Saturday afternoon, No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-3) in their final game to take fifth place in the Inaugural Players Era Festival Tournament at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
It’s still early and Coach Buzz Williams always gets his team whipped into shape if conference ball starts. They have a clear identity on both sides of the ball and the staff knows exactly what they want to do. However, the win against a good but inexperienced Rutgers team was another poor shooting night. It was another game where they shot below 40% in the first half and under 80% from the free-throw line.
Rutgers young guns Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey gave them all they could handle for a combined 42 points and 13 rebounds, keeping the Scarlet Knights in the game and even taking the lead a few times. The Aggies were led by All-SEC guard Wade Taylor, who scored 24 points, while Solomon Washington, Henry Coleman III, and Manny Obaseki all pitched in with 11 a piece.
A&M has all the right pieces and has been put in a great position to be 8-0 against quality competition. They are buying into what Buzz is selling and for the most part, it’s working.
However, they have to reward their coach by finishing shots and closing out teams earlier. The SEC is too competitive to leave points on the court on makeable shots.
They continue to look the part of a top-25 team but if they want to make some noise late in the season, the shooting percentage have to improve dramatically. Still the Aggies showed their resiliency holding off a dangerous team for an 81-77 win to close out their time in Las Vegas.
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