Texas A&M (21-8, 13-3 SEC) saw their impressive six-game winning streak sadly end at the hands of Mississippi State to the tune of 69-62 on Saturday afternoon, enduring one of their worst second-half performances in the Buzz Williams era after being held scoreless from the field for nearly 13 minutes.
Within the loss, sophomore guard Wade Taylor continued his incredible streak of 20-plus points performances for his 9th on the year, recording 21 points alongside two 11-point performances for forwards Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia. What plagued the Aggies the most was simply a lack of energy and urgency both offensively and defensively, something that needs to change on a dime Tuesday night before facing the Ole Miss Rebels for their second straight road game.
Despite their on-court misery, the Aggies received some good news on Monday afternoon from both the USA TODAY Coaches poll and AP Top 25 poll, not only staying in the rankings but steadily rising in both, increasing for spots to No. 21 in USA TODAY, and 1 spot to No. 24 in AP. Why the reward after a loss? Mississippi State’s Quad 1 value as a tough road opponent counts as an “acceptable loss” or “Resume building win”, so in this case, it’s simply a mulligan for a team that has more than proven that they belong in the NCAA Tournament.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty
[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdd4pnb49trk727 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]
[lawrence-related id=10598,10642]