Texas A&M Basketball: Vanderbilt Shoots Aggies Out of the Gym at SEC Tournament

Mar 9, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas A&M Aggies center Tyler Davis (34) works in the post against Vanderbilt Commodores center Djery Baptiste (12) during the first half during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

The Texas A&M basketball team trailed the Vanderbilt Commodores 23-20 at half time. Things went downhill after that and the Aggies now await their postseason fate.

A Tale of Two Halves

The first half went pretty well. Going into the break, Vanderbilt lead 23-20. However, the Aggies had held Vanderbilt to 24 percent shooting. On the other hand, they had 10 turnovers to the Commodore’s one. There was tenacious defense, great rebounding, and the team was flying around. Vanderbilt took the lead into half after draining a long three point shot in the waning seconds of the period. It would prove to be a sign of things to come.

It All Fell Apart

Then there was the second half. Vanderbilt ran away with the game starting from the opening whistle of the half, going on an 8-0 run to start play. Texas A&M was frustrated by their sudden inability to shoot well, and Vanderbilt’s ability to seemingly hit from anywhere.

Vandy shooting 70% from three in the second half. That's not a typo.
— Gig Em Gazette (@GigEmGazette) March 10, 2017

Committing turnovers and allowing a 70 percent three point percentage will not win many games, if any at all. Vanderbilt would only finish 37.9 percent from deep, but the 11 threes that they did it came when the game was still somewhat close. The Commodores quickly pulled ahead, and kept the Aggies at arm’s reach for the rest of the half.

Texas A&M Statistical Leaders

Tyler Davis, 18 points, 8 REB, 7-13 FG
Admon Gilder, 11 points, 5-17 FG
Robert Williams, 9 points, 10 REB, 1-2 3PT

Vanderbilt Statistical Leaders

Joe Toye, 18 points, 6-10 FG, 5-8 3PT
Riley Lachance, 14 points, 3 AST
Nolan Cressler, 11 points, 7 REB

The Good

Tyler Davis continues to impress, and sometimes there are inlet passes that are, for lack of a better term, DIMES. But, much like we saw last year, some of these passes fly a little long or short and end up as turnovers. Robert Williams continued to play well, and had a great alley-oop near the end of the first half to swing momentum. He also added a nice three for his second of the year, which puts him on pace to equal Steph Curry’s college numbers in 207 seasons.

The Bad

Turnovers are one of the most important stats to look at when seeing who is more likely to win a game. Vanderbilt won the game, and the turnover battle 14-6. Another very telling stat is bench points, of which the Aggies had 0.

Nobody on the bench scored. That is a very bad sign, and teams do not win many games without bench production. Teams can overcome having more turnovers, or having lower bench production, but very rarely can overcome both.

Will @AggieMensHoops make the NIT? #marchmadness #NIT
— Gig Em Gazette (@GigEmGazette) March 10, 2017

What’s Next?

There is little to no hope of any postseason play, and the boys in maroon have likely seen their season end. But, this is a young team, and if Robert Williams stays, there is a lot of hope for the future. The depth of the team will improve, and the players on the bench will get better as time goes on. The broadcasters mentioned several times how young this team is, and it showed tonight. They aren’t ready for big time tournament basketball. Yet.

Next: 10 Biggest Offseason Storylines for A&M Football

Their time will come. If they fail to make the NIT or CBI, their next game will be on Friday, November 10th, against West Virginia, in Rammstein AFB. BTHO WVU

***Stats taken from ESPN***