Execution and effort keys to Aggies pulling off upset against No. 1 Tennessee

A year ago Tennessee beat a Texas A&M basketball team that reached the Sweet Sixteen. So it’s hard to imagine Tennessee now losing to an A&M that might not reach 16 wins.

The Aggies (8-11, 1-6) realize they face a major — some might say impossible — challenge against No. 1 Tennessee  (19-1, 7-0) on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.

Yet, they remain optimistic and hopeful they can reverse the outcome of last season’s 75-62 loss to the Volunteers and pull off a stunning upset.

“We know how good they are,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “We know it’s going to be about us and how we play and how exceptional we’re going to have to execute. 

“We can’t play just one half or 30 minutes. We’re going to have to play 40 really good minutes against this team. If you do that then we’re capable of playing at our highest level and give ourselves a chance to win.”

Still, it would be a slim chance. Tennessee has posted 16 of its 19 victories by double digits. One close victory was over then-No. 1 ranked Gonzaga, which had earlier defeated A&M, 91-74.

The Volunteers average 86.4 points to lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring. They also lead the conference in assists, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and blocked shots.

Forward Grant Williams leads the conference with a 20.4 scoring average. Guard Admiral Schofield averages 17 points to rank fourth.

Junior guard Jordan Bone leads the SEC in assists. He also averages 13.4 points. Two other Vols also score in double figures.

However, Tennessee has had some close calls recently. Vanderbilt forced overtime before falling 88-83 on Jan. 23.  The game before that, Tennessee edged Alabama 71-68.

Those competitive clashes are reminders that, though dominant, Tennessee is not invincible.

“You’ve just got to believe in yourself and believe in each other and believe we can get it done,” junior forward Josh Nebo said. “Why not us? You can’t walk into the game thinking ‘Oh, they’re the No. 1 team. We can’t beat them.’ We’ve got to believe in ourselves.

“Tennessee is a really good team, but we feel like Tennessee is beatable. I don’t think any team in the country is just unbeatable. If you go into the game with the right mindset and play hard we can give ourselves a good chance to pull it off.”

It should also be noted that in those near-misses against Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Alabama both hit 10 three-point goals. Also, Vanderbilt committed 15 turnovers. Alabama committed 13.

Neither of those stats bodes well for A&M. The Aggies are hitting just 28.5 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 338th (out of 351) in the nation. A&M also averages 14.3 turnovers per game.

The Aggies can be a dangerous opponent, which they demonstrated in upsets of Alabama and Kansas State. Alas, they’ve also been consistently inconsistent.

Guard Wendell “Chuck” Mitchell has scored at least 22 points in three of A&M’s last five games. Unfortunately, he’s managed six total points in the other two games.

Guard Savion Flagg averaged 17.7 points in the first four SEC games. He’s averaged 6.3 in the last three.

Fortunately, the Aggies have consistently gotten high-level play from Nebo in recent games. Over the last four games, Nebo has averaged 10.5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked and has shot 87.5 percent from the floor.

With similar consistency throughout the lineup the Aggies might be able to upset Tennessee. They might even go on to notch at least 16 victories.