AggieYell.com breaks down Thursday night's matchup between No. 7 seed Texas A&M and No. 10 seed Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (8:55 p.m., TBS).
Records
Texas A&M: 25-9, 17-4 SEC; second place in the regular season and runner-up in the SEC Tournament.
A&M's last 5 games: 4-1
A&M's last 10 games: 8-2
Penn State: 22-10, 10-10 Big Ten; runner-up in the Big Ten Tournament.
Penn State's last 5 games: 4-1
Penn State's last 10 games: 8-2
A&M starters
F Dexter Dennis; Graduate student-TR.; 6-5, 210; 9.2 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, 1.2 assists per game
F Henry Coleman; Jr.-TR.; 6-8, 245; 9.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, .9 APG
F Julius Marble; Jr.-TR.; 6-9, 245; 9.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, .4 APG
PG Wade Taylor; So.; 6, 185; 16.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4 APG
G Tyrece “Boots” Radford; 6-2, 195; Sr.-TR.; 12.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.4 APG
Key reserves
G/F Andersson Garcia; Jr.-TR.; 6-7, 210; 3.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, .8 APG
F Solomon Washington; Fr.; 6-7, 225; 3.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, .9 APG
G/F Manny Obaseki; So.; 6-4, 189; 5.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1 APG
F Hayden Hefner; Jr.; 6-6, 185; 3.7 PPG, .7 RPG, .5 APG
G Andre Gordon; Sr.; 6-2, 185; 2.2 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 1.2 APG
A&M by the numbers
Average points per game: 73.2
Opponents’ average points per game: 66.2
Team shooting percentage: 43.2%
Opponents’ shooting percentage: 40.5%
3-point shooting percentage: 32.8%
Opponents’ 3-point shooting percentage: 32.3%
Free throw percentage: 75.9% (653-860)
Opponents’ free throw percentage: 70.5% (462-656)
Turnovers per game: 12.4
Opponents' turnovers per game: 14.2
Rebounds per game: 36.8
Opponents’ rebounds per game: 32.1
A&M's gameplan
We know A&M's gameplan by now: get physical, get in the paint, score from close in or get fouled. Nobody does it better in the country.
Taylor is the key to the offense; as he goes, the team goes. Before the loss in the SEC Championship game, he had been on an absolute tear and has shown the ability to take over games. Radford is the team's second-leading scorer and his forte is to attack the basket and put the ball off the glass with his left hand.
This game, however, calls for big performances by Marble and Coleman. Penn State is undersized and does not rebound well — they were out-rebounded by more than 2 a game all season. This is a game where A&M wants its bigs to get in close and score and, if needed, crash the offensive boards.
Penn State starters
F Kebba Njie; Fr.; 6-10, 235; 3.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, .5 APG
G Seth Lundy; Sr.; 6-6, 220; 14.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, .9 RPG
G Jalen Pickett; Sr.-TR.; 6-4, 210; 17.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 6.7 APG
G Andrew Funk; Sr.-TR.; 6-5, 210; 12.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.1 APG
G Camren Winter; Sr.-TR.; 6-2, 200; 8.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2 APG
Key reserves
G Myles Dread; Sr.; 6-4, 235; 5.3 PPG, 2 RPG, .9 APG
G Kanye Clary; Fr.; 5-11, 192; 3.8 PPG, .9 RPG, .7 APG
F Evan Mahaffey; Fr.; 6-6, 200; 2.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG, .4 APG
Penn State by the numbers
Average points per game: 72.3
Opponents’ average points per game: 68.4
Team shooting percentage: 46.4%
Opponents’ shooting percentage: 43%
3-point shooting percentage: 38.5%
Opponents’ 3-point shooting percentage: 33.3%
Free throw percentage: 73.8% (315-427)
Opponents’ free throw percentage: 70.4% (374-531)
Turnovers per game: 9
Opponents' turnovers per game: 8.6
Rebounds per game: 32.6
Opponents’ rebounds per game: 34.9
Penn State's gameplan
A&M coach Buzz Williams described Penn State’s gameplan like this: “Their team is distinct green or red, there is no yellow. And it's because they're very committed to what they're doing. They're not turning the ball over. The third least turnover rate in the country. Half of their balls are going to be shot from three and they're going to shoot more and make more than any team in the country. They're not trying to get fouled because they're not going to the charge circle. They're not going to offensive rebound because they're not going to give up any points in transition.”
The offense runs through Pickett, a second-team All-American. He leads the team in all offensive categories and is the only player who really likes to attack the rim. Lundy and Funk will sit out on the perimeter and shoot 3’s; they’ve hit 40.6% and 40.5% on the season, respectively, and both shot more than 200 of them. Dread will come off the bench and start chucking up 3s as well.
Penn State doesn't run much and rarely follows their 3-point attempts. They’ll look to get back on defense and defend. They don't turn the ball over and don't turn opponents over. Their plan is the exact opposite of A&M’s making this game a remarkable contrast in styles.
