Aggies slam their way to SEC Tournament title game by dismantling Arkansas

Press conference video courtesy of the Southeastern Conference.

TAMPA — Now, maybe even Joe Lunardi is convinced.

It was another day and another Texas A&M basketball victory in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The resurgent Aggies overwhelmed No. 15 Arkansas for an 82-64 victory so convincing Lunardi might second guess himself.

The ESPN bracketologist has insisted Texas A&M would not be part of the 68-team NCAA Basketball Tournament. Even after the Aggies (23-11) knocked off Florida on Thursday and shocked No. 5 Auburn on Friday, Lunardi stubbornly insisted A&M did not have the look of an NCAA Tournament team.

Actually, in the blowout victory over the rattled Razorbacks (25-8), the Aggies at various times had the look of three NCAA Tournament teams.

A swarming defensive effort resembled the old Arkansas "40-minutes-of-hell" team circa 1994. The Aggies forced 15 turnovers, which was parlayed into 18 points. They also hounded the Hogs into shooting just 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from three-point range.

In a three-minute span late in the game, they resembled Louisville's "Doctors of Dunk" circa 1980. Aaron Cash, Hayden Hefner, Quenton Jackson and Henry Coleman all had big dunks down the stretch as the Aggies turned the game into a rout.

And they're starting to look a lot like Connecticut, circa 2011. Those Huskies went 9-9 in the Big East and entered the conference tournament as the No. 9 seed. Yet, they pulled off five straight behind Kemba Walker to earn their place in March Madness.

Surely, the Aggies believe they're bound for the NCAA Tournament regardless of the outcome of the SEC championship clash with Tennessee on Sunday.

If they are, they're not saying it.

"That's not up to me," said Jackson, who led A&M with 20 points. "I just go out there, and I play my game. That's up to the higher-ups. I just go out there, and I try to make sure that me and my team is on the same page and we play as hard as we can every night."

Toughness, determination and resilience have been consistent characteristics during a streak that has now stretched to seven consecutive victories. And problems that plagued A&M during an eight-game losing streak are no longer a factor, especially against Arkansas.

Free throw problems are gone. A&M hit 12 of 15. The three-point shooting was sharp. The Aggies hit 8 of 15. They committed 13 turnovers — a respectable number — and only allowed the bigger and taller Razorbacks four offensive rebounds and four second-chance points.

The Aggies even outscored the taller Razorbacks 36-30 in the paint. They've been productive inside in the tournament despite facing Florida's 6-foot-11 Colin Castleton, Auburn's 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler and Arkansas' 6-10 Jaylin Williams, who had only four points and committed five turnovers.

"Our only chance is to be an overachiever and overcomer," A&M coach Buzz Williams said. "I don't even know that we talk about that in regards to the deficiencies of our size, but I do think that as time has went along, we have found ways to counter our deficiencies.

"One of the things that I've learned from our guys is they have been very comfortable receiving what they know their deficiencies are. Most players don't want to hear what they're not good at, but if you do want to receive what a deficiency is and here's the counter to it, then you have a chance. I think that's what's transpired with our group."

The Aggies didn't seem to have any deficiencies at the outset. They took control early and held a 36-24 lead at halftime. They maintained a 47-36 advantage when Jackson scored a break-away dunk with 14:42 to play.

But Arkansas is too proud to go down without a fight. Stanley Umude scored six points in an 8-0 run that cut A&M's lead to 47-44. That prompted A&M coach Buzz Williams to call a timeout.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Hayden Hefner tallied 9 points in Saturday's win over the Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament.

When play ensued, the Aggies worked the basketball around to Hefner, who hit a pull-up jumper that sparked an 11-3 run for a 58-47 lead.

"It was really up to Boots (Tyrece Radford) to make a good decision," Hefner said. "He was the one that had the ball. It was really up to him to kind of get in the lane and read their defense, and he decided to turn around and give it to me."

The Hogs mounted another rally and pulled within 60-52 on Au'Diese Toney's three-point play with 8 minutes left.

However, Hefner drilled a jumper from the right-wing. Then, Jackson and Radford converted consecutive 3-point plays and Cash had a dunk. The 10-0 run staked A&M to a 70-52 lead with 6:08 to play.

The Aggies lead never again dropped under 15 points.

"Credit them because they beat the number one seed in the tournament yesterday," Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. "They did the same thing to us and against Florida."

Whether resembling '94 Arkansas or '80 Louisville or '11 UConn, the Aggies looked the part of an NCAA Tournament team. By the way, Arkansas, Louisville and Connecticut all went on to win the national championship.

That's not meant to suggest A&M will win it all. But it should give doubters like Lunardi something to ponder.