GAME NOTES: The fifth-seeded Texas A&M Aggies will begin SEC Tournament play on Thursday, as they take on the 13th-seeded Auburn Tigers in second-round action at Bridgestone Arena.

The winner of this game will move into Friday's quarterfinal round and take on four-seed LSU.

The Aggies looked like they might finish second-fiddle in the SEC for a time, but A&M struggled down the stretch with losses in three of its last four games to end the year at 20-10 overall, with an 11-7 league ledger. Texas A&M is a mere 1-2 in the SEC Tournament since its arrival in the league.

Auburn managed just four SEC wins this season and entered the postseason with a six-game losing streak in tow. However, the Tigers finally broke through with a victory, topping Mississippi State in Wednesday's first-round action, with a 74-68 win. Auburn's only SEC Tournament championship came in 1985.

Texas A&M swept a pair of games from Auburn in the regular season, winning both games by double digits, including an 80-55 rout in College Station on Feb. 28.

Auburn boasts of the conference's top scorer in guard KT Harrell, but his 18.1 ppg did very little in terms of leading the Tigers to victory. Antoine Mason (15.1 ppg) returned to the team after a three-game absence due to the death of his father and gives the team another big-time scorer. Cinmeon Bowers give the team a real presence in the paint at 12.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Bowers recorded 14 double-doubles this season.

The Tigers trailed by two points at halftime (36-34), but were able to turn the tables on Mississippi State after intermission, shooting .565 from the floor in the second half to earn the win and advance. K.C. Ross-Miller led the way with 21 points. Harrell poured in 19 points in the victory, while Alex Thompson came off the bench to tally 16.

Texas A&M possesses a decent offensive attack, with the Aggies shooting an efficient .450 from the floor (fifth in the SEC), leading to 67.5 ppg.

The Aggies have received tremendous play from a couple of transfers that really put the team in position to win night-in and night-out. Guards Danuel House (14.8 ppg) and Jalen Jones (13.6 ppg) came to College Station after playing for Houston and SMU, respectively and made up a potent perimeter tandem for the Aggies, House, who is a little banged up (foot injury) heading into the postseason, was tabbed an All-SEC First-Team member, while Jones picked up second-team honors. Alex Caruso and Kourtney Roberson aren't averaging double digits in the scoring column but are just under that mark as valuable contributors with 9.4 and 9.0 ppg, respectively.

Auburn got a big win on Wednesday, but hasn't really kept things competitive with Texas A&M this season. Expect the Aggies to once again build a comfortable lead en route to victory.