Basketball Live Thread: Texas A&M at Mizzou

Our old friends, the Aggies are back in town, let's show them what for shall we?

Who? Mizzou vs Texas A&M What? SEC Basketball Where? Columbia, MO When? 5:00 pm CT Why? One Mizzou, that's why! TV? ESPNU Radio? Tiger Radio Network

Well we've done this before and we looked pretty good in the first half when we went down to college station earlier this year, then like they have in many games this season our Tigers faded a bit, but maybe today will be different!

Let's check out the four factors to see where Mizzou can potentially get some advantages.

Well, as has been the case for most of this season, Mizzou does not have many tangible advantages, but that doesn't mean we don't have one, hello ball handling! As always let's hope our guards can protect the ball so that when we do have opportunities to score we're maximizing our possessions.

Looking at Sam's three keys from our preview today, he's calling the following aspects of the game the most important and the best way for Mizzou to get a win.

1) Make Nothing Easy! Mizzou has done a good job slowing the game down and making teams work for their shots, while not giving possessions away. So keep it up! No easy looks at the basket, no breakdowns underneath and stick to your man or your zone. Easy right?

2) Make your shots. I mean, this should go without saying, but with the offensive funk Mizzou has been in since the Arkansas game of two weeks ago Mizzou has had problems making shots. Down in Alabama even hitting the rim became difficult. Let's hope we've got our legs under us and the rims are soft and in our favor.

3) Mizzou needs a spark. Someone's got to show some life, someone's got to get hyped and get not only the team going and finding the joy that exists when you're playing good basketball, and someone has to give the home crowd a reason to get on their feet and get a little nuts. As much as we talk about poor attendance and how this season hasn't helped, when Mizzou is going, Mizzou Arena can be a very difficult place to play for opposing teams.
So for those of you at the game, let's see some emotions from the fans and let's get hyped for our young Tigers.

Finally, it's assistant coach Tim Fuller's birthday and there is nothing better than getting a win on your birthday, so let's do it for him.

Happy birthday, @CoachTimFFuller! And it's GAMEDAY at #Mizzou Arena! Celebration starts at 5 p.m.! pic.twitter.com/gPf1Z37EaA

— Mizzou Basketball (@MizzouHoops) February 7, 2015

So there you have it, you've read the preview, you've studied the three keys and I assume you have a beverage in hand. Let's go Tigers, M-I-Z...