Texas A&M Basketball Pulls Back to .500 In Conference, Starts Homestand Strong

Despite Yet Another Slow Start, Texas A&M Basketball Notches Third Conference Win

With just over 6 minutes gone in the game, Texas A&M basketball trailed 13-4 the 8-10 Missouri Tigers, and things were very uncomfortable for the Aggie faithful. Certainly, if there was a team to break the streak of slow starts against, it would be this one; on a five-game losing skid to open conference play, the Tigers have fallen on tough times and seemed aimless coming into College Station.

Things flipped, however; the Aggies went on a 23-2 run that spanned nearly the next 12 minutes. Missouri was stifled defensively, committing more than one shot clock violation. The shots they were able to get off were not quality looks at all. The Aggies' intense offensive rebounding victimized the Tigers repeatedly.

Missouri responded late in the half to cut the lead to five by the break. From there, they made several runs at regaining a lead in the latter period, but Texas A&M basketball was always able to keep them at arm's distance through ferocious defense and some nice shot making.

If the Aggies are to end up making a run at a conference title in the coming weeks, there is a lot that needs to be cleaned up. Right now, there are several glaring ways in which they do not resemble a tournament team, mostly having to do with both shooting and defending the three-pointer.

But they do have something they are elite in: offensive rebounding. If you're elite in one facet of the game, that's not a bad one to choose. And if you're elite in a major stat, then, barring something crazy, you should end up in the Big Dance—even if you do shoot a horrible percentage from three and allow opponents way too good of a hit rate from deep.

There's a long way to go before that comes to pass, however. For right now, this Texas A&M basketball team is focused on the next game in this homestand, welcoming in the Chris Beard-led Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday. The Aggies lost a lot of cache early on in the season (as has unfortunately been the case with too many of Buzz's teams), so they need to put their heads down, get better game by game, and work in silence.

They won't be ranked in the AP Top 25 anytime soon. They won't be making headlines. But all you can do is play the next game in front of you. Keep stringing good outings together, and see where you are when the conference tournament rolls around.