Aggies don’t want to overlook LSU
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M lost 10 consecutive games to LSU before beating the Tigers by double digits last month in Reed Arena. The Aggies now have a chance to make it two in a row against a spiraling LSU squad that has lost 11 straight games in the heart of Southeastern Conference play.
“It's still the SEC and they still have really good players,” A&M guard Tyrece Radford cautioned of glancing past the Tigers to opponents with better records. “Just because you beat a team the first time doesn't mean it's going to (happen) the next time.”
While LSU, which has a richer hoops history than A&M with the Tigers' four Final Four appearances, is trying to work its way out of the wilderness under first-year coach Matt Mcmahon, the Aggies (17-7, 9-2 SEC) are angling to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
That means a victory on Saturday night in the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La., is vital to A&M'S postseason chances.
“We're not above anybody,” said A&M associate head coach Devin Johnson, citing the Aggies' eight-game losing streak at this time a year ago. “(LSU) is still playing hard and in nonconference they were 11-1.”
The Aggies enter the weekend in second place in SEC play behind Alabama (21-3, 11-0), and A&M is aiming for a series sweep of the Tigers (12-12, 1-10) for the first time in six years.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Wednesday night against Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated A&M 81-70 on Jan. 31 in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., behind 19 points each from Ricky Council IV and Davonte Davis.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman also expects the return of star guard Nick Smith Jr. in the “near future” from a knee injury, meaning A&M fans might catch a glimpse of a potential NBA draft top 10 selection in action.
Two key games for A&M down the stretch, too, are in Reed: against No. 6 Tennessee on Feb. 21 and against No. 3 Alabama on March 4. The Aggies are considered firmly on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament bid nearly two-thirds of the way through their 18 regularseason SEC contests.
First things first for A&M, however.
The Aggies have a colorful history with LSU in basketball despite A&M not joining the SEC until the summer of 2012. The Tigers last made the Final Four in 2006, and edged the Aggies 58-57 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament that season in Jacksonville, Fla.
LSU guard Darrel
Mitchell sank a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining for the victory, and future NBA big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 21 points against the Aggies in one of the top tournament games that spring. A&M coach Buzz Williams was an assistant under Billy Gillispie on the 2006 Aggies squad — the first A&M team to make the NCAA Tournament since 1987.
The current Aggies likely would be well on their way to an NCAA postseason bid were it not for nonconference slipups against Murray State, Colorado, Boise State, Memphis and Wofford, none of whom are in the Associated Press Top 25.
With nine victories in their first 11 SEC games the Aggies own their best start in league play since joining the conference more than a decade ago. The Aggies under then-coach Billy Kennedy made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in both 2016 and 2018 and in those seasons started league play 7-4 and 4-7 over their first 11 games, respectively.
Radford said the Aggies don't really bring up the NCAA Tournament with seven games remaining before the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
“You're not getting there,” he said, “if you don't handle what's in front of you.”