No. 16 Auburn hosts nemesis Texas A&M: Three thoughts, notes and more

AUBURN -- No. 16 Auburn (12-2) travels to Arkansas (9-5) for a 8 pm CT tip on Tuesday. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Tom Hart will perform play-by-play duties, while Jay Williams will be the color analyst. Auburn has won seven straight games by 15+ points. The Tigers are looking to start SEC play 2-0 for the fourth time in the last seven seasons (4-0 in 2018, 3-0 in 2020 and 10-0 in 2022). Two of those three instances (2018 and 2022) resulted in SEC regular season titles, with the other (2020) resulting in Auburn finishing No. 2 in the league. Texas A&M has won three straight and five of the last six matchups in the series. Auburn has only won twice in nine meetings at home all-time against the Aggies. Three of Auburn's next four games are at home. It gives the Tigers a great opportunity for a fast start in SEC play, but getting past Texas A&M is the first order of business. Auburn enters at No. 5 in KenPom ratings, No. 5 in T-Rank ratings, and No. 8 in the NET ratings. Texas A&M enters at No. 34 in KenPom, No. 47 in T-Rank and No. 39 in the NET ratings. Three thoughts, game nots and more inside...