A lot went right the last time the Texas A&M men's basketball team took the court, just not enough to beat the No. 2 team in the nation on the road.
When A&M coach Mark Turgeon met with the press after Oklahoma pulled out a 77-71 victory Wednesday over an Aggie team that led by nine points with less than 7 minutes to go, he appeared to be of two minds.
His team had just dominated the Sooners for 25 minutes. For the game, A&M had nearly as many offensive rebounds (20) as the team with the leading rebounder in the nation had defensive rebounds (23). In all, the Aggies outrebounded OU and Blake Griffin 45-31.
On the other, the Aggies had let their best opportunity to make a dent in the national basketball scene slip away by going through another long drought without making a field goal.
Proud and disappointed were words mixed into many of Turgeon's answers.
Turgeon keeps talking about improving and the Aggies did, playing arguably their best game of the season.
A&M lost both games against OU by six. Turgeon felt his team played much better in Norman than they did at Reed Arena.
A big difference in the outcome Wednesday was the crowd. OU looked lethargic on defense at times -- especially the first 10 minutes of the second half -- but when the fans at the sold-out Lloyd Noble Center realized their team was in trouble they and the Sooners picked up the intensity.
The loss put the Aggies in a precarious position, having to win six of their final eight Big 12 games to finish above .500 in league play. The schedule gets easier in the second half, but not as easy as it first appeared when conference play began.
Only two of A&M's final eight games are against teams picked to finish in the upper half of the standings before the season started. But Kansas State (4-4) visits Reed coming off four straight victories, including a shocker at Texas. Facing Nebraska (4-4) on the road also looks much tougher than it did a month ago.
Third-place Missouri, which won at Texas on Wednesday, is another reason the second half of the season looks much more dangerous.
"I think it's good for me that Kansas State beat Texas because it will open my guys' eyes and they won't take them for granted," Turgeon said before traveling up to Norman and before the Wildcats pocketed their fourth straight victory. "They realize if they beat Texas, they are good.
If KSU's winning streak didn't make the Aggies stand up and take notice, Denis Clemente's 44-point performance against the Longhorns should have.
Clemente's emergence -- he's a transfer from Miami -- gives the Wildcats a backcourt that can match any in the Big 12. Jacob Pullen was a great complement as a freshman last season to Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. The 6-footer came into this season as the player to watch for the Wildcats and hasn't disappointed with a 13.6 scoring average and 3.2 assists a game. He's also a good defender.
"Talking to their coaches this summer and knowing what I know about college basketball I knew [Clemente] would be a good player," Turgeon said. "Did I think he'd go for 44 at Texas? No, I don't think anyone envisioned that. I envisioned a player that was fast, competitive and capable of getting hot and putting up good numbers.
"He and Pullen at the 1-2 is a pretty good backcourt."
*
NOTES -- Kansas State leads the Big 12 in rebounding margin (+7.0) and offensive rebounding (16.1) per game. Clemente is fifth in scoring in Big 12 games at 17.8 points per game. Take away his 44-point effort at Texas and his average would be 14.1. ... Only Memphis leads A&M in home wins (85 to 80) over the last four seasons.
TEXAS A&M BASKETBALL
* Saturday's game: Kansas St. (15-7, 4-4 Big 12) at Texas A&M (17-6, 3-5), 3 p.m.
* TV/Radio: KBTX, Ch. 5/WTAW, 1620 AM
A&M-KSU LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M (17-6, 3-5)
NAMEPOS.HTCL.PPGRPG
Donald SloanG6-3jr.11.3*3.2
Derrick RolandG6-4jr.5.42.7
Josh CarterF6-7sr.13.04.0
Bryan DavisF6-9jr.10.76.2
Chinemelu ElonuC6-10jr.10.17.5
KANSAS STATE (15-7, 4-4)
NAMEPOS.HTCL.PPGRPG
Denis ClementsG6-1jr.14.3*3.2
Jacob PullenG6-0so.13.6*3.2
Dominique SuttonF 6-5soph.8.05.0
Darren KentF6-11sr.8.65.8
Luis ColonC6-10 jr.5.55.2
*assists per game
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