Texas A&M stuns Georgia 63-62

Wow.

After a clunky first half and an uninspired second half, Texas A&M faced a 62-53 deficit with 2:09 remaining. But Georgia dissolved into a pile of bad decisions down the stretch, and Texas A&M did juuuuuust enough to cobble together a 10-0 run and defeat the Bulldogs 63-62.

Georgia’s final possession was worth noting, as a clock malfunction stopped the game clock with 5.6 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs ran the remainder of their set and got fouled... and the game clock still read 5.6.

The officials conferred, and they ultimately determined that well over 5.6 seconds had run off the clock since the stoppage. Just like that, the game was over.

I’d be beyond livid if this happened to us. Honestly. But sometimes the ball bounces your way. I’ll take it, and I’ll take the improvement to 2-5 in conference play.

Let’s break it down.

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Freedom isn’t free

The furious comeback wouldn’t have been necessary if we had just nailed our free throws... but we were absolutely abysmal from the stripe. The final tally was 14-27 (52%), but for those who watched the whole game, it felt like we missed a hundred.

We did a better job taking care of the basketball, and then we fell asleep at the free throw line. One must wonder what we’re capable of if we put it all together.

Robert Williams was a monster

Ever since his game against South Carolina, Williams had mostly strung together a series of B to B+ performances. Somewhere around 10 points, a handful of rebounds, and a couple of blocks.

Today, he was much more active. Williams finished the day with 18 points and 12 rebounds on 6-12 shooting, which included a 6-8 day from the line (when, again, the rest of the team was abysmal). This was especially important, given the uncharacteristically poor performance of Tyler Davis.

Make no mistake: Williams was the man down low today, and he delivered the game winning basket to seal the win.

We made another lineup change

Trocha got the start today, which made 6-9 DJ Hogg the second-smallest Aggie on the floor. I can’t really assess the effectiveness of the switch, as Tonny’s almost immediate foul trouble (perhaps due to the lack of quickness on the floor) forced some early changes, but I like that we’re still willing to try new things. It can be maddening to watch the same exact lineup and rotation struggle through a losing streak, so the willingness to change was certainly a welcome sight.

If we hit our free throws, this plays out as a tight game against an upper echelon conference foe... so there’s a chance we’ll see something similar at Ole Miss.

Things lighten up a little in February... but we have to get there first.

BTHO Ole Miss