In the 225th meeting of Texas and Texas A&M on the hardwood, the Longhorns took a 138-87 series advantage with a 60-50 win over the Aggies.
Turnovers were an issue in A&M’s fourth loss since Thanksgiving, as the team gave up the ball 21 times in the game. This proved to be crucial as the Longhorns scored 21 points off of these turnovers. The Aggies also suffered a slow start in the game, trailing 27-17 at halftime after shooting 41.8 percent in the first half.
Following halftime the Aggies saw improvement, as A&M’s shooting percentage increased to a season-high 54.2 percent in the second half to help cut the Texas lead. The game became a low-scoring, defensive contest, as the Aggies and Longhorns would score just 33 points each in the second half.
A&M coach Buzz Williams said he would like to see his team score more points in future match-ups, but he was pleased with his team’s adjustments in the second half.
“I want to score more points,” Williams said. “I don’t think me or this team will win a beauty contest. I do know that as long as I’m here I won’t win a beauty contest because they’re not going to invite me, but we shot 54 percent in the second half. And it was an even game and the second half.”
With the atmosphere of a rivalry game looming over the game, senior forward Josh Nebo said the revival of the Lone Star Showdown provided a good atmosphere for the game and is good for college basketball in general.
“I think it definitely felt physical, like a hard-hitting game, no love loss or friends out there, just a tough physical game,” Nebo said. “As players you want to play against Texas. The fans want to see that. I feel that it is good for both schools, good for the state and, as you noticed, a good college basketball game.”
Despite the loss, A&M found success in freshman forward Emanuel Miller. Miller recorded a career-high 14 rebounds, which is the most by an Aggie freshman since Robert Williams had 16 in the 2017 season.
Miller said his success is a result of him trying to do whatever is asked of him to help his team.
“We had a game plan and just needed to stick to the game plan,” Miller said. “Doing anything I can to help the team is something that I’m going to do every single game. If they want me to take a charge, then I’ll take a charge. Whatever we have to do as a team, collectively, we’re going to do it and I’m going to do it as well.”
The Aggies will return to action when they host A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SECN+.