Aggies to begin pursuit of SEC championship against Arkansas

In December, Texas A&M proved it could contend for a Big 12 basketball championship.

In January, the Aggies (10-2) hope to get a fast start at proving they can contend for the Southeastern Conference title.

That race begins Saturday at Reed Arena against Arkansas (6-6).

For the first time in their four-year existence in the SEC the 20th-ranked Aggies appear to be a bona fide threat for the conference championship.

That was made clear by a 10-2 start in non-conference games. Preseason favorite Kentucky and Ole Miss boast identical records, while South Carolina is 12-0.

But A&M’s ledger includes victories over a Big 12 trio of 10-2 Baylor, 10-2 Kansas State and 8-4 Texas, which has a victory over North Carolina, as well as the Aggies' victory over Gonzaga.

Consequently, A&M has an RPI ranking of 16th — not too far behind No. 9 Kentucky.

Ole Miss’ RPI ranking is 57th and South Carolina’s is 43rd.

The Aggies hope to continue moving up in the RPI rankings and further establishing themselves as SEC contenders by starting conference play with a victory over Arkansas.

The Razorbacks, who lost Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls to the NBA from last year’s NCAA tournament team, got off to a slow start. But they’ve steadily improved and on Wednesday fell 85-81 in overtime to Dayton (10-2).

“It starts with Arkansas,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said on Friday. “I was really impressed with how they played against Dayton. They’re a different team than last year. Moses Kingsley is playing extremely well. He may be the most improved player in the SEC.”

Kingsley, the Razorbacks’ 6-10 sophomore center from Nigeria, is averaging 16.9 points and 10.3 rebounds.

He’s getting a lot of help. Guards Dusty Hannahs and Anthlon Bell are also averaging more than 16 points per game. Senior guard Jabril Durham averages 7.5 assists to rank among the national leaders.

“Some of the guys that didn’t play a lot last year have really stepped up,” A&M senior guard Alex Caruso said of Arkansas. “They’ve got a center (Kingsley) that maybe averaged two or three points (last year) is now averaging a double-double. A couple of guards are shooting the ball well and a guard that tops the country in assists, so they’ve reloaded.

“They’re not as good individually talented-wise, but as a team they’re just as good if not better.”

Of course, the same can be said for A&M, which has posted three consecutive victories each by double figures.

Guard Danuel House averages 15.3 points, forward Jalen Jones averages 14.9 and freshman center Tyler Davis averages 12.3, while leading the nation with a .794 shooting percentage. He’s provided the inside scoring presence the Aggies have not had in their previous four seasons under Kennedy.

Also, Caruso is averaging 4.8 assists and leads the SEC in steals. He needs one steal to set an A&M career school record.

The Aggies are leading the SEC with a .553 field goal percentage and are fourth in scoring at 79.7 points per game. A&M is also third in scoring defense.

Kennedy, however, is demanding improvement on the defensive end.

“We’ve been good defensively,” he said. “I’ve challenged our guys to try to be great defensively. To win the conference championship and to win at the level we want to win at we have to be more dominant on defense.”