Tag: auburn tigers basketball

‘they’re good every year you just got to expect the best out of them’ Coulibaly & Ware answer questions in preview of the South Carolina game

Here’s what Texas A&M Aggies Aicha Coulibaly and Lauren Ware had to say during the South Carolina matchup preview.

Texas A&M (14-3, 2-2) returns home to face the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-0, 4-0) on Sunday afternoon.

After a bye week, A&M will welcome the No. 1 team in the nation to Reed Arena for their fifth SEC game of the season. The Aggies have played solid defense all season long and will need to find a way to slow down the South Carolina Gamecocks, who boast the number-one offense in the land.

“I’d say rebounding is definitely the biggest thing for us and then obviously defense is something that we’ve been um pretty get out throughout the year but I think this is going to be an important one for us to be solid defensively” – Ware

“I feel like in this game it’s going to be a possessional game we got to take care of the ball as well and you know just staying in the game with them we know how big they are” – Coulibaly

Below, you can watch the full presser Q&A with Aicha Coulibaly and Lauren Ware.

 

Texas A&M will return to Reed Arena on January 21 at 4:00 pm CT to host the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks.

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 Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

‘ We’ve got to force them into tough shots they can’t get anything easy’ Coach Joni Taylor answers questions in preview of the South Carolina game

Here’s what Texas A&M Head Coach Joni Taylor had to say during the South Carolina matchup preview.

Texas A&M (14-3, 2-2) returns home to face the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-0, 4-0) on Sunday afternoon.

This will undoubtedly be the toughest game of the season for the Aggies, with Dawn Staley bringing a South Carolina team that’s been out to prove a point after not making it to the NCAA Championship game last season. Head Coach Joni Taylor knows she must slow down and limit the mistakes against the No. 1 Gamecocks if they want a chance at a victory.

“…we’ve got to force them into a half-court game as much as possible. They are excellent in transition, and we’ve got to
limit those opportunities number one by getting back and getting a defense set and also by not turning the ball over or having turnovers that lead to live ball easy transition points.”

Below, you can watch the full presser Q&A with Coach Joni Taylor.

Texas A&M will return to Reed Arena on January 21 at 4:00 pm CT to host the No.1 South Carolina Gamecocks.

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 Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

‘Kentucky is a hallucinogen’: Buzz Williams previews Saturday’s game versus No. 6 Wildcats

“What I told our team was ‘If Auburn is fast, Kentucky is a hallucinogen,'” Buzz Williams explained Friday. “That’s Kentucky in transition!”

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is coming off back-to-back losses to begin SEC play and things don’t get any easier this weekend.

The Aggies (9-6, 0-2) host No. 6 Kentucky (12-2, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon. Texas A&M is coming off a 68-53 loss versus LSU on Jan. 6 and a 66-55 road defeat at No. 16 Auburn three days later.

Before the matchup against the Wildcats, head coach Buzz Williams reflected Friday on the losses and how the team can improve.

“I thought we were awful against LSU and I was as mad as I have been probably since I’ve been here. Not that we lost, I didn’t think that we represented us, the department, the institution (and) the former students. It was yucky to me,” Williams explained. “I understand we need to win, I get it, but I’m more concerned with how we go about it. Bill Walsh let the score take care of itself. I thought we were awful.

“I was as disappointed in (Andersson Garcia) as I’ve ever been. It really hurt his feelings. I thought it was for sure better on Tuesday than it was on Saturday. Was it because Wildens (Leveque) started and Andy didn’t? No, it was because of our mentality.”

Williams’ main message for his team going into Saturday’s showdown versus Kentucky was simple: get ready to run.

“What I told our team was, ‘If Auburn is fast, Kentucky is a hallucinogen.’ They looked like you did,” Williams said to the media. “The smart guys were like, ‘It’s like a drug and you hallucinate.’ That’s Kentucky in transition! Super duper fast, 14th fastest team in the country. 64% of their shots have been attempted in the first 12 seconds of the possession. They shoot an enormous amount of shots in transition from 3. It’s similar in regard to the pace but percentage-wise it’s on steroids and even faster. Their perimeter players are even faster going downhill and they’re spraying it and shooting a lot more 3s than Auburn does.”

The Aggies and Wildcats tip off at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday at Reed Arena.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Wade Taylor IV – 17.3 PTS / 4.0 AST / 2.4 STL

Henry Coleman – 12.5 PTS / 8.4 REB

Tyrece Radford – 12.2 PTS / 5.1 REB / 2.2 AST

HOW TO WATCH:

TV: ESPN

Play-by-play: Dan Shulman

Analyst: Jay Bilas

HOW TO LISTEN:

TAMU Sports Network: WTAW 1620AM, WTAW 94.5FM (local)

Web: 12thman.com

App: 12th Man Mobile App

Play-by-Play: Andrew Monaco / Dr. John Thornton

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

‘This is the best team that he’s had’: Buzz Williams previews Tuesday’s game against Auburn

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team returns to the hardwood on Tuesday following a 68-53 loss to LSU this weekend at Reed Arena in Bryan-College Station.

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team returns to the hardwood on Tuesday night following a 68-53 loss to LSU this weekend at Reed Arena.

