5 Thoughts: Texas A&M 83, Oregon State 73

1. Wade Taylor: We have to start with the freshman because he jump-started this team from the first possession. 19 points on nine shot attempts, including 5-of-6 from the three-point line, with four assists, two steals and two rebounds in just 16 minutes of action.

The entire bench accounted for 40 of the team's 83 points, which offers more evidence that this team will win by committee the entire year, not depending on a singular player but relying on multiple and different players each game.

2. Forced turnovers: The Aggie defense struggled in the beginning of the game, not forcing a single turnover until just before the first media timeout. From that point, Oregon State averaged a turnover every 90 seconds in the first half.

The second half was more of the same. Texas A&M didn't force a turnover until 15 minutes and 48 seconds left in the game. From the first Beaver turnover of the second half until the last Oregon State giveaway at 7 minutes and 38 seconds on the clock, A&M forced a turnover every 54 seconds.

The 20 OSU turnovers resulted in 19 Aggie points and an unstoppable amount of momentum in favor of the Maroon and White.

3. Henry Coleman: The Duke transfer has seen limited minutes this season because of foul trouble, and it looked as if he would get comfortable on the bench again as he picked up his first foul less than 30 seconds into the game. But Coleman managed to stay clear of his second foul until midway through the first half.

This was a good change of events for the Aggies as they wanted to play fast, and Javonte Brown doesn't fit that style of play as well as Coleman and Henderson do. Coleman was able to find a rhythm in the game and make his presence felt as he scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds, had three steals and an assist. He also made 4-of-5 free throws and ate up some much-needed space in the paint on defense.

4. Zone offense: Last season, if a team played zone defense against the Aggies, everyone knew it was going to be a long, frustrating night on offense. This year, A&M hasn't faced much zone defense, but even with little preparation, the Aggies did a good job of attacking gaps, getting the ball to the middle of the floor in the high post and making basketball plays in the paint.

Two things I noticed when A&M went to a zone offense. First, I really like both Tyrece Radford and Manny Obaseki in the middle of the zone to make plays for themselves or their teammates. They did a good job of catching the ball and facing the basket to see what the defense was giving them. Then they attacked with the dribble to draw the defense and dumped it down low for easy shot attempts or dunks.

Second, Buzz had his team on the attack against the zone and that forced the Beavers to scramble and help and get out of position very quickly into the possession. Once OSU was scrambling to the ball, the Aggies had choices and, for the most part, made the right decisions throughout the night.

5. Rebounding: When the Ags dominate the offensive glass, it's something you have to talk about, especially because I don't see that happening too often this year. A&M grabbed 15 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second-chance points. The Aggies grabbed nearly as many offensive rebounds as the Beavers grabbed defensively (19) for the game. Radford led the way with eight total boards, followed by Ethan Henderson (6) and Henry Coleman (5).