Aggies earn series sweep over Tigers
Texas A&M forward Solomon Washington skied for a highlight-reel block midway through the first half against LSU, and the Tigers might have figured at that point it simply would not be their night in the Maravich Center against a rolling SEC West rival.
In truth LSU had it long figured out by then, with the Aggies clutching a 17point lead en route to a 7462 victory on Saturday night. The Aggies led by 29 late in the first half and the Tigers, worn by a futile second half comeback attempt, never truly threatened down the stretch of A&M’s first win in Baton Rouge in six years.
ESPN NCAA Tournament guru Joe Lunardi had A&M (18-7, 10-2 SEC) among its last four in the tournament along with New Mexico, Clemson and
Memphis entering Saturday night’s action along the Mississippi River. LSU (12-13, 1-11) has no such concerns following its 12th consecutive loss under first-year coach Matt McMahon.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Wednesday night against Arkansas in continuing to make their case for their first NCAA Tournament bid in five years, and first under fourth-year coach Buzz Williams.
“I’m not sure I’m quite ready to use the word ‘comfortable’ but this win (at LSU) … will put A&M above the dreaded ‘last four in’ group and into the main bracket,” Lunardi said during the SEC Network’s broadcast of the A&M-LSU game. “And I suspect they’ll stay there for the balance of the season.”
A&M, which has won five of its last six games two-thirds of the way through league play, before Saturday had never won at least 10 of its first 12 league games since entering the SEC in the summer of 2012. Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV led all scorers with 23 points in making 5-of-8 3-pointers.
A&M on Saturday made at least 50 percent of its 3-pointers for the first time in 25 games this season, a long way from when the Aggies missed 11 of 12 attempts from 3-point range in a home victory over Northwestern (La.) State in late December.
“We’re thankful for the win at the front part of January (against LSU), and to be able to finish with a sweep, that’s really good for our guys,” Williams said on his postgame radio show. “… There are a lot of good things happening.”
The Aggies swept the regular season series against the Tigers for the first time since 2017. A&M won its second straight game against LSU after snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Tigers with a 69-56 victory on Jan. 7 in College Station.
The Aggies on Wednesday will try and avenge an 81-70 loss at Arkansas on Jan. 31. A&M’s only other loss in SEC play occurred on Jan. 21 at Kentucky, 7667. The Razorbacks (17-8, 6-6) lost 70-64 on Saturday to Mississippi State in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., their first setback at home in a month.
“Both sides of the ball were a problem in the first half,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said of the Razorbacks trailing by double digits in the first 20 minutes. “(And then) when you get down 16 (early in the second half ) that’s a lot to overcome against a team that’s playing with confidence.
“… We have to get a lot better before we go to College Station.”
The Aggies’ last two trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and 2018 were successful treks: Sweet 16 appearances under then-coach Billy Kennedy, who was fired following the 2019 season after missing the NCAA postseason in six of his eight years at A&M.
The Aggies’ current postseason chances are only in question because of a head-scratching stretch where they lost in nonconference play to Murray State, Colorado, Boise State, Memphis and Wofford in starting 6-5 before getting their act together in a big way in league play.
Williams described the
Aggies as “self-correcting” one another a dozen games into SEC action.
“That speaks to their character … and it speaks to their work ethic to continue trying to find ways to get better,” Williams said.
He added, “We don’t have individual drama, (so) we don’t have team drama … we’re all pulling in the same direction.”