No. 21 Mississippi State’s early eight-point lead made it seem like No. 7 Texas A&M men’s basketball was in for a long night. Luckily for A&M, graduate guard CJ Wilcher wears the Aggies’ shade of maroon. In an otherwise grim 70-54 loss to the Bulldogs, Wilcher knocked down three shots from beyond the arc.
Before transferring to A&M, Wilcher made a name for himself at Nebraska. The 6-foot-5 shooter ranked as the Big Ten’s No. 3 bench scorer in 2023-24. That same season, Wilcher shot 45% from the field and 39% from three-point land.
Against Mississippi State, Wilcher was shooting the basketball into a hula hoop. His three first-half 3-pointers gave the Aggies the spark necessary to crawl out of their early hole. Entering Tuesday’s game, Wilcher led the team in 3-point accuracy, boasting a mark of 40%.
At the halfway point, the Bulldogs were out-rebounding the Aggies, 17-15. Bulldogs’ redshirt junior forward KeShawn Murphy led both squads with six rebounds by the break, with the closest Aggie, senior F Andersson Garcia, accounting for four. Despite the Mississippi State’s lead on the boards, A&M held a 31-30 lead.
“A&M is really good at dragging you into the ring,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “You just have to accept it at times, and you’ve got to do your best to match what they’re doing, certainly trying to exceed it.”
The second half was all Bulldogs. Mississippi State sophomore G Josh Hubbard was a thorn in A&M’s side. Hubbard accounted for 25 points, two rebounds and four assists in the Bulldogs’ victory. No matter what the Aggies did, they did not have an answer for Hubbard. The Madison, Mississippi native recorded his 22nd career 20-plus point game and his ninth of the season.
“We talk about opportunities a lot, especially as you’re going into the [Southeastern Conference],” Jans said. “Every one of them is going to be really, really hard. For what we are trying to do and where we are trying to go, we have to take care of these opportunities.”
A&M could not get its shots to fall in the second half. Out of the nine players that attempted a shot, only five were able to record a basket. It was a stark contrast to the shooting prowess the Aggies showed in the first half, which saw the team shoot 42.9% from the field. In the second half, the Aggies sank a mere 28% of their shots.
Graduate G Wade Taylor IV was a shell of his usual self in the loss. The Dallas product recorded 11 points, three rebounds and four assists, with several of his points coming once the game was out of reach.
Mississippi State’s stalwart defense and swift pickpockets recorded its 10th game of the season with more than 10 steals. The Bulldogs’ graduate F Cameron Matthews tied his season-high steal total, recording six in the win. The Aggies constantly had to watch their back because, no matter how hard they tried, the Bulldogs snatched the ball. Of the Aggies’ 19 turnovers, 17 of them were steals.
“We won the turnover battle,” Jans said. “To me, that was the story of the game.”
The bout was a true tale of two halves, with the teams’ performances completely flipping at the midpoint. The Aggies, despite the loss, outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-31 and led in second chance points.
“[A&M] won the rebounding battle,” Jans said. “To be honest with you, deep down, I didn’t know if we could win the turnover battle. I just was hoping to neutralize it because of what they do. That is what they do.”
The loss marked the fourth of the year for the Aggies, who are projected to be a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. A&M will seek redemption Saturday against No. 6 Tennessee at 11 a.m. at Reed Arena.
