Manny Obaseki display's A&M's physical dominance with emphatic transition rejection

Manny Obaseki snuffs out Yale's attempt in transition with emphatic block in March Madness round one game

Texas A&M basketball came into their first round matchup in March Madness with Yale boasting a decided physical advantage. Though Yale excels at the great equalizer, shooting well from behind the arc, the Aggies are simply a bigger and more athletic team.

The Ags have leaned on that advantage so far in this matchup against the Bulldogs, knocking Yale off of their normal game by playing them extremely physically. The Aggies have brought an underdog mentality to this game, not even letting Yale get a foothold early on.

The Bulldogs are attempting to battle back, though. Their players are starting to take more chances on the defensive end, doing anything they can to turn the Aggies over and make some momentum.

One such instance looked like it was about to pay off for the Bulldogs— that is, until Manny Obaseki swooped in.

Look at the effort here by the smaller guard against Yale's big. Like I've said, Yale doesn't exactly boast a physically intimidating lineup, but this is still a small backcourt guy going up against a frontcourt player in transition.

And the block itself couldn't have been neater! Manny snatched it cleanly right out of Townsend's grasp to send it away from the basket.

This play was capped off perfectly with the effort from Solomon Washington on the other side of things. He chased down the ball and threw it off of a Yale player in order to give the Aggies possession. That's quite the sequence for the Aggies.

There's still quite a bit of time left in this one, but this play well represents how hard the Ags are competing against a clear underdog. That in itself is a great sign.