Vols dominated by Texas A&M in most lopsided loss of season
Tennessee’s rebounding concerns against Texas A&M were warranted Saturday night in College Station.
The Aggies’ 3-point shooting came by surprise.
Texas A&M entered as the Southeastern Conference’s worst team from long range with a 26.6% success rate, but the Aggies were 8-of-12 out of the gate on 3-point attempts to take quick control in their 85-69 upset pummelling of the No. 6 Volunteers. Senior guard Tyrece Radford and junior guard Wade Taylor IV scored 27 and 25 points, respectively, for Texas A&M and combined on seven 3-pointers.
The Aggies, who lead the league in rebound margin, posted a 43-35 advantage on the boards in improving to 15-8 overall and 6-4 in conference contests.
Dalton Knecht scored 22 points for the Vols, who dropped to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in SEC play. Knecht was 6-of-11 from 3-point range but only 4-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Zakai Zeigler had the best all-around game for Tennessee with 15 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Taylor made three 3-point attempts to stake Texas A&M to a 16-8 lead, and his fourth 3-pointer at the 9:11 mark of the first half handed the Aggies their first double-digit advantage at 27-15. Taylor’s fifth 3-pointer with 8:45 before halftime extended the lead to 30-16, and then he finally missed from behind the arc.
Texas A&M led 42-28 at the break and went up 45-28 on a Solomon Washington 3-pointer two minutes into the second half. Taylor’s layup with 15:33 remaining made it a 20-point game at 48-28.
Tennessee on Saturday also landed the sixth football commitment for its 2025 class, receiving a nonbinding pledge from three-star receiver Joakim Dodson, a 6-foot, 178-pounder from the Memphis suburb of Collierville.