebounded Auburn 33-22 and accounted for 11 offensive rebounds. The twin towers of Tyler Davis and Robert Williams gave the out-sized Tigers problems all night, combining for 31 points, and 15 boards. Both were constant shot-blocking threats inside the paint.
Now, with both Davis and Williams departed, it has opened up a chance for Wiley to have his impact inside that the Tigers missed last season.
Bryce Brown (Auburn):
The departure of Heron has pushed the scoring responsibilities onto Bryce Brown that already takes on a heavy defensive role. In some instances, Brown has been dominant, but other times he has struggled to get shots to fall. Brown’s lack of consistency in scoring is most put on display when he is away from Auburn Arena compared to when he is at home.
- Home: 45.3% FG, 41.9% 3P, 53.1% 2P
- Away: 30% FG, 30% 3P, 28.6% 2P
- Neutral: 40.4% FG, 32.5% 3P, 66.7% 2P
It will be interesting to see if Brown can find some stability in his offense on the road in College Station, but regardless Brown is someone that can push the pendulum in favor of either Auburn or Texas A&M.
TJ Starks (Texas A&M):
Starks torched the Auburn defense on his way to a team-high 23 points on 66 percent shooting.
This season, Starks has stepped his game up by averaging more points, assists and rebounds than he did last season.
The one area that Starks has struggled with is his 3-point shot, where he has struggled to find the bottom of the net shooting 25.6 percent from downtown.
Keys to victory
Auburn:
The Tigers have to establish their size in the paint against the smaller frontcourt of A&M. The “1-2 punch” at center of Wiley and McLemore has the chance to dominate Wednesday.
Texas A&M:
The Aggies are not good from behind the 3-point line and Auburn knows this. Texas A&M must knock down outside shots early to make the Tigers think twice about sagging off in the halfcourt.
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