Aggie Hoops goes quietly into the night, drops 66-41 SEC Tournament decision to Vanderbilt

In what was hopefully the last game of the season for Texas A&M Basketball, the Aggies were absolutely buried under an avalanche of second half Vanderbilt threes.

This won’t be fun. Let’s hit the facts quick and get out. Suffice it to say that some longer form season-end stuff is coming in the near future... so tonight we’ll focus on the game.

This can’t happen in game three

Vanderbilt, who has quietly built an 8-2 advantage over Texas A&M since we joined the SEC, had already defeated us twice this year. Their MO (which, again, we had seen twice) was quite simple - bombs away from long distance.

So how, exactly, were they allowed to setup shop from their favorite places for the entirety of the second half? If you want to make the “we have no bench and this is the end of a long season” argument... sure. There’s some truth there. But this was a scheme issue. This was the type of sunken, coming under screens, passive zone BS that long range teams thrive on.

How on earth can you run this in game three against the same opponent?

Dumpster diving for positives

Our offense sucked, and there are very few positives to draw from a game where you score 41 points. Let’s try to find some season-long positives... Gilder has played approximately ten thousand minutes this season, and he’s played his ass off. Davis fought off double teams in a limited offense in 31 separate games, and tonight he was the lone bright spot (18 points, 8 rebounds). And Williams? Here merely jumped over anyone in his path, regardless of their skill, athleticism, or seniority; while providing one of the only reasons to follow the squad this season. These guys were the high points this year, and I don’t want any scathing remarks about this game or season to take away from what they did. But the product, as a whole... damn. Just not good enough.

Hopefully our AD does the right thing and declines any invites to a sub-NIT tournament. They’re an embarrassment for P5 schools, and they aren't something we “need,” under any circumstances.

If all goes well, this was the last Texas A&M Basketball game of the 2016-2017 season. Once that’s confirmed, we’ll have plenty to discuss regarding the long term health of the program.

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Stay tuned for more information regarding our post-season action, if applicable.