Texas A&M drops one spot in the NET rankings after losing to Missouri

· Yahoo Sports

Texas A&M (17-6, 7-4 SEC) has officially hit a drought in SEC play after dropping its third consecutive game to Missouri 86-85 on Wednesday night, as the heartbreaking defeat was a microcosm of the Aggies' up-and-down season in conference play, losing close games due to the opposing team's size differential in the paint.

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The Tigers took full advantage of Texas A&M's lack of size, scoring 56 points in the paint, outrebounding the Aggies 39-26, including 16 offensive rebounds that turned into 14 second-chance points that ultimately sealed the game. Despite hitting a record eleven three-pointers in the first half, Texas A&M's offense fizzled out after halftime, hitting just twelve shots in the second half and four three-pointers.

For the second time this season, reserve forward Zach Clemence was the bright spot offensively, scoring 20 or more points for the second time, while hitting three of the Aggies' 15 threes on the night, and finished a highly efficient 8-10 from the field.

The Kansas transfer has continued to make an impact during conference play, but the fact that 20 points off the bench wasn't enough to win on Wednesday poses a bigger problem with seven games in SEC play left before the SEC Tournament. Right now, Texas A&M still needs to win three or four of its final seven regular-season games to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Moments after Wednesday's game, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi dropped the Aggies to the 9-seed line, and is widely considered a 10-seed and closer to the bubble than many of us assumed just two weeks ago. In the all-important NET rankings, Texas A&M dropped just one spot to No. 43 before taking on Vanderbilt on the road.

No. 19 Vanderbilt also lost three consecutive games in conference play this season, and while last Saturday's home loss to Oklahoma was shocking, the Aggies will need to play nearly perfect basketball to have a shot at pulling off what would be a massive upset.

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M drops to No. 43 in the NET rankings after losing to Missouri

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