Aggie Hoops Wins Third Straight; Drops MSU 87-75

I can’t start anywhere else — Buzz Williams is the SEC Coach of the Year.

Last week, I would have been happy with one win in our brutal five game stretch to close the season. Now, we’ve already got the first two, and we’ve blasted through the ceiling into a postseason-laden stratosphere.

And these offensive stats... they’re insane. We hit season-highs in just about every statistic that matters. Points (87), field goals (31), field goal percentage (60%), 3PT percentage (53%), FT percentage (89%), and assists (18).

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

Box Score

First Half

We started the game with a 10-4 lead and a noticeably higher level of energy inside Reed... which was immediately offset by a 14-2 Bulldog run that exploited the issues we referenced in our preview. Mississippi State was lean, aggressive, and attacking the offensive glass.

Things stabilized a bit after that, and with six minutes remaining we hit an 11-0 run of our own that effectively closed the half.

We never trailed again.

Halftime Score: Texas A&M 36, Mississippi State 30

Second Half

The Bulldogs hung around for a bit, and even closed the gap to two with around 15:00 remaining... and then we unleashed hell. In one half, we hit our season-high in points (51), overall field goal percentage (60%), and three-point percentage (70%). The catalyst for all of this was Chuck Mitchell, who had 20 points in the second half.

The fun doesn’t lie in the ebb and flow of this one... the fun lies in the statistics. Let’s get to the good stuff.

Final Score: Texas A&M 87, Mississippi State 75

Quotes

Additional Notes

We shortened the bench in a big way for the first time all season, and all five of these guys really had an outstanding game. They all had double digits, and they all deserve their spot in the sun.

• Josh Freaking Nebo. He led us in scoring (21 points), and he did it while battling his toughest frontline opponents to date. We had to have a massive game from him, and he delivered.
• Wendell Mitchell stole the show in the second half, as we mentioned, and he’s got double digits in just about every game this month.
• Flagg continues to surge after his mid-year slump. Savion had his first double-double of the season with 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, which was huge on an evening where the rebounding battle was at a premium.
• Quenton Jackson continues to shine, grabbing 18 points and four steals in his second game as a starter.
• Emanuel Miller cleared double digits for the seventh time this season, and he continues to develop at an impressive clip.

Overall Thoughts

We’ve popped bubbles all across the SEC, we’ve crystallized our crunch-time lineup, and we’re playing our best ball at the best time of the year. The schedule is about to kick up another notch (Kentucky, @ LSU, @ Auburn), but we’ve got nothing to lose.

This team is two games above .500 in SEC play for the first time since 2015-2016, and the world is our oyster.

Next up is the biggest home game of the season.

BTHO Kentucky