Record in their last five games: 4-1

Won at No. 5 Florida, 83-82

Beat Arkansas, 83-65

Lost at Texas, 61-53

Beat No. 18 Ole Miss, 83-75

Won at No. 14 Mississippi State, 88-61

Scoring leaders:

G Tamar Bates, 13.5 PPG

G Caleb Grill, 13.2 PPG

G Mark Mitchell, 12.8 PPG

Big wins:

Beat No. 11 Kansas, 76-67

Wins over Florida, Mississippi State

Bad losses:

Lost to Auburn, 84-68

Lost to Illinois, 80-77

Loss to Texas

This is an up-tempo, guard-centered offense that scores a lot of points (83.4 PPG, 16th nationally) and hits nearly 38% of their 3-pointers. But they are small with the exception of 7-foot center Josh Gray, and he only plays 15 minutes a game. They turn the ball over a fair amount and are consistently out-rebounded, something that could spell disaster against the Aggies.

Still, this team is red hot and has routed some good competition of late. They'll be a good bit higher than 20 when the AP poll comes out tomorrow. This game will be a brawl, but A&M has one advantage: the Tigers play No. 6 Tennessee on Wednesday. The Aggies are off all week.

Last five: 1-4

Lost to No. 1 Auburn, 70-68

Lost at Arkansas, 68-65

Lost at No. 5 Florida, 85-59

Beat South Carolina, 71-60

Lost at No. 4 Alabama, 90-69

Leading scorers:

F Asa Newell, 15.2 PPG

G Silas Demary Jr. 11.1 PPG

G Dakota Leffew, 10.8 PPG

Big wins:

Beat No. 12 Kentucky, 82-69

Beat Oklahoma, 72-62

Bad losses:

Losses to Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama

Lost at Ole Miss, 63-51

SEC reality has punched Georgia hard in the nose, as a team that had one loss in non-conference (to No. 5 Marquette) has dropped five of their last six. They've really had trouble on the road, getting blasted by Tennessee and Alabama, and this game is at Reed Arena.

Newell is a potential first round draft pick. The 6-foot-11 freshman center leads the team in scoring and rebounds while making 55% of his shots from the field and nearly 75% from the free throw line. He'll also crank up three or four 3's a game, where he's hitting 25.5%. He'll be quite the challenge for Pharrel Payne, Henry Coleman and (hopefully) Solomon Washington.

Last five: 2-3

Lost at LSU, 78-74

Lost at Missouri, 83-65

Beat Georgia, 68-65

Lost to Oklahoma, 65-62

Won at Kentucky, 89-79

Leading scorers:

F Adou Theiro, 16.4 PPG

G Boogie Fland, 15.1 PPG

G DJ Wagner, 10.5 PPG

Big wins:

Win at Kentucky

Beat Michigan, 89-87

Bad losses:

Losses to LSU and Missouri

Lost 76-52 at Tennessee

Kentucky and its fanbase thought it was a good idea to taunt John Calipari and the struggling Hogs in the days leading up to last night's game, and got a black eye in response. Arkansas played easily their best game of the year to smack UK in embarrassing fashion.

But last night's good shooting performance and solid defense was out of character for this team so far. The Razorbacks are a very average shooting team, don't shoot the 3 well, turn the ball over a lot and are terrible at rebounding. Theiro has first round talent and, like Newell, can play inside and out. But he's 6-foot-8 as opposed to nearly 7 feet, so that sounds like a Solomon Washington and Andersson Garcia task.

Last five: 2-3

Beat Ole Miss, 84-81

Lost at Tennessee, 68-56

Won at South Carolina, 65-60 (OT)

Lost to Alabama, 88-84

Lost to Missouri, 88-61

Leading scorers:

G Josh Hubbard, 17.6 PPG

F KeShawn Murphy, 11 PPG

G Claudell Harris Jr., 10.4 PPG

Big wins:

Won at No. 19 Memphis, 79-66

Beat Pitt, 90-57

Won at No. 24 Vanderbilt, 76-64

Bad losses:

Lost at Auburn 88-66

Missouri loss

Lost to Butler, 87-77

This bunch of Bulldogs is another one that rolled through the non-conference schedule and got punched squarely in the face by the SEC. They've got to get back on their feet after a surprisingly bad loss to Missouri yesterday, and they play at Georgia, Florida and at Ole Miss before they face the Aggies at home.

