‘Great opportunity’ awaits the Aggies
Struggling squad embraces chance to earn first victory over a No. 1 team
COLLEGE STATION — When Josh Nebo was in high school at Cypress Lakes four years ago, then Texas coach Rick Barnes came calling.
“But not for me,” Nebo said Friday with a smile.
The interest from Barnes and almost every other coach in the country was in Nebo’s teammate De’Aaron Fox, now with the Sacramento Kings after a season at Kentucky. Nebo intends to once again try and earn Barnes’ attention Saturday night — this time for a much different reason.
“Tennessee is a really good team, but we feel like Tennessee is beatable,” said Nebo, Texas A&M’s junior power forward. “I don’t think any team in the country is unbeatable.”
Barnes’ top-ranked Ten-
nessee squad, at 19-1 and 7-0 in the SEC, has been almost that, save for an 87-81 overtime loss to No. 11 Kansas on Thanksgiving weekend in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn.
A&M’s Billy Kennedy dubbed Saturday’s matchup with a No. 1 team a “great opportunity” for the Aggies (8-11, 1-6) — one he knows his reeling squad needs to take full advantage of in trying to get back on track in SEC play.
“We need to embrace it and play 40 minutes of exceptional basketball to give ourselves a chance,” Kennedy said. “You can’t just play one half, or 30 minutes. You have to play 40 really good minutes against this team. If we do that, then we’re capable of (giving) ourselves a chance to win.”
Tennessee basketball has best been known nationally for its success on the women’s side. The Lady Vols have won eight national titles, and their 18 Final Fours are 18 more than the men. Tennessee hired Barnes, fired from Texas in March 2015, with the idea of changing that, and this year’s squad gives the program its best chance perhaps ever in his fourth season.
“When you have a number in front of your name, people know you’re a ranked team,” Barnes said. “You have to expect people to play their best basketball, and our guys understand that.”
The Aggies are 0-7 against topranked opponents, with their last “great opportunity” coming four years ago against Kentucky. This is only the third time a No. 1 team has played at A&M.
“You have to believe in each other, and believe you can get it done,” Nebo said. “Why not us? We can’t walk into the game thinking, ‘Oh, they’re the No. 1 team, we can’t beat them.’ We have to believe in ourselves.”
No outsiders would blame the Aggies if their belief was a bit stretched these days. A&M, which played in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season with a much different roster, has lost five of its last six home games, including to Texas Southern in a nonconference contest to start the stretch and most recently to division rival LSU on Wednesday.
The Aggies’ lone home victory since before Christmas came against Kansas State (65-53) a week ago in the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge. A&M has dropped the five games by an average of 15 points.
The Aggies lost forward Robert Williams to the NBA Draft (first round to the Boston Celtics last year) and center Tyler Davis and guard D.J. Hogg to pro ball. The latter two bypassed their senior seasons for the NBA Draft, but were not selected and are now trying to rise up through the undrafted ranks. Kennedy was anticipating senior guard Admon Gilder leading the way, but he’s sidelined this season with a blood clot in his arm and recently had surgery.
“Billy Kennedy is one of the best coaches around, and he’s had some tough luck,” Barnes said. “When you lose a guy you’re counting on like Admon Gilder — and I have a lot of respect for that guy — it means guys have to take on other roles. What stands out to me is they beat a team last week that was playing as good as anybody in Kansas State.”