Ags in rankings, SEC free fall
Gators red hot on frigid night, hit 17-of-28 from 3-point range
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M might go from its highest ranking in program history to unranked in the span of a couple of weeks, if the Aggies’ stunning free fall to start SEC play carries through the weekend.
Unranked Florida walloped No. 11 A&M 83-66 on Tuesday night in Reed Arena, three days after unranked Alabama walloped the Aggies 79-57 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in the teams’ SEC opener. A&M was ranked No. 5, tying for highest in team history, last week. But the 22-point loss to the Tide dropped the Aggies to No. 11 in Monday’s latest poll.
A&M (11-3, 0-2) will try to get back on track Saturday when it plays host to LSU, hoping to avoid a second straight 0-3 start to SEC play. A&M went 16-15 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament after a Sweet 16 showing in 2016.
Three guards missing
Seventh-year coach Billy Kennedy had said in preseason this team was deeper than any he’d had at A&M, but it’s clear without a handful of key guards the Aggies are helpless against SEC opponents. Starting guard D.J. Hogg served the third of a three-game suspension and should return Saturday against LSU.
Starting guards Admon Gilder missed his fourth consecutive game with a knee injury, and starting guard Duane Wilson also missed the blowout loss to Florida with a knee injury.
Kennedy is hopeful to have Gilder and Wilson back by Saturday against the Tigers, and Hogg should also be back in the rotation, if not the starting lineup based on coming off his second suspension of the season.
“It’s going to help us in the long run if we learn from our mistakes,” Kennedy said.
Florida dominated throughout the 40 minutes and built a 46-30 halftime lead thanks to making 10 of 16 3-pointers against a saggy A&M defense. At one point in the second half, A&M scored eight straight points to slice the Gators’ lead to 55-45, but Florida guard Egor Koulechov scored the next eight points on two 3-pointers and a midrange jumper to ice the game on an icy-cold night in College Station.
“Sometimes when you make a few early, it snowballs for you,” Florida coach Mike White said.
The Gators wound up shooting 60.7 percent from the 3-point line (17-of-28), while in any other game A&M’s showing from that distance (8-of-19 for 42.1 percent) would have been respectable.
“We had a hard time guarding them, and the other part is they shot the ball extremely well,” Kennedy said.
Rice ex leads all with 19
Koulechov made 5-of-6 from the 3-point line, and teammate Jalen Hudson made 3-of-4 from long range. Koulechov, a senior transfer from Rice, led all scorers with 19 points, while Jay Jay Chandler led A&M with 17.
“We’re just going to keep working, pushing ahead,” Chandler said of the Aggies’ awful start to SEC play. “The season is long — we’re just going to keep pushing.”