Saturday night’s game against the #1 team in the country went better for Texas A&M than one would expect. But, except for a run early in the second half, it wasn't good enough -- which happens when you allow your opponent to hit nearly two out of every three shots.
After a shaky and sloppy start, where the Aggies found themselves down 28-9 with 12 minutes left in the first half, they actually played well. From there they went on a 10-0 run to bring the game to 28-19 with around 8:30 to go until intermission. The Aggies then used the rest of the first half to slowly chip away at the Tennessee lead. They were able to bring it to a 46-39 game at the break. The rough start really put the Aggies at a disadvantage from the beginning, but the team played well despite the adversity they faced. That was something we haven’t seen much of this season.
The second half was a slugfest, as the Aggies actually managed to bring the game to within two about midway through the second half. From there, though, the Aggie low-post defense absolutely disappeared. It seemed as if every Tennessee possession for a long period of time resulted in a single pass to a wide open cutting man for an easy layup. After the strong push to get the score close, the Aggies lost their ability to play defense and Tennessee lost their ability to miss. Tennessee quickly pulled away again and closed the game out like a championship contender should. Tennessee wrapped up their program-record 16th win in a row with 93-76 win at Reed Arena.
For a struggling Aggie team who is 1-7 in SEC play, this game could actually provide a bit of optimism. They shot the ball well, despite being on the court with a much better team who was shooting lights out. Some of the blame for that, though, does go to the Aggie defense – but the Vols seemed unstoppable at times, shooting 65% from the field on the night. The Aggie’s assist totals (16) looked nice compared to their recent outings, showing that the Aggies played more under control and more as a unit than they have recently.
Ultimately, it seemed as if the Aggies are making decent progress, finally, towards gelling together and playing as a unit. They just, as Coach Billy Kennedy said in his postgame interview, “played the number one team in the country that played like the number one team in the country.”
The Aggies will take on an Ole Miss team, which has lost their past four games, Wednesday in Oxford.
