Disastrous December loss to Wofford damaging to Ags' March dreams

Aspirations for Texas A&M’s inclusion in March Madness were badly damaged by December disgust.

On a gray Tuesday, in which the atmosphere was more dismal inside Reed Arena than outside, the Aggies (6-5) imploded in the final four minutes and suffered a bewildering 67-62 college basketball loss to Wofford (7-6).

Coach Buzz Williams appeared equally bewildered when asked how the Aggies flopped at home after nearly upsetting Memphis on the road three days ago.

“I don’t know,” Williams said. “I think the inconsistency of not knowing is not a good thing, and the inconsistency of not knowing as the head coach is on the head coach.

“I tried to boil it down to what I thought the four things that would be required today: Play really, really hard was #1. Number 2 was guard the ball and not let it get to the middle without fouling. Number 3 was control the glass on both ends of the floor. Number 4 was don’t turn it over.”

In that case, the Aggies went 0-for-4. 

Their intensity in the second half was questionable. Wofford was able to work the basketball inside for 28 points in the paint. Wofford had 11 offensive boards and out-rebounded A&M 36-31. The Aggies committed 13 turnovers, which the visiting Terriers parlayed into 13 points.

Wofford also took 13 more shots (63) than A&M (50).

“They deserved to win,” Williams said. “We did not do the tough things that are required from start to finish. You can’t allow a team to shoot 13 more balls than you, whether the game is fast or slow. You can’t get beat on the glass on both ends of the floor, whether the game is fast or slow. 

“And you can’t be subbing guys, giving away minutes wondering; let’s just shake them up in a bag and see if this group will work because you don’t have enough possessions or minutes to figure that out.”

Despite those issues, A&M held a 10-point lead, 42-32, after a Tyrece Radford layup with 16:25 showing in the second half.

But less than five minutes later, Wofford was finishing off a 14-2 run and had taken the lead.

“I think we had good control of the game. We were up 10,” A&M senior guard Andre Gordon said. “I think we got comfortable. We can’t get comfortable. We should always want to feel uncomfortable and always do good under pressure. I think we kind of let up.”

The Aggies recovered and took a 57-53 lead on a Dexter Dennis jumper with 4:11 to play.

However, in the next four minutes, A&M committed three turnovers and missed a couple of 3-point attempts and two free throws.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Texas A&M continues to struggle at the free throw line, shooting just 60 percent (9-of-15) on Tuesday. 

The Aggies did not get another field goal until Wade Taylor IV, who led A&M with 20 points, drilled a 3-pointer with 7.3 seconds left.

By then, the Aggies were trailing 65-62 largely because they couldn’t contain freshman sharp-shooter Jackson Paveletzke, who led Wofford with 22 points.

Paveletzke hit a 3-pointer to give Wofford a 61-57 lead with 1:53 left. Then, he hit six consecutive free throws to turn back any hopes of an A&M rally.

The loss was a gut punch that likely will be felt in mid-March when the NCAA Tournament field is announced.

The Aggies have no impressive victories. Now, they add an embarrassing loss to their resume.

Wofford had been competitive in three-point losses to SEC teams LSU and Vanderbilt. But Wofford has also lost to High Point, Drake and Georgia Southern, 79-57, just 10 days ago.

The Aggies will have very little room for error when SEC play begins in two weeks. Their NCAA Tournament hopes will depend on whether they can finish high in the SEC standings. That won’t be easy, considering six SEC teams are currently ranked among the nation’s top 25.

However, Williams led A&M to late-season charges after slow starts in 2020 and last season. So the questions now are: Can the Aggies do it again? And what will it take?

“We have to play with more fight and more grit and more togetherness,” Williams said. “And we have to do it for longer periods of time, and we need multiple guys to be able to do it.”