COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Saturday night the 10th ranked Texas A&M men's basketball team were looking for their 10th consecutive win. That would be no easy feat, as the Aggies were hosting the red-hot, 5th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide rolled into town with the number one scoring offense in the country and the Aggies would have to try and slow them down without their All-American guard Wad Taylor IV. Despite cutting the deficit to three late in the second half the Aggies could not complete the comeback and fell to the Tide 94 to 88.
“We knew we had this home crowd here, the home advantage, we we’re using that,” graduate guard Hayden Hefner said. “But really just the ball didn't fall our way. We missed too many free throws. They took our recipe and just performed it better. They offensive rebounded better than us. Really just that's all it is.”
“They're pretty good every night, but I thought they really attacked us well,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “Honestly, we're fortunate they couldn't make free throws. Like if they could make free throws, this game would have been a little bit different.”
Free throws and rebounding were the storylines in this one. The Aggies missed 20 from the charity stripe and were out rebounded with Tide notching opponent season highs on the glass. In Taylor's absence, senior guard Zhuric Phelps once again stepped up and finished with a team leading 24 points.
“He's you know, he's done unbelievable. He's a great player,” graduate forward Henry Coleman III said. “I know you guys see the stats, but he's an even better leader, and I think he does that better than any, shot or defensive rebound or crossover. He's a better leader than he is a basketball player and so he helps our team a lot.”
Because of how good the SEC has become every game is its own challenge. A&M will have to immediately turn the page with just two days between this one and their next ranked matchup.
“When the margin in this league is as thin as it is, I think you have to purge or cleanse whether the result was good or whether the result was bad,” Aggie head coach Buzz Williams said. “And from an as best you can, from a non-emotional standpoint, you have to figure out how you can diagnose what to learn. But in a quick turnaround, what can you learn that applies to the next game?”
“It's a long season, we don't hang our heads on anything,” Coleman III said. “We have work to do tomorrow, and we're prepared for it and guys will watch film tonight and get ready to play in Lexington on Tuesday.”
The Aggies have a quick turnaround with a ranked road matchup against Kentucky Tuesday night, so they'll have to flush this one as they set their sights on the Wildcats. Tip off at Rupp Arena is set for 6pm on ESPN2.
