Texas A&M (15-10, 6-6 SEC) fell on the road 100-75 to a hot No. 15 Alabama (18-7, 10-2 SEC) on Saturday
The Aggies started off bucket for bucket with Alabama before the shooting issues reared their ugly head. A&M was able to get multiple looks near the basket but couldn’t seem to get those easy buckets near the rim. The Tide did what they do best: getting to the rim and knocking down threes. Thanks to Tyrece Radford, the Aggies didn’t let the game get too out of hand.
There would have been a better chance to put some pressure on Alabama, but in addition to missing the shots in the paint, they also went 2 for 10 from beyond the arc, with Wade Taylor hitting the only three-pointer for the Aggies in the half. With 1.1 seconds left, Taylor confusingly conceded that time, avoiding a last-second heave, and went to the locker room down 49-35.
The second half was more of the same, with Texas A&M making a small run only to commit turnovers or miss easy shots, allowing Alabama to go on unanswered runs. Radford was the only Aggie outside forward, Solomon Washington, who could get into scoring position and actually make a bucket.
As it’s been all season, offensive rebounding was the saving grace to keep A&M within comeback distance, but the three-point shot from the Tide was just too much to handle as they extended their lead to 67-50 halfway through the second half. The three-ball continued to fall, and A&M had no answer for the rest of the half. The Aggies drop to 6-6 in SEC play after their loss to Alabama on the road.
Some good news: Counting as a Quad 1 loss, Texas A&M, who was recently slated as a 9-seed in Joe Lunardi’s newest bracket update, will likely stay in place, but the six remaining games on their schedule become that much more important after two consecutive losses.
Below are the Aggies critical contributors from the game:
Wade Taylor IV: 10 points / 5 rebounds / 3 assists
Tyrece Radford: 22 points / 4 rebounds
Andersson Garcia: 5 points / 12 rebounds
Soloman Washington: 14 points / 8 rebounds
Alabama’s top contributors:
Mark Sears: 23 points / 4 assists
Rylan Griffin: 17 points
Aaron Estrada: 11 points / 17 assists
Latrell Wrightsell: 16 points
Texas A&M will be back at Reed Arena on February 20 at 6 p.m. to face the Arkansas Razorbacks
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