Texas A&M defeats Mizzou 84-69; moves to first place in the SEC

For the first time in six weeks, we didn't play to the level of our opponent.

Texas A&M executed a cold, stoic #BusinessTrip in Columbia, dispatching an overmatched Mizzou Tigers squad in a game that wasn't even as close as the final score indicates.

Following that result, we watched Kentucky and South Carolina lose... which propelled our Aggies to first place in the SEC.

With two games remaining, we control our own destiny. If we win at Auburn and close it out over Vanderbilt at home, we cut down the nets for our first regular season conference title in 30 years.

Let's break it down.

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Champion of the Sun

We're going to keep the Always Sunny references rolling, because they seem to be working. Danuel House didn't show up until the tail end of the MSU game, but he was on target early yesterday. He hit double figures before halftime, and when added to a quick start by Jalen Jones (12 first half points, 20 overall) the game got out of hand early.

A&M held a seventeen point halftime lead, and pushed the advantage to the mid-20's coming out of the halftime break. It was a nice reminder of what this offense is capable of when House and Jones are hitting on the same day.

Great Bench Productivity

Our second unit was spectacular yesterday. The starters did a great job building the big lead, sure, but our second unit kept their foot on the gas. Gilder came off the bench firing yet again, adding 14 points on 5-6 shooting, while Trocha and Hogg kicked in 12 and 9, respectively. Tavario stayed within himself for 16 productive minutes as well, adding four points, five boards and a block.

The second unit had an answer every time Missouri threatened to make a run.

Caruso grabs another milestone

Alex Caruso had a solid floor manager game, dropping six assists to only one turner. The six assists pushed him to 606 for the season, breaking the school's career record previous held by David Edwards (602).

Yesterday's effort also gave him 42 career assists against Missouri. If a Mizzou student picked up every dime he's dropped in Columbia, they could literally buy a happy meal.

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Y'all... literally everything went our way yesterday. We continue to get every bit of help we need around the league, and we control our own destiny with two games to play.

We're this close to our first conference title since 1986.

BTHO Auburn