Georgia and Texas A&M Both Look to End Struggles

March has arrived, and with it comes Madness.

The college basketball word is in a tizzy, with every team scrambling for the best possible position at this stage in the season.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies are currently positioned on the outside looking in, but a late-season surge from either team could vault them into tournament talks.

With the Aggies (15-13, 6-9 SEC) traveling to face the Bulldogs (15-13, 5-10 SEC) on Saturday, the winner of the matchup would need a lot of luck and a successful conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

Last Time Out

The Aggies suffered a brutal loss at home on Wednesday.

After going back-and-forth with No. 22 South Carolina in a game that resembled a dogfight, they couldn’t finish the job. Gamecocks guard Zachary Davis made a layup with three seconds left in the game to snatch a 70-68 win.

Final. pic.twitter.com/H3auQ7YCD2

— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) February 29, 2024

The Aggies shot just 2-of-17 from 3-point range but stayed in the game by dominating the free-throw battle. South Carolina made just 6-of-13 attempts from the charity stripe, while Texas A&M sank 22-of-25. However, it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Georgia is also coming off of a tough loss, dropping to LSU in a wild affair. Despite leading by one point with 30 seconds left, they failed to hold off the Tigers. Will Baker was fouled inside and made both of his free throws, giving LSU the 67-66 victory.

Final. #GoDawgs | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/egpSeOtCXn

— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) February 28, 2024

Georgia’s Home Skid

The Bulldogs are on a losing streak of four games at home.

In that time, they’ve lost to Auburn, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama. All four of those teams are currently ranked and are confident in making March Madness.

And that’s Georgia’s biggest problem: it just can’t seem to beat Quad 1 teams. In fact, they’re just 1-8 against them.

Worse, they’re 2-4 against Quad 2 teams, the opponents they need to beat if they want to keep playing deep into March.

Texas A&M is much better than Georgia in this regard. With a 5-6 record against Quad 1 and a 3-2 record against Quad 2, it’s very reasonable to assume the Aggies could do well in March if they were to make it.

And by beating Georgia and performing well in the SEC Tournament, the Aggies have a chance to get there.

Offensive Struggles

The Bulldogs and Aggies both rank in the bottom half of the SEC in scoring.

In its last 10 games, Texas A&M has shot just 38.9% from the field, going 4-for-6 over that span.

Georgia has improved offensively over the course of the season, shooting 44.7% in its last 10 games, but has also worsened defensively. That is why they are 2-8 in their last 10 games.

Although each team has exploded offensively at times, it is certainly not a strength for either team.

The Game

Georgia will host Texas A&M on Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.