A plethora of second-half errors led to a collapse in Austin as the Longhorns' comeback efforts shocked Texas A&M. Head coach Buzz Williams joined TexAgs Live to discuss the loss and turn the page to Tuesday night's contest against Oklahoma.
Key notes from Buzz Williams interview
- That was the ninth game we had played this year that was either a one or two-possession game. It is an emotional rollercoaster, and you have a different perspective in Oxford than you do in Austin. The lessons that come from it are paramount. I want to make sure our response, whether things are good or bad, that our energy is going to the next thing. You are seeing how, in conference play, one thing turns into another. Our guys have been mature in that.
- With 11 regular season games left, if those numbers stay the same, it's going to happen five or six more times. We have to continue to find ways to improve and make sure we are learning the lessons, whether the emotion is good or bad.
- Wade Taylor IV has been tremendous. We really appreciate him being back on the floor. I think we grew and improved with the guys that were playing, and that made us better. Having him back obviously makes us better, but he comes back, and our team is different. We are thankful he is back, but with the wear and tear that the league goes through, any time you can have the depth our team has, maturity and experience, that's what comes with the territory.
- I think Wade has special gifts. Tyrece Radford does, too. Missing physical reps will cause a delay in return. I don’t think that's true with Wade. The pace you can't replicate no matter what your IQ is. Being the quarterback adds a lot of variability and volatility. That's what makes him special. He can figure out all those things in real-time at an expedited rate.
- We lose at UCF by one possession. Ten days later, we are playing a top-15 neutral site game against Creighton, and it’s a two-possession game. A day and a half later, we are playing Rutgers, and its a two-possession game. The following week in Forth Worth, it was a two-possession game. The next weekend, we are in Indianapolis, and it’s a two-possession game. Two weeks later, your first SEC game is a one-possession game at Oklahoma. You come home and play Alabama, a two-possession game. The following week, at Ole Miss, one-possession game. The next game in Austin is a one-possession game. If you were to summarize all of those, the whole thing is a trustful relationship. You have to be able, to tell the truth about your emotional state. It’s the relationships through the organization for Texas A&M. To have more close games than any team in the country this year outside of two, that speaks to the relationships.
- We failed on Saturday. I will take every bullet and whatever is being said on TexAgs and social media. I am completely comfortable because that is what comes with the position. The relationships in this program are why we are third in the country in close games. We are tied for winning those games the most, but we have played in the most. For the remaining 11 games, I am not trying to project, but they look like they will be Quad 1 or Quad 2.
- The event and outcome we understand, it’s your response. Today, we have to prepare. That started yesterday. We have to have the right heart posture. We can't get back the failed opportunity that happened Saturday afternoon. We have been on the good side of that six times. We have been on the bad side of that three times.
- We are starting Week 5. We have alternated playing Wednesday-Saturday and Tuesday-Saturday. When you are in those shifts, that means your organization works nine consecutive days. In addition to the emotion, the timing of travel. Metrically, we woke up Sunday morning and rose in the NET. We are No. 12. Does that impact seeding? I am not in the room. I don't know who’s on the committee. I am never going to touch that again. Scheduling matters. As of today, we have not played a Quad 3 game. That may change.
- That was a Quad 1 loss on the road on Saturday that we completely failed at. I hate that. I have to do a better job. The game at Ole Miss four days before, we were dead in the water. The resilience, the response, the maturity, the skill of our coaches and players, analytically, we came back from the dead. It wasn't Easter. It’s January. That’s not supposed to happen.
- You could argue I should have called a timeout after Tramon Mark hit the floater. There are so many factors that play into that. The whole key is we can't give away our energy or emotion to what happened on Saturday. That can't bleed into Monday. We have to put our energy and emotion into what we can control. We have to figure out how to be better. We have to handle the next thing in front of us, and that is the Oklahoma Sooners.
- I think everyone is playing with the thinnest of margins. Everybody is fighting. It’s “How can you win this possession? Is there a need for an adjustment?” There are so many variables. When you are fighting for the last possession... Last Wednesday, there were three games decided by one possession in the last 30 seconds of the game. We were on the good side at Ole Miss. We were on the other side of it at Texas. How do you respond?
