Texas A&M Basketball: 3 takeaways from blowout loss to Michigan in Sweet 16

1. For better or worse, TJ Starks sets the tempo

Texas A&M thought they had the point guard position figured out entering the season. JJ Caldwell had the job under wraps with veteran transfer Duane Wilson providing relief. Not only did that ideal never really materialize, neither player was available for the Aggies against Michigan.

With JJ Caldwell removed from the team and Duane Wilson nursing a leg injury, TJ Starks and Jay Jay Chandler were all that was left at the point guard position for Texas A&M. Both true freshman were asked to carry a heavy load, but the bulk of the minutes and the responsibility fellow on Starks.

There’s no way to sugar coat it. Starks was awful early on.

The Texas A&M offense that so effortlessly took it to the North Carolina Tarheels was lost in the first half. Starks was 0-3 with two turnovers in the first eight minutes before he was removed in favor of Jay Jay Chandler. The entire offense was out of sorts, and the point guard wasn’t able to get his team moving as a unit.

Starks finished 2-for-11 from the field with five points and five turnovers. The Aggies didn’t need a perfect night from Starks, instead they got quite the opposite.