Texas basketball (13-6, 2-4 SEC) takes on the rival No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies (15-4, 4-2 SEC) in the second of two meetings between these two squads in conference play this Saturday at the Moody Center in Austin.
Head coach Rodney Terry needs his team to play a complete game on both ends of the floor for both halves to avenge their double-digit loss to the Aggies in College Station from the SEC opener. Texas let up in the second half against the Aggies in the first meeting between these teams in early January, losing the second half by a margin of 20 points.
Texas played a much more complete 40-minute game on both ends of the floor in an impressive eight-point victory over the No. 22 Mizzou Tigers at the Moody Center on Jan. 21. Senior guard Julian Larry said after the game that Texas found a way to rally together down the stretch in the second half against Mizzou to seal the victory in the final minutes.
"Definitely one of our more complete games. And you can tell like we were coming together, you know, just the huddle, just being more connected, just guys talking to each other more like, you can just tell like as that game wore on, and it started getting closer and started getting towards the end, we really came together."Julian Larry
Texas A&M had a hard-fought victory of its own, coming back from a seven-point halftime deficit on the road to upset the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels this past Wednesday night on Jan. 22.
Here's a look at the TV/streaming information, game time, betting odds, and game prediction for No. 13 Texas A&M vs. Texas at the Moody Center in Austin, TX, on Jan. 25.
How to watch Texas basketball vs. No. 13 Texas A&M
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio/Audio Stream: Longhorn Radio Network/Sirius XM 389
Game time: 1:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tom Hart and Dane Bradshaw will call the action between Texas and Texas A&M on ESPN2.
Craig Way and Eddie Oran will be on the radio broadcast on Longhorn Radio Network.
Texas basketball vs. No. 13 Texas A&M betting odds
Texas is a 1.5-point underdog against Texas A&M at the Moody Center on Jan. 25 (per FanDuel). The over/under is 141.5 points.
The Longhorns (-110) and Aggies (-110) are both even in the moneyline.
Texas is 11-8-0 against the spread this season (per TeamRankings). Texas A&M is 11-6-2 against the spread.
Texas vs. No. 13 Texas A&M prediction
Texas A&M is largely a backcourt-driven team. Roughly 40 percent of the Aggies' points and well over half of its assists per game have come from the starting backcourt duo of Zhuric Phelps and Wade Taylor.
The Aggies rebound the basketball extremely well as a team. Texas A&M doesn't have any player who averages much over six rebounds per game, but it still ranks No. 1 in the SEC in total rebounds per game (41.7) this season and first nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.4).
In the first matchup between the Longhorns and Aggies a few weeks ago, Texas A&M doubled-up Texas's offensive rebound totals. A combination of proven interior depth and size in the frontcourt and forward rotation allows the Aggies to control the paint game in and game out.
It's no coincidence that the Longhorns' two wins in SEC play have come when the team was competitive or outright winning the battle on the glass, against Mizzou and the Oklahoma Sooners a couple of weeks ago.