Succinct Aggies exude confidence entering Thursday matchup vs. Yale

Click HERE to view Wednesday’s press conferences in Denver.

DENVER — Tension seemed to permeate the Texas A&M basketball team on Thursday.

Typically talkative and gregarious, Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III gave unusually succinct, terse answers in a press conference at Ball Arena. Questions were answered similarly in the locker room.

That atypical edginess could be — and perhaps should be — interpreted as a positive sign for the No. 4 seed Aggies (22-10) in their NCAA Tournament first-round clash with No. 13 seed Yale (22-7) on Thursday at 6:25 p.m. CT.

The Aggies know not to underestimate Yale because they know Yale upset Auburn (also a No. 4 seed) last year in the first round of March Madness.

“Most of the upsets really get a lot of attention,” said Taylor, who later that day led A&M to a first-round win over Nebraska. “So, once Yale won, you seen it. But we had a game to focus on.

“I kind of learned about (Yale) then, but it didn’t influence what we’ve got going on now.”

Clearly, the tension around A&M should not be misinterpreted as anxiety. The Aggies are confident. They fully understand the task at hand.

A major part of that task is slowing down Yale on the offensive end. The Bulldogs average 81.7 points. They aren’t dependent on the 3-point shot but are eighth in the country in 3-point percentage.

Guard John Poulakidas, who averages 19.2 points, shoots better than 40 percent from behind the arc. He’s hit 83 times from 3-point range.

But he’s no lone long-range threat. Guard Bez Mbeng has hit 39 treys. Forward Nick Townsend has hit 26 at a 49.1 percent clip.

However, the Aggies contend their grind through Southeastern Conference play has well prepared them for Yale’s perimeter shooting.

“Throughout the SEC, we played a number of teams who shoot the 3-ball at a high level — Missouri, Alabama and Auburn,” Coleman said. "So that’s just something that we’ve been tested on before. We’ve done well against it, so we’re going to keep our game plan.”

A&M actually had made more 3-pointers (224) than Yale (221), though the Aggies have played three more games. Still, A&M’s average of seven triples per game isn’t much less than Yale’s 7.6.

But the Aggies’ focus might be on a line about seven feet closer than the 3-point arc.

Getting to the free throw line is a major point of A&M’s offense. The Aggies average 25 free throws per game.

Interestingly, in six of Yale’s losses, the opponent shot 21 free throws or more. Getting to the line means attacking the basket, which starts with Taylor, who leads A&M with a 15.7 scoring average.

Taylor also leads A&M with 69 baskets from 3-point range and in free throw shooting at 88.3 percent.

Containing Taylor is obviously a top priority for Yale. That job falls on Mbeng, a 6-foot-4 senior who typically draws the defensive assignment of the opponent’s best player.

© Denny Simmons / The Tennessean

Wade Taylor IV leads Texas A&M in points and assists per game with 15.7 and 4.3, respectively. 

“We’ve played against a few guys like (Taylor). Xaivian Lee (Princeton) in our league is a bucket waiting to happen. Kino Lilly (Brown) is a bucket waiting to happen,” Yale coach James Jones said. “We have a young man on our team (Mbeng) that does a great job of guarding guys one-on-one and being able to get through screens. We feel pretty confident that Bez will be able to make it difficult for him to score.”

Yet, A&M is equally confident in Taylor.

“I think that we have had a lot of reps of the best perimeter defender guarding (Taylor),” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “And ‘Four’ has seen every sort of ball screen coverage possible and every sort of ‘how are we going to guard Four on the way side’ possible.”

Few teams have been successful in containing Taylor. Yale, though, has the confidence that comes from last year’s win over Auburn.

That showed the Bulldogs are capable of accomplishing the most difficult tasks.

“(That) Definitely brings us a lot of confidence,” Poulakidas said. “Obviously, Texas A&M brings a different challenge than Auburn brought last year, but the fact that we know that we can play on this stage honestly with anybody in the country is something that carries us to working hard, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”

The Aggies understand that excitement. That’s why they’re edgy.

“We’re going to come out and give it our all, knowing that the next game could be our last,” Taylor said. “But we’re excited to be here. We’re going to be where are feet are and take every day one day at a time.”

Survive and advance, as they say.