2 Texas A&M players listed as ‘probable’ before facing Vanderbilt

Texas A&M (17-6, 7-4 SEC) will take on No. 19 Vanderbilt on the road just three days after Wednesday’s heartbreaking 86-85 home loss to Missouri, coming back from a nearly double-digit deficit in the final minutes to take the lead, but after surrendering 56 points in the paint, Missouri’s offense was too much to handle, leading to the Aggies’ third straight loss in conference play.

Needing to “stop the bleeding,” first-year head coach Bucky McMillan simply stated after the loss that he and his team must move on to the next challenge, knowing that Vanderbilt’s high-flying offense is very similar to the Aggies’ ability to score in spurts, while both teams are shooting better than 35% from beyond the arc. However, Texas A&M’s defense has failed to make key stops, especially late in games.

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Vanderbilt doesn’t possess much of a size advantage, which is good news for the Aggies, who have been bullied inside against Florida and the Tigers. Still, the Commodores are shooting nearly 50% from the floor, and while star guard Duke Miles will miss his fifth consecutive game, leading scorer Tyler Tanner, who is averaging 18.9 points per game, is nearly impossible to slow down.

Texas A&M’s roster, outside of senior transfer forward Mackenzie Mgabako, who is out for the rest of the season, has stayed healthy throughout the year, but after Wednesday game, the latest injury report revealed the senior forward Zach Clemence and senior guard Rylan Griffen are both “probable” to play vs. Vanderbilt, giving them a 75% chance to face the Commodores on Saturday.

After Wednesday’s loss, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his updated NCAA Tournament bracket, dropping the Aggies to the 9-seed line, facing 8-seed Iowa. Losing streaks this late in the season can be detrimental to any team’s postseason chances, and while the Aggies have built a solid resume, losing a fourth straight game would likely drop them th 10-seed or lower.

With seven wins in conference play, Texas A&M needs to win its remaining home games and at least one, or possibly two, road games to earn an at-large bid to March Madness.

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Texas A&M will face No. 19 Vanderbilt on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CT. The game will air on the SEC Network.