There is no questioning Texas A&M men’s basketball’s fight or work ethic. However, in recent performances, the Aggies have struggled to use that to their advantage.
On Jan. 29, A&M fought its hardest to defeat South Carolina, but ultimately came up short, resulting in a 74-63 loss and placing its conference record at 4-4.
Here’s what we learned:
Struggle to finish games
Like many of the Aggies’ prior SEC matchups, they struggled to put two halves together. Once again, the maroon and white let the lead slip away after possessing it for 26 minutes in the game. Although the spirit of the team never wavered, they struggled to finish in the second half as they have before, a direct result of their four straight losses.
“We didn’t do enough good things from start to finish to win,” coach Buzz Williams said.
13% from the 3-point line
To be successful in the SEC, 3-pointers are crucial to capturing the game and gaining momentum. In the first half, the Aggies totaled up 20 points in the paint, but only made one of 11 from the 3-point line. Despite the aggressive performance on the floor, the shots didn’t fall for the Aggies and they finished 13% from the 3-point line. In their last two performances at Reed Arena, the Aggies have shot 6-47, or 12.8%.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say we got rattled,” Williams said. “We didn’t shoot a high percentage, but I would say they were shots we wanted to take.”
Coleman hits first double-double of the season
Sophomore forward Henry Coleman III headed into the locker room at halftime with nine points and 11 rebounds. To secure his first double-double of his collegiate career, Coleman sank a free throw and finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds for the night. This performance was the first double-double from the Aggies during the 2021-22 season.
“[Coleman] was great,” Williams said. “Seven of his offensive rebounds led to three of his fouls. He was hard to take off the floor.”
Fight until the end
One aspect that has yet to change is the team’s toughness and will to play. If there was a statistic for players hitting the floor on every possession, those numbers would have been sky-high. With sweat splattered all over, the court wipers were putting in extra work against South Carolina. The two teams battled until the very end, with coach Williams predicting the Gamecocks would be one of the tougher teams on the Aggies’ schedule. Unfortunately, the amount of heart A&M possesses has not been enough recently to win.
“As a team we played very hard, as a team we competed till the very end,” Coleman said. “I don’t think effort or competing was a question. I thought we left it all out on the court.”
Senior forward Ethan Henderson added he was proud of his team’s physical performance.
“We definitely harped on the physicality of the game,” Henderson said. “We did a great job on that as a whole team.”