The Texas A&M basketball team looked like it was ready to complete the perfect underdog story. After being snubbed from the NCAA Tournament, the Aggies went on to win four NIT Tournament games — each by a margin of at least 12 points.
Unfortunately, everything good comes to an end. For the Aggies, it was a heartbreaking end, emphasized by a single tweet.
https://twitter.com/aggiestoday/status/1509703115389419531?s=21
Regardless of the outcome, Buzz Williams and his team had an impressive run in the NIT Tournament. Heck, the last 15 games of the season showcased one of the best stretches of any team in college basketball at any point in the season.
But they just couldn’t close it out.
Here are some stats for the Texas A&M basketball fans who aren’t too sad to read them
Player Stats:
Quenton Jackson: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 12-14 FT
Tyrece Radford: 15 points, 7 rebounds
Hassan Diarra: 12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Texas A&M had plenty of their star players showing up, with big games from QUenton Jackson, Tyrece Radford, and Hassan Diarra. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough — perhaps this is due to an assist total that I will reference later.
The scoring for Texas A&M was solid with three players in double-figures and eight total scorers on the night.
Team Stats:
Texas A&M: 45.1% FG, 21-25 FT, 34 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 13 turnovers
Xavier: 48.3% FG, 8-15 FT, 31 rebounds, 16 assists, 8 steals, 3 blocks, 11 turnovers
Unfortunately, the team stats don’t look great for Texas A&M but we’ll start on a positive note — the Aggies did win the rebounding battle. WIth Jack Nunge (7’0″) as Xavier’s top big, A&M couldn’t match this size. They managed to stay physical anyway.
Unfortunately, the Aggies didn’t succeed in a couple of other categories that would have helped. They turned the ball over 13 times and created just six assists on the night. On the other side of the ball, the Aggies allowed Xavier to create 16 turnovers and move the ball pretty well, only turning it over 11 times.
The Aggies also probably should have fouled Xavier more down low, as the Muskateers couldn’t hit a free throw if their lives depended on it. They made just over 50% of their shots from the charity stripe.
Unfortunately, A&M was one point away from a win and, quite literally, inches away from a shot dropping that would have given them that win.