Preview/GameThread: Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt

Well, we tried to run back the Northern Iowa strategy. And our 2017 record in such endeavours fell to 1-3.

If it's starting to sound famliar, it should - Texas A&M fell behind early, turned up the pressure late, and made a huge comeback that ultimately fell short. Unlike Georgia, West Virginia (barely) held their nerve and made critical plays down the stretch to halt the avalanche and ice the game.

Will we turn things around at home?

Time: 8:00 pm

Location: Reed Arena

TV: ESPNU

Line: Texas A&M is favored by 5 points

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Everyone has that 'drama-filled dating' friend in their life. At their best, they seem capable of settling down... but they always seem to shoot themselves in the foot. It can be confusing and frustrating at times to support this person, but you stay involved in their life because you see their ceiling. That's us. That's Texas A&M Basketball. We're that person.

Sometimes, that friend meets someone exactly like them. And it looks like trouble from a million miles away. And you want to tell your friend something, but you don't, because the unpredictable results are going to be fascinating. So you sit back and watch the unstable, drama-filled couple engage... hoping that above all else, the outcome is entertaining.

That other person is Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt started the SEC season 2-0, then proceeded to lose five of their next six conference games. The one win in that stretch? At #18 Florida. Sure, that makes sense. Vandy keeps games close, but they manage to mix in infuriating losses to poor opposition. They lull their fans into a false sense of "this season is an absolute waste," then they stun Florida on the road and take Kentucky to the limit.

They can beat anyone, they can lose to anyone, they don't get blown out, and they don't win by much. They are somehow both exactly like us and our complete opposite.

Vanderbilt might win by 20 tonight and go on a ten game win streak. A&M might win by 30 and make a push for the dance. Or this game could be an ugly slapfight, followed by both teams crawling down the stretch to a bottom-six SEC finish.

This is a battle between two teams that are capable of literally anything from week-to-week, and I have no idea what's going to happen.

BTHO Vanderbilt