No. 7 A&M seeks to respond vs. No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday morning
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The best response to a bad night is a good morning. Typically, though, there isn’t an approximate 96-hour wait between them.
Four days after a bad night in Starkville, No. 7 Texas A&M (20-6, 9-4) aims for a good morning when the Aggies face No. 6 Tennessee (21-5, 8-5) in a key Southeastern Conference basketball clash at Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
The Aggies suffered through a horrendous second half in a 70-54 loss to No. 21 Mississippi State on Tuesday. But they return home to Reed Arena, where they’re 12-1 this season. That includes four consecutive home-court victories in SEC play.
Also, A&M is 5-1 following rare losses this season. The Aggies are obviously hoping for a similar response vs. Tennessee, which has won four of its last five games.
“I think the last days have been great,” A&M guard Wade Taylor IV said. “We’ve lost before. It’s not the end of the world. We just want to make sure we come out (Saturday) and don’t have the same mistakes.”
The Aggies can’t afford them. They committed 19 turnovers and shot just 35.8 percent at Mississippi State. They know they must play much better to get by almost any opponent, but especially Tennessee.
“Their personnel is terrific,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “I think No. 5 (guard Zakai Zeigler) is in a category of his own, on both sides of the ball.
“I think No. 15 (guard Jahmai Mashack) is the best defender that I’ve seen in this league. What No. 2 (guard Chaz Lanier) has done is unbelievable in many respects.”
Zeigler leads the SEC in assists and is third in steals and averages 13.4 points. Lanier leads the Volunteers in scoring with a 17.5 average and in 3-pointers with an SEC-high 86.
The Vols are also bolstered inside by 6-foot-10 forwards Igor Miličić Jr. and Felix Okpara, a transfer from Ohio State. They’re both among the SEC’s top three in blocked shots.
“They’re going to score in the paint, and you’re not going to score in the paint,” Williams said. “If there was only one stat that you were going to pay attention to, that’s the one. If they shoot it and scores it in the paint or Texas A&M shoots it and scores it in the paint — count fouls, too, free throw makes — that will probably decide the game. They’re literally the best in the country. Their defense is No. 1.”
That No. 1 ranking is based on KenPom.com's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions).
However, A&M is No. 5, which would seem to hint at an impending low-scoring, defensive struggle.
That cannot be taken for granted, though.
Last season at Reed Arena, the Aggies blew out then-No. 6 Tennessee, 85-69, behind 25 points from Taylor and 27 from Tyrece “Boots” Radford.
Radford, Taylor’s backcourt cohort, now plays professionally in Turkey. His place has been taken by guard Zhuric Phelps, who averages 14.4 points.
The Aggies also get more inside scoring from forwards Pharrel Payne and Henry Coleman III than they had a year ago.
A&M needs to continue to excel on the offensive boards. The Aggies lead the nation in offensive rebounding.
They also need to get to the free-throw line frequently. Last year, they converted 18-of-25 free throws in their win over Tennessee.
And, of course, they must play strong defense and dramatically decrease the number of turnovers they had vs. Mississippi State.
“Some of the same problems that we had on Tuesday — in the second half — we’re going to have to, for sure, pass that test,” Williams said. “It’s going to be a reoccurring thing. We’ll have to do a lot better than we did on Tuesday.”