What to Expect This Time Around Versus the Texas A&M Aggies

BRamseyKSR

It is always more difficult the second time around. The Texas A&M Aggies poked some holes in that theory on Thursday night in Nashville as they defeated Ole Miss 80-71. Those two teams had just met on Saturday when the Aggies beat the Rebels 86-60 in Oxford. Now, Coach Buzz Williams and his group will look to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats for a second time as well. It is always more difficult the second time around, but that is generally more true for the team that won the game. Kentucky lost in College Station 97-92 in overtime. That matchup was also all of the way back on January 13th when the ‘Cats were without Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic. Needless to say, the Kentucky team we see at Bridgestone Arena on Friday night won’t be the same as the one that played in College Station in January.

In fairness to Texas A&M, they are a different team than they were in mid-January as well. They couldn’t have played much better on that given day, but since then they’ve been better overall. The Aggies have answered a five game losing streak in February with a current four game winning streak in Mach. Per Bart Torvik, the Aggies are 61st in adjusted offensive efficiency and 37th in adjusted defensive efficiency in their 15 games since defeating the Wildcats. Texas A&M still can’t shoot, but they offensive rebound at an incredibly high level and the improvements defensively have led to more overall success. Playing to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament will certainly add some extra motivation as well. It will not be easy for the ‘Cats to exact revenge on the Aggies on Friday night.

For a full scouting report, you can go check out what we wrote back on January 13th. However, now we are going to focus on what Kentucky must do this time around to defeat the Aggies. Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford scored 31 points and 28 points respectively while shooting 9-19 combined from three-point range. We know that will be a non-starter in terms of success on Friday night. Additionally, the Wildcats must keep Texas A&M from dominating the offensive glass. They got 46.3% of their own misses in the first matchup in College Station. Finally, Kentucky will have to attack their unique defense and thrive in the chaos. Let’s dive on in and closer look at what to expect from the Texas A&M Aggies in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Containing the Aggies Star Guards

It is largely feast or famine for Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford. They are two of the most talented guards in the Southeastern Conference, but they can get the Texas A&M Aggies beat just as often as they win them games. During their recent five game losing streak, Taylor IV and Radford shot 7-32 and 4-21 respectively from three-point range. However, during their current four game winning streak, they are each shooting 33.3% on 7.5 and six attempts per game respectively. Additionally, Coach Buzz Williams has inserted 6’4″ junior guard Manny Obaseki into the starting lineup. That move has coincided perfectly with the Aggies wining streak. He is averaging 16.5 points per game in those four contests and has shot 7-12 from deep. Obaseki played just 11 minutes against Kentucky in January.

This is what we can’t have happen this time around. First of all, even with his recent “success,” #23 Radford is a 27.6% three-point shooter. Back up, play underneath the ballscreens, and stay between him and the basket. However, regardless of the plan, we need to be on the same page. We were “weaking” a lot of the ballscreens in College Station, but this time both Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell jumped to the same side of the screen. Then, inside, we want to stay away from physical combat with their forwards. Instead of stepping over to front #10 Leveque, Ugonna Onyenso needs to plant himself at the front of the rim and get vertical. That forward is just looking to seal you and then offensive rebound. Be a rim protector!

It was a common theme for that point in the season, but Kentucky displayed no consistency when guarding the ballscreens against the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. In this clip, you see Reed Sheppard actually get underneath of the zoom action, but Ugonna Onyenso is up too high taking away the angle for Sheppard to cut off #4 Taylor IV. Then, at the end of the drive, you have to think about making them miss as opposed to blocking their shot. Their guards are low percentage finishers. However, they are excellent at getting to the free throw line where they shoot a much higher percentage. Get your hands up and be vertical. We want to make them shoot non-paint two-point shots. They will miss enough of them that we don’t need to block their shots.

This clip is from Texas A&M’s win on Thursday night against Georgia. #35 Obaseki is handling the ball and you have to expect him to be more of a factor than he was in our first matchup. His three-point percentage is good, but he has made just 16 in 31 games. We are much more concerned about him as a left-hand driver. Also, you should be helping and in the gaps a lot more when guarding #23 Radford and #4 Taylor IV. Neither of the Ole Miss defenders guarding those guys are doing enough to clog up the driving lanes. We want to protect the paint and keep the Aggies’ guards from getting to the rim off of the dribble.

Best Offensive Rebounding Team in the Country

Simply looking at the Texas A&M Aggies shooting numbers doesn’t paint a full picture. Per KenPom, they are 349th nationally in effective field goal percentage. They are 360th from three-point range (27.7%), 300th from two-point range (47.1%), and 257% from the free throw line (70.4%). However, they make up for missing so many shots by also rebounding 42.2% of them which is the best mark in college basketball. The Aggies offensive rebounded 47.7% of their misses on Thursday night against Ole Miss and 46.3% of their misses back in January against Kentucky. Those sort of numbers on Friday night will get the ‘Cats beat once again.

This is everything the Texas A&M Aggies are about summed up in one clip. #11 Garcia is going to try and offensive rebound every single shot. It doesn’t matter where he is on the floor, he is coming for the ball. You have to physical go find your man, make contact with him, and then release to go get the ball. Some guys may just be tasked with making sure their man doesn’t offensive rebound the ball while others go get it. This was a turning point in our first game. Instead of coming up with the ball and having a chance to build the lead, #23 Radford ended up cutting it to just one point.