This State team is pretty different from past incarnations in that it scores pretty well, even it shoots 3's almost as badly as A&M does. But it doesn't defend well, ranking 169 in the country (A&M is 44th). They don't shoot free throws well, but hit the offensive glass hard. There are more than a few similarities here.

Last five: 2-3

Lost at Vanderbilt, 76-75

Beat Mississippi State, 68-56

Lost at Auburn, 53-51

Lost to Kentucky, 78-73

Beat Florida, 64-44

Leading scorers:

G Chaz Lanier, 17.9 PPG

G Zakai Zeigler, 12.3 PPG

G Jordan Gainey, 11 PPG

Big wins:

Beat Florida

Beat Baylor, 77-62

Beat Louisville, 77-55

Bad losses:

Lost at Florida, 73-43

Loss to Vanderbilt

The Vols have remained in the top 10, but the win yesterday over Florida was really their first notable one since the non-conference. This is very similar to the team that A&M blitzed at home last year, only to be trounced in Knoxville -- guard-heavy heavy offense with big big men who can control the paint. They are tough defensively, ranking third nationally in points against. This one has all the makings of a rock fight.

Last five: 3-2

Beat South Carolina, 66-63

Beat Tennessee, 76-75

Lost at Alabama, 103-87

Beat Kentucky, 74-69

Lost at Oklahoma, 97-67

Leading scorers:

G Jason Edwards, 17.5 PPG

F Devin McGlockton, 11.4 PPG

G AJ Hoggard, 10.7 PPG

Big wins:

Beat Tennessee

Beat Kentucky

Bad losses:

Loss to OU

Lost to Drake, 81-71

Lost to Mississippi State, 76-64

Vandy won't be ranked this week after getting demolished by the Sooners yesterday, a game where they were up 15 and lost by 30. But they're a guard heavy offense that relies on getting to the rack for their points, and if they can't do that, they're in trouble. They force a lot of turnovers and gamble defensively, so controlling the ball will be key.

Last five: 3-2

Lost to Missouri, 83-82

Beat Texas, 84-60

Won at South Carolina, 70-69

Beat Georgia, 89-59

Lost at Tennesse, 64-44

Leading scorers:

G Walter Clayton Jr., 17.4 PPG

G Alijah Martin, 15.6 PPG

G Will Richard, 13 PPG

Big wins:

Beat Tennessee 73-43

Beat Virginia 87-69

Beat Texas

Bad losses:

Lost to Tennessee

Lost to Kentucky, 106-100

The Gators win with defense and rebounding. They shoot a ton of 3's and aren't exactly snipers with them, but they still make enough to be plenty effective. They are absolute elite on defense, so they're going to make life tough on a team that already has trouble shooting.

Last five: 5-0

Beat Mississippi State, 88-66

Won at Georgia, 70-68

Beat Tennessee, 53-51

Won at LSU, 87-74

Won at Ole Miss, 92-82

Leading scorers:

F Johni Broome, 18.3

G Chad Baker-Mazara, 13 PPG

G Thad Pettiford, 11.6 PPG

Big wins:

Beat Houston, 74-67

Beat Tennessee

Beat Missouri, 84-68

Bad losses:

They lost to Duke. So no.

The Tigers, for lack of a better term, have been dominant this season. They can shoot from 3, they have a strong low post game, make a lot of shots and don't turn it over. They're also a top 50 team defensively. If they have a weakness, it's rebounding, where A&M has a big edge. But the crowd at Reed Arena will need to be at its loudest, because A&M will likely be big underdogs, whether they're rolling coming in or not.

Last five: 1-4

Beat Arkansas, 78-74

Lost at A&M, 68-57

Lost at Alabama, 8-73

Lost to Auburn, 87-74

Lost to Texas, 89-58

Leading scorers:

G Cam Carter, 17.3 PPG

G Jordan Sears, 14 PPG

F Jalen Reed, 11.1 PPG (hasn’t played since Dec. 3)

Big wins:

Won at Kansas State, 76-65

Beat FSU, 85-75

Bad losses:

Loss to Vanderbilt, 80-72

Lost at Missouri, 83-67

Lost to Texas

The Tigers are struggling badly. They’ve been good enough to stick around against the SEC’s big boys, but got blitzed by Texas Saturday at home. Their guards are the offense, and if they shoot well, they can compete. If they don’t, well…