Aggie BBall Preview: Tennessee Volunteers

Tomorrow afternoon, the Tennessee Volunteers will rally together in Reed Arena. The coach or star player will give a rousing speech about how their time is now and it's payback time for what the Ags did at their house. For a moment, the Vols will believe that speech. For a moment, they will like they will conquer the world. They will run out to the court with their heads held high ready to conquer the kingdom of Aggieland.

Then a rumble starts to grow from the Reed Arena stands. At first, it seems like your simple crowd chatter but only much more sinister. The rumble grows louder and fear shivers down the spine of the Vols. Soon the visitor squad has stopped their shootaround, for they are too stricken with terror. The rumble does not come from your typical group of Reed Rowdies, oh no. 55 there are, united in intoxicated fearlessness, their sole purpose to eviscerate all who come in their path.

The Tennessee coach does the bravest thing he's ever done and approaches the group.

"Who are you?" he asks, his voice shaking.

The group raises up their snuck-in flasks and shout in unison like the Spartans of 300, "WE ARE THE GOOD BULL HUNTING MEET UP!"

"That's not the best name," the coach responded

"WE KNOW! WE DIDN'T CARE ENOUGH TO THINK UP ANOTHER!"

Yes indeed, the long-awaited Good Bull Hunting Meet-Up will finally commence and rally in support of the Aggie basketball team looking to end the NCAA Tournament hopes of the Tennessee Volunteers. The Ags' own post-season hopes are pretty dire at the moment, but they do have a good opportunity to make some waves in the SEC for the next couple of weeks as their next four opponents (UT, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri) all reside on the tourney bubble.

The last time the two squads met was arguably the peak of A&M's season when Antwan Space hit an improbable game-winning three with no time left to upset the Vols at home, 57-56. Oddly enough, that has been the only instance the Aggies have won when scoring less than 60 points (they are 1-9 when doing so). Thursday evening, A&M continued the trend scoring 63 in their 15-point victory over Alabama.

In basketball, many details contribute to the game's outcome, but for the Ags it's simple. If they put the basketball through the hoop, their chances of victory increase. In all but one of their conference losses, A&M scored 55 points or less. In their conference wins, they average nearly 70 points per game. The last contest between A&M and UT provided a microcosm for those statistics. A&M overcame 18 first-half points, and a 14-point halftime deficit, and scored 39 in the second half to upset the Vols. It would be wise if the Ags do not rely on history repeating itself and put together a more complete performance at Reed Arena.

WHO: Tennessee Volunteers

WHERE: Reed Arena

WHEN: 2:00pm

TV: ESPNU