Aggies improve some more, even in losing effort
The Texas A&M men's basketball team continues to get better, but the season might be over before many Aggies know it.
A&M came oh so close to knocking off the sixth-ranked Baylor Bears on Wednesday night at Reed Arena in what will be the last Battle of the Brazos as we know it with A&M headed to the Southeastern Conference.
A&M came storming back from a 13-point second-half deficit to take a lead with 29 seconds left before the Bears managed to escape with a 63-60 victory.
It was rather mind-boggling considering that the Aggies again were without starting senior point guard Dash Harris and junior forward Khris Middleton. Sure, A&M beat Oklahoma State on Saturday without them, but OSU's roster didn't attract the hordes of NBA scouts that Baylor's did. The four substitutes that Baylor used are good enough to be starters for A&M.
With that said, A&M's whole certainly has been better than the individual parts recently. The Aggies continue to improve no matter who is injured or who plays, showing an uncanny ability to battle back from bad passes, horrible shots and poor decisions.
That's because the Aggies seem to play better defense each time out. Baylor came in shooting almost 49.4 percent from the field, ranking second in the Big 12, and the Aggies held them to 39.7. And again, they did it without Middleton and Harris who are two of the team's better defenders.
The A&M team that played Wednesday night is good enough to make the NCAA tournament. Baylor is not a good matchup for most teams because of its size, but the Aggies held their own because 6-foot-8 senior forward David Loubeau and 6-9 junior Ray Turner played physically on both ends. Baylor outscored A&M by one in the paint and had only three more rebounds.
The A&M team that played Wednesday night is good enough to make the NCAA tournament. Baylor is not a good matchup for most teams because of its size, but the Aggies held their own because 6-foot-8 senior forward David Loubeau and 6-9 junior Ray Turner played physically on both ends. Baylor outscored A&M by one in the paint and had only three more rebounds.
A&M also got key baskets from redshirt freshman Daniel Alexander, who hit four 3-points as the Aggies matched the Bears from long range.
No matter what aspect of the game you talk about, you can make a case that A&M outplayed Baylor. It was a winning effort that produced no win. And all that Baylor cares about is that it escaped with a win. They Bears likely will forget that they were just a shot away from losing by the time the bus hits the Waco city limits.
It's also disappointing that the announced crowd was 9,309, meaning about 8,000 actually showed up. Thankfully, they sounded like 11,000. But what gives with the no-shows?
Baylor is a legitimate Final Four team. Perry Jones III and Quincy Acy will soon be playing in the NBA. If A&M fans won't come out for Baylor, what's it going to be like next year when Ole Miss or Vanderbilt roll into Reed Arena?
The game proved worthy of being televised by ESPN2, yet a bunch of locals and the student body decided to pass. Oh well, it was their loss.