NEW YORK, NY — About 1,646 miles away from College Station, it is a crisp 33 degrees in New York City. Times Square is flooded with tourists, entering stores and buildings, seeking heat to defrost their frozen limbs.
Not far down the block, Madison Square Garden radiated a heat felt by Aggies around the country.
On Tuesday, March 29, Texas A&M defeated Washington State 72-56, and punched its ticket to the National Invitational Tournament final game.
Here’s what we learned:
The starting five
For the last 12 games, the same five players have taken the floor together: graduate guard Quenton Jackson, sophomore forward Henry Coleman III, junior guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford, freshman guard Wade Taylor IV and freshman guard Manny Obaseki. This starting group has proved dominant when taking the floor together and has won 11 of its last 12 games. This lineup came about right after the Aggies losing streak and has worked ever since.
“There’s a comradery that our guys have off the floor that’s as genuine as I’ve seen in my 28 years of college coaching,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “We need the comradery we have off the floor to be evident to everyone that doesn’t know who [we] are on the floor. There’s great symmetry between those guys.”
A “foul” first half
The history of fights in Madison Square Garden is not only historic, but goes far beyond just the sport of boxing. Every time an athlete, team or coach enters the arena, a competitive spirit overwhelms them. These two opponents took it upon themselves to make this game a rough one, fighting for a spot in the finals. The Aggies accumulated seven team fouls in the first eight minutes, placing Washington State in the bonus. The Cougars came out with the same scrappy fight, leaving the half with nine team fouls and later finishing with 16.
“We always want to get to the bonus first,” Williams said. “We fouled a lot in the first half. I think every starter had one foul prior to the second media timeout. We are not comfortable playing like that.”
The power of the paint
One major key to A&M’s win tonight — and in the NIT — has been its paint presence. The Aggies’ 58 paint points could have single-handedly beat the Cougars’ 56. Coleman owned the paint, scoring 16 points and tacking on six rebounds.
“Throughout the game, we just tried to stay aggressive.” Jackson said. “We were able to just attack. Henry [Coleman] ate this game with dump downs.”
NIT domination
A&M has been on a mission. After all the obstacles the team has been through this season, the players are finally showing off their heart and talent on a national stage. In every round of the NIT, the Aggies have won by at least 12 points. They were able to shut down the Cougars senior guard Michael Flowers, who scored 27 points in the quarterfinals.
“They exposed us a little bit,” Washington State coach Kyle Smith said. “They didn’t make the tournament and that’s really shocking.”
One more
When Jackson said the “Job’s not done,” he meant it.On Thursday, March 31, A&M will return to The Garden for its final matchup of the season against Xavier. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. EST, and the winner will be crowned the 2022 NIT Champion. It will be the NIT’s last game at MSG for at least a couple years due to the NCAA wanting the tournament to be played elsewhere.
“We’re locked in. We’re in a great groove right now as a team,” Jackson said. “[The] coaching staff has been doing an amazing job with the scouting reports. We are overly prepared for whatever is to come next. As players, we just have to go out there and play with confidence and stick to the script.”