Aggies head coach Buzz Williams spoke to the media on Monday afternoon after watching the film and he was displeased with his team’s effort against the Tigers in the SEC opener.

“Our energy was low, our communication level was poor, our camaraderie, our competitive character,” Williams said. “In many respects, a lot of the things that we have worked really hard for that to be the standard was not apparent.”

Texas A&M (9-5, 0-1 SEC) plays another Tigers team from the SEC this week. The Aggies face their first road test in conference play on Tuesday at No. 16 Auburn (12-2, 1-0). According to data, this is the best Tigers team that coach Bruce Pearl has ever had, Williams proclaimed.

“Specific to Auburn, statistically it’s the best team since coach Pearl has been the head coach there. They’ve always had really good players and had enormous success,” Williams explained. “Statistically, up until this point, this is the best team that he’s had. They’ve played six Power Five teams and their average margin of victory is 20. That’s almost unheard of across the country. We spent all day (Sunday) trying to properly diagnose the standard in regards to the things we want to be about regardless of opponent.

“We’ve gotta get back to what I believe, without ego, we’ve built the program on and we weren’t that on Saturday.”

Auburn and Texas A&M are scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. CT.

PLAYERS to watch:

Wade Taylor IV – 18.0 PTS / 4.2 AST / 2.4 STL

Henry Coleman – 12.2 PTS / 8.7 REB

Tyrece Radford – 12.0 PTS / 4.9 REB / 2.1 AST

HOW TO WATCH:

TV: ESPN2

Play-by-play: Tom Hart

Analyst: Jay Williams

How to Listen:

TAMU Sports Network: WTAW 1620AM, WTAW 94.5FM (local)

Web: 12thman.com

App: 12th Man Mobile App

Play-by-Play: Andrew Monaco / Dr. John Thornton

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

‘I thought our defense was exceptional’ Everything Coach Joni Taylor had to say after big win over Auburn

Here’s what Aggies coach Joni Taylor had to say after the Auburn win

The Texas A&M Aggies (13-2, 1-1 SEC) notched their first SEC win of the season with a convincing 66-44 win over the Auburn Tigers (11-4, 0-2 SEC) at Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Head Basketball Coach Joni Taylor let it be known after the loss to Georgia that her team did not meet her standard of toughness. That’s something she has been preaching all season long and her team got the message.

They handled business at home and not only notched their first SEC win of the season but crossed a major milestone of recording the program’s 300th win at Reed Arena. Coach Taylor was pleased with how her team responded knowing how talented a team Auburn can be.

“We gave up too many points in the first quarter on Thursday. With that being said, when you hold a team to 54 points, you should be able to win it. But I thought our defense was exceptional, especially our perimeter. Johnnie (Harris) has a really good team and she’s got a talented group of guards. And so, when you watch them on film, you sit up straight because if you’re not locked in, they can kind of have their way. I think our perimeter players were really sound defensively and forced them into really tough contested shots.”

Below, you can watch the full post-game presser Q&A with Coach Taylor

Texas A&M will return on the road on January 11 to take on the No. 7 LSU Tigers at 7:00 PM CST at the Maravich Assembly Center.

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 Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

‘We were all locked in.. it started in practice first ‘Everything Coulibaly and Barker had to say after big win over Auburn

Here’s what Aggies Aicha Coulibaly and Janiah Barker had to say after the Auburn win

The Texas A&M Aggies (13-2, 1-1 SEC) notched their first SEC win of the season with a convincing 66-44 victory over the Auburn Tigers (11-4, 0-2 SEC) at Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.

A&M came out strong against the Auburn Tigers in their first home SEC game this season and they took Coach Joni Taylor’s challenge to heart. The Aggie played tough defense all night long and dominated the paint to the tune of 40 points and 43 rebounds. They were led by former Auburn Tiger Aicha Coulibaly and Janiah Barker who sat down to speak after the game.

“It was kind of emotional. I played with that team for two years and you know, I just had to do what I needed to do no matter what. We’re friends off the court, but on the court it’s game time.” – Aicha Coulibaly

“Something Joni talked about at the beginning of the season was that we’re not a team that’s going to have one person score 20 or 30 each game. There’s a lot of people on the team that can score. We contributed in the best way to that because we didn’t rush on offense, and nothing was forced. That’s why our field goal percentage is better because we’re taking the shots that are best for us.” – Barker.

Below, you can watch the full post-game presser Q&A with Aicha Coulibaly and Janiah Barker.

Texas A&M will return on the road on January 11 to take on the No. 7 LSU Tigers at 7:00 PM CST at the Maravich Assembly Center.

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 Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

The Texas A&M Women’s basketball team secure first SEC win of the season

Aicha Coulibaly leads the Aggies to their first SEC win of the season over Auburn

The Texas A&M Aggies (13-2, 1-1 SEC) notched their first SEC win of the season with a convincing 66-44 win over the Auburn Tigers (11-4, 0-2 SEC) at Reed Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Coach Joni Taylor was much happier with her team’s effort in their second game of conference play as they put together a more complete game than their loss to Georgia a few days ago. Their toughness was on full display against the Tigers, with over half their points coming in the paint and they held them to under 10 points in two quarters.

