Texas A&M routs Georgia 79-45 in Athens

This was supposed to be our toughest conference game to date.

Georgia is a solid team who rarely loses at home, and they seem destined for a top half finish in the SEC.

Despite all that, we just handed them the beating of a lifetime. At their house.

Let's break it down.

*******************************

Sharing is caring

The Aggies were a shining beacon of offensive efficiency on Saturday. 21 assists on 29 made baskets, 53% shooting, and six players scoring between nine and twelve points. Eleven players scored in all.

After three straight less-than-stellar efforts, it all came together. Alex Caruso said it best post-game.

"I was waiting for it. I knew it was coming."

Wrecking Crew. Wrecking Crew.

Our defensive effort would have made those early-90's defenses proud, as Georgia routinely struggled to get the ball within 20 feet of the basket. We closed hard on every shot from distance, we aggressively filled passing lanes, and we frustrated the Bulldogs en route to their worst shooting effort (28.9%) of the season.

Georgia Coach Mark Fox summed it up quite nicely:

"Texas A&M just gave us an old-fashioned whooping."

We are the one who knocks

In the past, we've always approached big games against quality opposition with the same mindset: "If we play our game, we can compete. And if the other team plays less than their best game, we can win."

Now, we're on the other side of that fence. Now, we're the team that needs to be "off their game" for the opposition to steal a victory.

In short, this game served as a warning shot to the rest of the conference. Our ceiling is higher than your ceiling, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

A few stats to place this game (and overall run) in historical context:

• This was Georgia's worst defeat (home or away) in the seven year reign of current coach Mark Fox.
• This was the largest conference victory for Texas A&M basketball in the modern era.
• SEC road teams are 9-24 in conference road games. Texas A&M is 3-0 in conference road games.
• This was the first victory over Georgia (1-4) since the Aggies joined the SEC
• The 5-0 start to SEC play is the best start to a conference season in thirty years

*******************************

Box Score | Highlights

Let's check out the updated SEC Standings

Guess who comes to town next? Red-hot LSU. Second place LSU. National pre-season player of the year (and future #1 overall draft pick) Ben Simmons' LSU.

This game is at 8pm during syllabus week, and the winner has the inside track at filling the void left by two-loss Kentucky.

If you haven't been to a basketball game yet this year, I can't think of a better time to start. Show up, wear white, and support the best men's basketball team this University has seen in a decade.

BTHO LSU