Three takeaways from Texas A&M’s SEC Tournament win that earned a date with Kentucky
Three takeaways from Texas A&M’s 80-71 win over Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament on Thursday night, which earned the No. 7 seeded Aggies a date with No. 2 seed Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday at Bridgestone Arena.
1. Texas A&M is on a mini-roll
After stumbling through a five-game losing streak which dropped the Aggies to 6-9 in the conference, Buzz Williams’ team has won four straight games — 70-56 at Georgia, 75-69 at home against Mississippi State, 86-60 at Ole Miss last Saturday, then the nine-point victory over the Rebels in the second round of the league tourney.
Not that Thursday night was a surprise. In Oxford, Texas A&M jumped to an early 23-5 lead on the way to the rout of the Rebels. The rematch was tighter until the Aggies found some separation with a 13-point lead at 61-48 with 4:54 left. Ole Miss rallied to pull within three at 71-68 with 28.6 seconds left before the Aggies made enough free throws and produced a couple of stops to earn the win.
Preseason SEC Player of the year Wade Taylor led the way with 20 points. Backcourt mate Tyrece Radford scored 18. Manny Obaseki added 12 points after scoring 25 points in the win over Ole Miss on Saturday.
The Aggies shot 36.9 percent from the floor, but went 27-of-37 at the foul line. Ole Miss attempted 21 free throws and made 12.
Meanwhile, Williams has shown he knows how to coach in this tournament. The Aggies have finished as the runner-up each of the last two seasons.
As the No. 8 seed in 2022, Texas A&M beat No. 9 seed Florida, No. 1 seed Auburn and No. 4 seed Arkansas before losing to No. 2 seed Tennessee 65-50 in the finals.
As the No. 2 seed last season, A&M beat No. 10 seed Arkansas in the quarterfinals and No. 6 seed Vanderbilt in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 seed Alabama 82-63 in the championship game.
2. Kentucky better hit the boards Friday
Texas A&M did nothing to hurt its reputation as the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation. The Aggies outrebounded Ole Miss 21-16 in the first half and 27-16 in the second for a 48-32 advantage on the glass.
They grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in 44 chances for an offensive rebound percentage of 47.7. “And we needed every one of them,” said Williams, whose team leads the nation in that category at 42.2 percent.
The Aggies’ Andersson Garcia grabbed 14 rebounds, including nine off the offensive glass. Solomon Washington and Radford each collected eight rebounds. Texas A&M was credited with 21 second-chance points. Ole Miss was credited with four.
Texas A&M won its regular-season meeting with Kentucky 97-92 in overtime in part because of the Aggies’ work on the glass. A&M didn’t just win the rebound battle 54-46, it grabbed 25 offensive rebounds for an offensive rebound percentage of 46.3.
Wildens Leveque and Radford each had five offensive rebounds that afternoon in College Station. Garcia and Washington each had four. Texas A&M had 21 second-chance points to 20 for Kentucky. Points in the paint: A&M 38, UK 32.
3. Kentucky will be seeking revenge
As we said, Kentucky lost the only regular season meeting between the two teams. The Cats led 65-58 with 12:12 remaining and 68-64 with 8:16 left. The game was knotted at 76 with 4:07 left. And when Reed Sheppard calmly sank two free throws with but .06 seconds on the clock, it was tied again.
Alas, Texas A&M outscored the visitors 8-3 in the extra period. Kentucky couldn’t buy a basket. The Cats were 0-for-8 from the field in the extra period. A&M was just 1-of-7, but the Aggies were 6-of-8 from the foul line in front of the home crowd at Reed Arena.
And the day belonged to Williams’ guards. Taylor scored 31 points. Radford scored 28.
“That was a big game for us,” Radford said Thursday. “We’re a different team now. They’re a different team now.”
Indeed. That game was played Jan. 13. Friday will be March 15. In college hoops, two months is a long time.
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