Texas A&M basketball: Numbers in LSU loss look even worse than the outcome

Texas A&M basketball dropped another conference game at home, and the numbers against LSU look even worse than the outcome.

Good feeling gone. That about sums up the 15-point loss to the No. 19 LSU Tigers at Reed Arena. Just when the Texas A&M basketball had lured fans into thinking they might compete in conference play, they lay an egg against an LSU team which had shown some vulnerability in certain aspects and especially in a recent overtime win over Missouri.

LSU needed a 14-point comeback with just under three minutes left to take down Missouri. A&M had just knocked off Kansas State and some feelings of positivity had returned. The defense played their asses off on Saturday but couldn’t slow down Tremont Waters who basically won the game by himself.

Let’s have a look at some of the numbers that best sum up the game.

36 – That’s how many points the Aggies surrendered to star point guard Waters. He was on fire, going 11-for-18 from the field and 6-for-10 from downtown. He also hit all eight of his free throw attempts and had seven rebounds and three steals. It was a one-man show.

1 – How many three pointers the Tigers hit aside from Waters. This is one of the best scoring teams in the country and the Aggies did well, holding the Tigers to 11 points below their season average. It was a game they could have won, except…

33 – The final shooting percentage for the Aggies. They only scored 57 points after keeping pace with the Tigers in the first half. TJ Starks and Josh Nebo were the only Aggies who contributed positively on offense. The 21 points in the second half ties their worst half of the season

14.3 – The brutal shooting percentage from the three-point line for Texas A&M. Wendell Mitchell, the only consistent outside threat for the Aggies all season, went just 0-for-2. Starks was the only to make more than one, but he took 10 to get two. LSU was awful themselves, and they still shot twice as better than the Ags.

0.38 – It just keeps getting worse for Texas A&M. They had six assists to their 16 turnovers. One of the keys of the game was to take care of the ball and they pretty much did the opposite. Starks led the way with five turnovers.

6 & 2 – The Aggies competed and brought it close a few times in the second half, cutting the lead to 56-51 with 9:27 to play, but their typical late game disappearing act reared its ugly head. They went on to score just six points the rest of the way, and just two points in the final 5:32.

Billy Kennedy and Texas A&M now move on to No. 1 Tennessee at home. If they play like they did tonight, it’s going to be over in a hurry.

Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.