Aicha “AC” Coulibaly led the Aggies in scoring against her former team and, with the help of a double-double from Janiah Barker, recorded the program’s 300th win at Reed Arena. A win over the Bulldogs in their SEC opener would have been ideal; crossing this milestone at home while winning their first SEC win this season was a nice consolation prize.

Below are the Aggie critical contributors from the game:

Aicha Coulibaly:  14 points / 5 rebounds / 3 assists

Janiah Barker:  13 points / 10 rebounds

Endyia Rogers:  12 points

Texas A&M will return on the road on January 11 to take on the No. 7 LSU Tigers at 7:00 PM CST at the Maravich Assembly Center.

Below are some highlights from the win over Auburn.

Auburn, USC basketball’s next opponent, blows out UNC Asheville

Auburn looked solid in its last game before facing USC on Sunday.

The USC Trojans and Auburn Tigers face off on Sunday in a huge matchup in Alabama. The Trojans have lost the past two games, one against Gonzaga and the most recent one to Long Beach State in Bronny James’ debut.

The Tigers are 7-2 with losses coming against Baylor on opening night and then a stunning loss to Appalachian State on the road, but they beat Indiana by 28 points and are playing well right now.

On Wednesday, they defeated UNC Asheville by 25 points in a blowout (h/t Brian Hauch of Auburn Wire), who wrote this:

“It was another great offensive night for the Tigers, as Auburn shot an impressive 53% from the field. Bruce Pearl’s team has now scored 191 points over their last two games. Perhaps the most reaffirming aspect of the night came in the second half, where Auburn has struggled to put the “petal to the metal” against weaker competition.”

Auburn will be a tough matchup for the Trojans, although both teams have struggled at times against lesser opponents.

One player to watch for the Tigers is Chad Baker-Mazara, who was at San Diego State before leaving the program a couple of years ago. Johni Broome is the leading scorer for Auburn, averaging 16.3 PPG with 8.9 rebounds.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Auburn smacks Washington in battle of familiar USC foes

#USC defeated Auburn on Sunday. Auburn beat Washington by 23 on Wednesday. USC faces Washington in one week. A lot of game film will be studied.

The Auburn Tigers lost their second game of the season on Sunday at the hands of the USC Trojans in a statement win for Andy Enfield’s team.

Then, USC defeated Colorado State on Wednesday night to finish the nonconference slate.

In a notable plot twist, the next opponent for USC is Washington — the team that Auburn just crushed, 84-61, on Wednesday night in Seattle.

At the end of the first half, Auburn had an eight-point lead, but the second half was much different. Bruce Pearl’s team scored 53 points and outscored the Huskies by 15 in the final 20 minutes to get the victory and bounce back after a tough loss on Sunday.

Auburn learned from its game against USC when it played Washington. USC will now study Auburn-Washington game tape to prepare for the Huskies on Dec. 30 in Seattle. Washington will be studying USC-Auburn tape to gear up for the Trojans. It will be interesting to see how the Trojans and Huskies perform against each other, since they just played the same common opponent over the past four days.

Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome each had 18 points to lead Auburn against Washington. The Huskies dropped just their fourth game of the year and first since losing to Gonzaga.

Senior guard and Kentucky transfer Keion Brooks Jr. led the way for Washington, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds on 5-15 from the field. The only other Husky in double figures was Koren Johnson (12 points) in a tough night.

Washington shot just 36.8 percent from the field and 25 percent from downtown in a rough night offensively, and things won’t get easier against a gritty USC team.

The Huskies and Trojans won’t face each other until December 30, but the fact that USC just defeated Auburn, and Auburn beat Washington by over 20, is encouraging news for Andy Enfield and his group.

Now the Trojans need to pounce when they go to Seattle in a crucial Pac-12 road trip.

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Auburn star Wendell Green Jr. dealing with ankle injury ahead of USC tilt

#Auburn Tigers star Wendell Green Jr. has an ankle injury and might not play against USC on Sunday.

The USC Trojans are preparing for a massive game against the Auburn Tigers on Sunday afternoon in the Galen Center.

The Trojans defeated Long Beach State on Wednesday, and the Tigers beat Georgia State in each team’s final game before the showdown.

However, Bruce Pearl’s team just got some unfortunate news regarding its star player, Wendell Green Jr.

According to Adam Cole of Opelika-Auburn News, Green turned his ankle and might not be available for Sunday’s game. Green is the team’s leading scorer (13.8 PPG) and is one of three Auburn players averaging in double figures.

If Green is out, that would be a huge loss … and a much better chance for the Trojans to get the victory.

Freshman Tre Donaldson would seemingly get more run if Green can’t go, although he has played sparingly so far this season.

In the Georgia State game, Donaldson played a season-high 19 minutes and scored six points for Auburn.

The Trojans have played much better as of late and have won four straight, and Andy Enfield likes where the team is headed.

With or without Green, Auburn will be a tough matchup for the Trojans. If Green isn’t out, however, things look much better as USC hopes to get a top-25 victory under its belt before the Trojans head into Pac-12 play.

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