Hardwood hardships one-sided
COLLEGE STATION — The shortest month of the year has led to the longest stretch of exasperation Buzz Williams has experienced as a coach.
“We’ve been vigilant and safe from the very beginning of all of this,” Williams said of his Texas A&M basketball program’s dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. “(But) one hiccup has led to multiple hiccups. You try to catch the spread as soon as you can, and then it just kind of gets away from you.
“Following all the protocols and the vigilance that is required in doing it — you just do your best.”
The Aggies, sidelined for more than three weeks because of multiple positive COVID-19 cases, have one more chance to play a lone game this month: on Saturday at No. 24 Missouri.
A&M (8-7, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) has not played since a 68-61 victory at Kansas State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 30. February’s frustration has taught Williams, in his second season at A&M, at least one thing: He’s out of the prognostication business.
“None of us have experienced anything like this season,” he said. “How to predict what we’ll be when we’re able to come back … I don’t know. But as soon as we can play, we want to play.”
The Aggies have had seven consecutive postponements, with one of those a home game against Alabama on Thursday called off because of ice and snow in the region. They have only two more regular-season games scheduled: at Missouri on Saturday and in Reed Arena against Mississippi State on March 3.
The SEC tournament is scheduled to start March 10 in Nashville, Tenn., so A&M might be able to make up one or two of the postponed games between now and then. At one point a couple of weeks ago, Williams was running a practice with four scholarship players.
“It’s not really a practice if it’s only four guys,” Williams said, “but we were calling it a practice.”
The Aggies were prepared to host Arkansas last Saturday with seven scholarship players, the minimum required by the league, before the game was called off because of another positive test Friday within the
A&M program.
“When you miss those ‘real’ reps, you’re going to lose some of your conditioning,” Williams said of not being able to hold three practices and play two games a week this time of year. “And there’s no way to prevent that.”
Across the way in A&M’s basketball offices, life is wildly different for Gary Blair’s women’s team. The Aggies (20-1, 11-1) rank third in the Associated Press poll behind Connecticut and North Carolina State, matching the highest AP ranking in program history.
A&M, coming off a 66-55 victory at Mississippi on Sunday, is 8-0 against ranked opponents and enjoying an eight-game winning streak. A decade ago, the Aggies under Blair entered the NCAA Tournament ranked seventh and promptly reeled off six consecutive victories to earn the university’s lone national title in basketball.
Following a Thursday game at Alabama, the rolling Aggies host No. 5 South Carolina on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. The SEC women’s tournament begins March 5 in Greenville, S.C., before the NCAA Tournament cranks up March 21.
The 64-team NCAA women’s tournament is being held in and around San Antonio in its entirety because of the pandemic, one more feather in the Aggies’ cap as they gear up for the postseason, based on proximity. As Blair has said, any time you don’t have to get on a plane to play a basketball game is a good thing.
A&M didn’t play its contest
scheduled against Vanderbilt on Feb. 11 because the Commodores opted out of playing the season, and the only other postponement was weather-related (Thursday at home against Missouri).
The Aggies’ lone loss occurred at unranked LSU on Jan. 14 – 65-61 in overtime. A&M has never been ranked this high this late in a regular season, and that newfound bull’s-eye suits Blair just fine.
“I love it. I love the pressure, and I love the commentators (downplaying it),” Blair said regarding his perception of national response to the Aggies’ surge. “It doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot of confidence that we have the best team. … If that’s the way the (TV) announcers want to handle it, that’s fine. I have no problem being Rodney Dangerfield.”
Blair was humorously referencing the late comedian’s mantra of “no respect.”
“We want to get to the dance with momentum,” Blair added of cruising into the NCAA Tournament in a few weeks in South Texas. “We don’t want to lose a couple of ballgames getting to the dance and hope to win the SEC tournament and improve our seeding and all that stuff. Every game is a championship game for me. That’s the only way you can play it.”
Across the way in Reed Arena, Williams simply wishes he could play a game — any way he could play it.