Aggies unleash blistering offense and suffocating defense on Austin. Expect explosive scoring, deep talent, and game-changing steals in this fierce rivalry.
Road trips don’t get much louder - or more personal - than this one.
The Texas A&M Aggies head to Austin on Saturday for the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown against the Texas Longhorns, with a 5 p.m. tip inside the Moody Center and plenty of edge baked in. Rivalry games rarely need extra spice, but this one has it anyway.
Texas A&M arrives with a 13-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in SEC play, still stinging from a double-overtime loss at No. 24 Tennessee that felt more like a gut punch than a setback.
The Aggies led for nearly 36 minutes, controlled tempo, and didn’t truly lose command until the second overtime.
Jacari Lane was everywhere in Knoxville, pouring in 20 points and nine assists, while Pop Isaacs did a little bit of everything short of selling popcorn.
Sixteen points, six boards, four assists, three steals - the kind of stat line that screams “problem” for opposing defenses.
And that’s the thing: Texas A&M has been a problem for everyone.
The Aggies rank sixth nationally at 93 points per game and fifth in the country in made three-pointers, averaging 11.5 a night. Ruben Dominguez has turned SEC defenses into math problems they can’t solve, knocking down 3.6 threes per game - eighth-best nationally - and hitting at least four triples in every league contest so far.
Then there’s the depth. Bucky McMillan might need a flowchart to manage minutes, because 10 Aggies average more than 12 minutes per game.
That bench production - 40.1 points per night - ranks fourth in the nation.
Isaacs has led that second wave in SEC play, averaging 15.3 points while still finding teammates and attacking the glass.
Texas A&M ranks second among Power 4 teams in forced turnovers and averages nearly 10 steals per game. Rylan Griffen, with 1.9 steals per contest, is usually the first sign an opposing ball handler is about to have a very bad possession.
Texas, meanwhile, is red-hot.
The Longhorns have knocked off back-to-back top-15 teams and will walk in confident, loud, and fully aware of the all-time series edge. But rivalry games don’t care about history - just who punches first and who responds.
The Aggies have the shooting, the depth, and the defensive chaos to turn Saturday into another Austin headache.
And if this one goes late? Texas A&M has already proven it can survive the grind ... even if it would prefer not to test overtime again.
WHAT: Texas A&M Aggies (13-4, 3-1 SEC) at Texas Longhorns (11-6, 2-2 SEC)
WHEN: Saturday | Jan. 17 | 5 p.m. CT
WHERE: Moody Center | Austin, TX | Capacity 15,000
TV: ESPN
RADIO: 1620 AM/94.5 FM | TAMU Sports Network | SiriusXM 392
BETTING ODDS
SPREAD: TAMU +4.5
TOTAL: 164.5
MONEYLINE: TAMU -218 | TU +180