Billy Kennedy
Alex Caruso
Texas A&M Basketball
No. 15 Texas A&M heads to LSU for pivotal SEC showdown
Sequels are among the hardest things to get right. You can have the same characters, directors and plot-line, but the truth is a flop can still happen.
In the case of No. 15 Texas A&M (18-6, 7-4 SEC), its first matchup with LSU (15-9, 8-3) went as well as one could have hoped. The Aggies shut down Ben Simmons and emerged as the class of the SEC.
With a trip to Baton Rouge looming on Saturday, A&M hopes to make the second meeting just as successful.
A win over LSU is important, no doubt. But just getting a win, regardless of the opponent, is what A&M truly needs.
To accomplish that, the Aggies have to get back to playing their brand of basketball.
“It’s just a game," Coach Billy Kennedy said of Saturday’s matchup. “I think our guys, especially our older guys, have made some mistakes they don’t usually make during this stretch with turnovers and missed assignments on defense. I think they’re just trying too hard and I want them to go down there and have fun."
“We can go down there, play great and not win against this LSU team. But we’ve just got to get back to enjoying the game and not worrying about being ranked or expectations.”
Still right in the heart of the SEC race, a victory would put A&M back in a strong position.
Earlier in the year, players were having a good time and their play showed it. According to senior guard Alex Caruso, getting back to that starts with one thing.
“Winning is fun,” Caruso said. “We were having a lot of fun earlier in the year because we were winning games. It’s just (about) energy. We’ve had good practices the last few days, even the practices we had before Alabama were some of the best we’ve had all year. We’re a good team with a lot of good players, we just need to get back to what we were doing.”
Unfortunately, LSU has good players as well.
Beyond just Ben Simmons, who many believe to be the frontrunner for SEC Player of the Year, Tigers freshman Antonio Blakeney has begun to hit his stride. Slowing down those two is critical — and nobody knows it better than Kennedy.
“(Blakeney) is playing well. He’s scored 52 points in his last two games. He’s the number 10 player in the country — but they don’t put a bad player on the floor offensively,” Kennedy said. “Our game plan will be similar to what it was (last time), we did a good job of attacking the paint and that is what we want to try and do again.”
Besides the teams' positions within the SEC standings changing since the last time these two met, there’s another change Caruso hopes will work to A&M’s benefit.
“It’s Mardi Gras week, so hopefully they went out while we were practicing," he said. "Hopefully they’re still sleeping.”
If that’s the case, A&M will be able to return home to a party of its own.
A party to celebrate a successful sequel.
In the case of No. 15 Texas A&M (18-6, 7-4 SEC), its first matchup with LSU (15-9, 8-3) went as well as one could have hoped. The Aggies shut down Ben Simmons and emerged as the class of the SEC.
With a trip to Baton Rouge looming on Saturday, A&M hopes to make the second meeting just as successful.
A win over LSU is important, no doubt. But just getting a win, regardless of the opponent, is what A&M truly needs.
To accomplish that, the Aggies have to get back to playing their brand of basketball.
“It’s just a game," Coach Billy Kennedy said of Saturday’s matchup. “I think our guys, especially our older guys, have made some mistakes they don’t usually make during this stretch with turnovers and missed assignments on defense. I think they’re just trying too hard and I want them to go down there and have fun."
“We can go down there, play great and not win against this LSU team. But we’ve just got to get back to enjoying the game and not worrying about being ranked or expectations.”
Still right in the heart of the SEC race, a victory would put A&M back in a strong position.
We were having a lot of fun
earlier in the year because we were winning games. It’s just (about)
energy. We’ve had good practices the last few days, even the practices
we had before Alabama were some of the best we’ve had all year. We’re a
good team with a lot of good players, we just need to get back to what
we were doing.
It would also change the mindset of the team. Earlier in the year, players were having a good time and their play showed it. According to senior guard Alex Caruso, getting back to that starts with one thing.
“Winning is fun,” Caruso said. “We were having a lot of fun earlier in the year because we were winning games. It’s just (about) energy. We’ve had good practices the last few days, even the practices we had before Alabama were some of the best we’ve had all year. We’re a good team with a lot of good players, we just need to get back to what we were doing.”
Unfortunately, LSU has good players as well.
Beyond just Ben Simmons, who many believe to be the frontrunner for SEC Player of the Year, Tigers freshman Antonio Blakeney has begun to hit his stride. Slowing down those two is critical — and nobody knows it better than Kennedy.
“(Blakeney) is playing well. He’s scored 52 points in his last two games. He’s the number 10 player in the country — but they don’t put a bad player on the floor offensively,” Kennedy said. “Our game plan will be similar to what it was (last time), we did a good job of attacking the paint and that is what we want to try and do again.”
Besides the teams' positions within the SEC standings changing since the last time these two met, there’s another change Caruso hopes will work to A&M’s benefit.
“It’s Mardi Gras week, so hopefully they went out while we were practicing," he said. "Hopefully they’re still sleeping.”
If that’s the case, A&M will be able to return home to a party of its own.
A party to celebrate a successful sequel.
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