The 127th meeting between Texas A&M men’s basketball and Texas Tech revived a familiar rivalry for fans across the Lone Star State — and for the first time since 1953, it came as a non-conference matchup.
The result was certainly familiar for Aggie fans, as A&M extended their win streak over Tech to seven games in a row with a 72-67 win in a neutral site contest at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth in front of a raucous crowd of 12,642 fans.
“I thought for sure it felt like a road game,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “ … Maybe it’s the metroplex. Maybe it’s just the loyal following of Texas Tech. I didn’t come out pregame because I was a little behind in some of my prep, but as soon as I walked out, I mean, I thought it felt like a road game.”
Mom said it’s my turn to score
Things started as well as Aggie fans could have hoped for, thanks to A&M’s third all-time leading scorer.
Texas Tech was forced to take their first timeout just under three minutes into the game — after graduate guard Wade Taylor IV opened the day with eight points off of 3-4 shooting and a pair of three-point shots, leading to an 11-2 A&M lead by the time Tech coach Grant McCasland was forced to regroup.
Taylor would once again lead A&M in both minutes played and scoring, finishing with 19 points after 33 minutes on the floor.
“I thought IV was very consistent from the very beginning in his actions on both sides of the ball,” Williams said. “I think the thing that’s differentiating him thus far in his last year is he’s ultra intelligent. That’s why he graduated in three years. But he probably has as high of an EQ as any player I’ve ever been around, and he’s more willing to use his words than ever before.”
Tech was quick to respond, closing the gap to 13-8 thanks to a pair of three-point buckets from sophomore G Kevin Overton. Then the Aggies’ next guard took over the game.
A&M produced a run of 13 straight points from senior G Jace Carter, including a fast break layup on a totally-and-completely-intentional behind-the-back pass from graduate forward Henry Coleman III.
Carter would soon add a pair of three-pointers interspersed by yet another pair of trays from Overton to give the Aggies a 26-18 lead at the media timeout with 6:14 left in the first half.
Overton would finish the day 6-12 shooting and 17 points. He and Texas Tech super-senior G Chance McMillian combined for 40 points and nine trays on 19 attempts. They were able to fill in the hole in the Red Raiders’ roster, as the Red and Black were without leading scorer and sophomore F JT Toppin due to injury.
And while McMillian did lead all scorers, A&M would have yet another guard hit double figures in senior G Zhuric Phelps, whose 12 points were capped off by a 3-pointer and a jumper late in the second half that gave the Aggies an 8-point buffer with five minutes left that would be enough to hold onto for the rest of the day.
Can’t beat ol’ reliable
A&M entered Fort Worth leading the country in offensive rebounding percentage. The Aggies’ halftime lead came thanks to that domination of the glass, as the Maroon and White boasted ten offensive rebounds to Texas Tech’s four and nine second-chance points to the Red Raiders’ zero.
The Aggies ended the day doubling the Red and Black’s offensive rebounding total, 18 to nine, despite only out-rebounding the Big 12 squad by two.
And that effort was without senior F Andersson “The Dominican Rodman” Garcia through the end of the game, who only had a trio of rebounds on the day and fouled out with 8:59 left in the game. Garcia leads the Aggies in total rebounds this season.
His slack was picked up by junior F Solomon Washington, who had nine boards — six of them off of the offensive glass.
Strength in the non-conference slate
A&M’s win over Texas Tech marks its fourth straight win — all four over power conference opposition — and its fifth win over a power conference opponent this season.
That’s another Quad 1 win for the Aggies according to the current NET rankings as they look to build their NCAA Tournament resume early on in the season.
“I’m hoping that, as it all unfolds, that our numerical number of Quad 1s and Quad 2s [will be enough],” Williams said. “I still feel pretty good about this as a Quad 1. Obviously it’s a neutral site. That’s why there’s so many more neutral site games than ever before. Everybody’s playing that math.”
And regardless of the potential seeding effects when Selection Sunday rolls around, it’s hard not to be happy with a win over an in-state rival like the Red Raiders if you’re an Aggie fan — especially in front of a large crowd filled with Red and Black.