You have to physically fight on the glass or else you won’t rebound against Texas A&M. If you stand and watch you’ve already gotten beat. Here, Ugonna Onyenso found himself out of rebounding position. However, instead of making a move or trying to push #13 Washington under the basket, he simply stood out watched. Don’t be afraid to throw them around a little bit on the glass. Take the physicality to them. Adding in the athleticism of Adou Thiero, who missed our first meeting with the Aggies, should help the rebounding cause as well.

Good things happen to the team that plays harder. Coach Buzz Williams and the Texas A&M Aggies make their money by consistently being the team that plays harder. That can’t be the case on Friday night in Nashville. Take a look at #23 Radford in this clip. As soon as #4 Taylor IV gets into his shot attempt, Radford is sprinting towards the rim. The Ole Miss player completely whiffed as Radford chased down the ball and laid it back in. When you get Radford to take a deep three and miss the entire hoop you have to come up with the defensive rebound to end the possession.

Attacking Texas A&M’s Unique Defense

Kentucky had no issues scoring the basketball in College Station. They put up 89 points in regulation, but came up short to the Texas A&M Aggies 97-92 in overtime. The ‘Cats shot 15-39 from beyond the arc, but struggled from the free thrown line and simply could not get the stops they needed to win the game. Opportunities from three-point range will always be there against the Aggies. 44.8% of their opponents field goal attempts are three-point shots which is 11th most in the country. Similarly, teams score 37.1% of their points from deep against Texas A&M which is 15th most nationally.

Coach Buzz Williams has a unique style of defense, but it does allow for open looks. They will switch everything to the point where it looks like zone. Also, they aggressively try to keep the ball on a side. Expect to see an extended 1-2-2 half court trap back to their switching man-to-man as well. It can be hard to run traditional half court offense because of how they are in the passing lanes and switch everything. However, if you drive it hard in a straight line and then kick it back out to the perimeter you will get them into scramble situations. Drive, kick, and be ready to shoot. If we can score it the way we did in College Station it should be enough to win in Nashville on Friday night.

Even while switching everything, the Texas A&M Aggies will pretty aggressively tag on the roll and trade giving up three-point shots for protecting the paint. In this clip from Thursday night, there was no real reason for them to tag on #33 Cisse’s roll off of #4 Brakefield. However, they did so anyway and gave up the open catch-and-shoot three. Even though you might not be able to catch it on the roll, you need to roll hard in order to pull the defense with you. It is easy to imagine Justin Edwards are any of the Wildcats stepping up on the wing and making this shot on Friday night.

There are times where you simply have to go one-on-one and attack mismatches against Texas A&M. If they are going to willingly put their forwards on the best guards in the country we have to make them pay. This is a perfect example of that from our first meeting. Kentucky space the floor, got a switch, and D.J. Wagner went to work. You can’t fall into the trap of doing this every time down, but sometimes you have to let the best players be the best players.

Texas A&M is going to create some chaos defensively. On this possession they got out and trapped the first ballscreen. Good job Aaron Bradshaw coming back to the ball as a pressure release. Then, as D.J. Wagner drives it, you see how heavily the Aggies will collapse. All 10 feet end up in the paint. There will be opportunities to cut along the baseline like Rob Dillingham did here. Texas A&M is soft in the gaps at times and will lose track of their man. However, also notice that Antonio Reeves is wide open in the corner. We shot 39 three-pointers in our first matchup. Even last year against the Aggies we shot 32. Obviously there is nothing wrong at all with this play, it is a great cut by Dillingham and find by Wagner, but always be ready to drive and kick for three.

Keys to the Game

Contain #4 Taylor IV and #23 Radford. It is unlikely they shoot 9-19 combined from three-point again. However, you can’t combine that with getting smoked off of the dribble and putting them at the foul line. Taylor IV was just 1-11 from two-point range in College Station, but he was 11-12 at the free throw line. Be vertical and don’t foul! He is a low percentage finisher. Radford scored eight two-point shots. That is too many. Break their rhythm, but then back up, clog the gaps, and make them score non-paint, two-point shots. More shots than points for them.
REBOUND!!! Texas A&M is going to get a lot of offensive rebounds because they miss a lot of shots. We just can’t get dominated on the glass. They got 46.3% of their own misses in our first matchup which is even higher than their 42.2% mark for the season which leads all of college basketball. Keep them under 40%.
Go score 90. Yes, we want to be better defensively. However, we win games with our offense. There will be plenty of drive and kick opportunities against the Texas A&M Aggies. Drive it hard, share the ball, and be confident from beyond the arc. We need to shoot 30 or more three-pointers in this one. Look for opportunities to score in transition too which starts by defensive rebounding.
Play without fouling. The Aggies rely heavily on getting to the free throw line. 22.8% of their points come from the foul line which is 28th most in the country. They are a low-percentage shooting team so if you don’t bail them out it is hard for them to score enough to win. 20 or fewer free throw attempts for them.
Shoot 75% or better at the free throw line.