The Texas A&M women’s basketball team has put on impressive displays in each of its first two regular season games, but its next opponent is guaranteed to offer tougher competition.
The Aggies (2-0) travel to Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday to take on the No. 14 Duke Blue Devils (2-0). This game kicks off a brutal 10-game stretch for the Aggies, one that might be one of the tougher nonconference schedules in all of college basketball.
“We’ve got 10 straight,” head coach Gary Blair said in his news conference on Tuesday. “Ten straight games, relevant games [against] teams that are predicted to go to the NCAA [tournament] or NIT. I looked at it, and we’re the only team in the SEC that’s doing this, and that includes Tennessee and South Carolina, who are number two and three in the nation.”
Blair said he and his team look forward to embarking on a stretch that puts the Aggies up against teams that will push them to reach their full potential.
“I love big games,” Blair said. “I love to get my team ready for conference play and hopefully the playoffs.”
The No. 12 Aggies have played tremendous basketball in each of their first two games, showing a nice mix of offensive production and stifling defense, and they are going to have to sustain that level of play against the Blue Devils if they want to remain unbeaten.
“We’ve always played them well, but I’ve never won at Duke,” Blair said. “I’d like to change that up.”
Duke’s size stuck out to Blair when he watched them on tape.
“They’re huge,” Blair said of the Blue Devils, whose starting lineup contains only one player under 6 feet. “They’re very good. I love playing Duke. You get up for certain teams and you get up to playing in the arena.”
A unique aspect of this game involves senior guard Jordan Jones, not because of her consistent point guard play but rather that she has family ties in Durham. Her brother, Matt Jones, is a junior guard and captain on the Duke men’s basketball team, and will be in the stands to witness his sister play on Wednesday night.
Blair said he expects a raucous crowd from the Duke fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“We’re going to have to have our A-game,” Blair said. “Our freshmen are going to have to grow up on the road, and then just get ready, because we’ve got TCU, Ohio State and California coming up right behind them.”
The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday and fans can watch the game on ESPN3 through the WatchESPN app.
