Aggies give raucous crowd another treat
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M big men Henry Coleman III and Julius Marble this week were mulling the toughest venues they’ve played in this season when Coleman offered a suggestion that wasn’t on the menu.
“I believe it’s Reed Arena,” Coleman told Marble, in taking the view of the oft-frazzled opposition.
Coleman’s assertion was on target Tuesday night, as rowdy times returned to Reed Arena for yet another round, this time in the No. 25 Aggies’ 68-63 edging of No. 11 Tennessee before a packed house of 12,989 fans decked in black shirts as part of the program’s “Black Out Reed Arena.”
“The fight and the determination and the togetherness and the spirit in which they competed in that (time) was as good as I’ve ever seen,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said of his team’s play over the game’s final few minutes.
The Aggies (21-7, 13-2 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak to the shrinking Volunteers (20-8, 9-6), a talented bunch under former Texas coach Rick Barnes that has lost five of its last seven games down the stretch of the regular season.
Marble made two free throws with 46 seconds remaining to lift A&M to a 64-61 lead and helped seal the Aggies’ sixth consecutive win. A&M guard Wade Taylor IV, who had a key steal with 17 seconds left and A&M leading by one, added two free throws of his own as a result of the theft in shoving A&M to a 66-63 advantage.
Taylor, who led all scorers with 25 points, then tacked on two free throws with 3.1 seconds remaining to push the contest out of reach.
“That’s probably the most physical team we’ve played, with the No. 1 defense for sure,” said Taylor, adding that it was hard for the Aggies to get good looks at the basket.
Marble added 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and in a startling case of leaving it all on the floor, had to exit the postgame news conference with cramps.
“We had to make sure we were just as physical as them because if not, we’ll lose the game,” Marble said.
Taylor, the reigning SEC player of the week, in many ways was a one-man show for the Aggies in the first half, when the score was tied 31-31 at the break leading to a frantic second half. Taylor accounted for nearly half of A&M’s scoring over the first 20 minutes with 15 points in making half of his six shots from the field and all eight of his free throws in that span.
Taylor wound up making 16 of 17 free throws and the Aggies made 28 of 34 overall. The Volunteers played without injured starters Josiah-Jordan James and Julian Phillips.
“We’re gonna find a way,” Barnes pledged afterward of righting Tennessee’s ship headed into the postseason. “We’re gonna fight.”
The Aggies head back on the road at Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs (18-10, 6-9) lost 66-64 in overtime Tuesday night at Missouri at the same time the Aggies were fighting the Volunteers to the final buzzer.
A&M under Williams has won three of its last four games against MSU, including 67-64 last year in Reed Arena. ESPN’s NCAA Tournament pundit Joe Lunardi has the Bulldogs among the last four teams in the 68-team field as of Tuesday.
A&M, on the outside looking in only a couple of weeks ago concerning the NCAA Tournament, is shaping up as perhaps a No. 7 or 8 seed in the postseason. The Aggies, who haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2018, could continue helping themselves in the final stretch of the regular season.
After the game at MSU, they play at Mississippi on Tuesday night before closing out the regular season March 4 against No. 2 Alabama in Reed Arena. A&M already has earned the desirable double-bye in the SEC tournament that cranks up March 8 in Nashville, Tenn. The top four of the league’s 14 teams do not play until the tournament’s third day.
A year ago, A&M in its quest to make the NCAA Tournament fell 65-50 to Tennessee in the SEC tournament title game after the Aggies won their three previous games in Tampa, Fla., to try and earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee then left the Aggies out of the fun despite A&M winning half of its league regularseason games including seven straight prior to the 15-point loss to the Volunteers.
The Aggies responded to the snub by winning four consecutive games in the National Invitation Tournament before losing by a point to Xavier in the title game. As much as the Aggies enjoyed their trek to New York for the NIT’s final four, they have their eyes set on the game’s much more ballyhooed dance.
Their past two trips to the NCAA Tournament under thencoach Billy Kennedy were worth their efforts: Sweet 16 showings in 2016 and 2018.
Williams said Tuesday’s environment was the best he’s seen at Reed since he became the Aggies’ coach four years ago.
“I don’t think it’s close,” he said. “We’re so appreciative.”