Improved guard play crucial to A&M's chances to upset No. 5 Kansas

Has Texas A&M let its guard down?

Or are guards letting Texas A&M down? The Aggies will look to answer that in one of the more imposing venues in college basketball.

A&M can significantly enhance its NCAA Tournament application if the Aggies (13-7, 2-6) reclaim their early-season form and upset Big 12 powerhouse No. 5 Kansas (16-4) at rowdy Allen Fieldhouse in the SEC/Big 12 challenge.

“The whole environment and the energy is my biggest concern,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “If we can handle the first 10 minutes we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

That isn’t a given considering the Aggies committed five turnovers and did not score before the first media timeout in a 77-65 loss at LSU on Tuesday.

Furthermore, guards Admon Gilder and Duane Wilson continue to be slowed by knee injuries that have compromised their ability. That could be extremely problematic against the guard-oriented Jayhawks, who are among the nation’s leaders in three-point shooting. 

Kansas has converted 212 three-pointers behind Devonte’ Graham, Sovietoslav Mykhailiuk, Lagerald Vick and Malik Newman, who are have made at least 33 three-pointers.

“Admon and Duane aren’t 100 percent healthy so you’ve got to look at playing some of the young guys a little bit more,” Kennedy said.

It won’t come as a surprise if freshmen Jay Jay Chandler or T.J. Starks show up in the starting lineup in an effort to boost backcourt scoring. In conference play, A&M is shooting just .265 percent from three-point range. The Aggies have hit just .229 percent (14 of 61) in their last three games.

Wilson, Gilder and D.J. Hogg combined for just seven points in the loss to LSU.

“Obviously, the post guys need to continue to play well, but our backcourt has struggled since league play started,” Kennedy said. “Admon Gilder is a big key to our team. Unfortunately, we don’t have him at 100 percent, but he’s getting better.”

The Aggies desperately need guards to raise their level of performance and take some of the pressure off posts Tyler Davis and Robert Williams, who are both averaging more than 14 points and 9 rebounds in Southeastern Conference play.

A&M especially a bigger contribution from Hogg. Expected to be the primary perimeter threat, he’s converted just .219 percent of his three-point attempts and averaged just 8.0 points in SEC play. Hogg has misfired on his last eight three-point attempts. Consequently, opponents don’t fear the Aggies at the arc and typically crowd the paint to slow Davis and Williams.

Rey Romo, TexAgs

With Gilder and Wilson still nursing injuries, expect the Aggies to lean on young guards like freshman TJ Starks.

“He’s got to get it right,” Kennedy said of Hogg. “He got in the gym last night and got a bunch of shots up. He’s got to work through it. He’s missed a lot of shots that he was making earlier in the year. It’s just not him.

“We’ve got to make shots.  We’ve got to score to win games and that’s one thing we’re struggling at.”

The Aggies can’t wait much longer to iron out their problems. Once considered a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament, they may be playing their way out of March Madness with six losses in eight SEC games.

However, a win over Kansas would loom large on Selection Sunday.

“We do have enough games to build a resume’ if we finish strong,” Kennedy said. “But we’re not going to win any games if we don’t play any better than we did against LSU.”