Aggies hold on for win and best start since 2016
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M guard Quenton Jackson typically sees a sea of maroon when he glances into the upper deck of Reed Arena — the color of the seats. Saturday was different, even before the tipoff of the Aggies’ SEC home opener against Arkansas.
“As soon as we were in warmups, I saw people walking up in the nosebleeds,” Jackson said, grinning, of the nearly 8,000 fans on hand before A&M’s spring semester starts. “I (mean), nobody ever sits in the nosebleeds … I knew it was going to be a good one.”
It indeed was a good league home opener for the Aggies — but their 86-81 victory over the Razorbacks proved a little more difficult down the stretch than they imagined after clutching a 17-point lead in the second half.
“It’s good that we can get a 17-point lead, but it’s also concerning that we (gave up) a 17-point lead,” A&M guard Andre Gordon said. “… We should be able to put two halves together.”
Third-year coach Buzz Williams happily will accept the Aggies’ best start in six years, however. A&M is 13-2 overall and 2-0 in SEC play, both its best marks since 2016 when the Aggies made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
“If you look at the numbers, I’m not sure that you can win a game based on these numbers,” Williams said while glancing over a disproportionate box score. “But I thought the spirit, energy and fight that our guys played with, other than the first six minutes, was fun to be a part of.”
The Razorbacks (10-5, 0-3) made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 1995, but have lost their first three conference games under third-year coach Eric Musselman.
“We have a goal of trying to have only nine turnovers in a game, and we had 18,” Musselman said. “We doubled up our turnovers.”
The Aggies led 65-48 nearly midway through the second half before things unraveled for the home team. The Razorbacks sliced A&M’s lead to one at 79-78 before Jackson’s clutch 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining helped seal the Aggies’ sixth consecutive victory.
Guard JD Notae led Arkansas with 31 points, nearly twice as many as anyone else on the floor. Jackson scored a team-high 16 points and was one of five Aggies in double figures in a balanced offensive attack. Williams said he’s been asked repeatedly this season, “Who’s your best player?”
“I don’t know,” he said again Saturday. “I don’t know that it’s a guy. The game presents different things, and you never know what it’s going to present.”
The Aggies stay at home on Tuesday night, hosting Mississippi and former Aggies coach Kermit Davis.
A&M is trying to make its first NCAA Tournament since 2018 under thencoach Billy Kennedy. The Aggies advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2016 — the last time they started a season with this many victories in their first 15 games — and again in 2018.