Who are these Aggies? Texas A&M basketball dominates offensively in March Madness

Texas A&M basketball displays offensive domination in first March Madness win under Buzz Williams

It was an electric start for Texas A&M basketball, especially from three—unfortunately, that was also the case for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who opened 5/5 from beyond the arc. The Aggies fell behind briefly but clawed their way back in with heady defensive play and aggressive rebounding—the formula that has worked for them all year.

The score resembled an NBA game more so than a college contest with 10 minutes left in the first half—the Aggies trailed 29-28 after Obaseki went one-for-two at the charity stripe. The torrid pace was not to slow, however, much to the delight of a very Nebraska-heavy crowd. The Husker faithful were eating up every Big Red basket, but Wade Taylor was a human flamethrower on the floor, quieting the Huskers time and again.

Tyrece Radford, who had been quiet to open the game, began to get involved with a huge offensive rebound off a Jace Carter miss, which he put back through contact to get an and-one chance. He converted to give the Aggies a five-point lead with just over 7:30 to go in the half.

The offensive rebounding and defensive pressure of the Aggies began to pay off over the next stretch. After the Huskers scored to cut the lead to 3, the Aggies hit back to back shots—one second-chance, one off a turnover—to precipitate a Nebraska timeout.

Nebraska star Keisei Tominaga, who couldn't miss early on for Big Red, airballed to continue a cold stretch, and Radford answered in transition to build the lead up to 9. After some more back-and-forth, including Manny Obaseki hitting his first three, the Aggies led by double digits. Their physical defensive style began to reap unintended results, however, as they hit 8 team fouls for the half with just under four minutes remaining.

Nebraska hit their free throws, but Obaseki continued his stellar offensive play with an explosive cut to the basket for another and-one chance. He converted to give the Aggies, offensively moribund for much of the year, a fifty point half.

Only mere seconds later, he hit a corner three to stretch the lead to 14. Next possession down, he hit yet another deep shot to give him 17 for the half. A layup a few possessions later gave him 16 straight points for the Maroon and White. Behind the hot stretch from Manny, the Aggies ended the half 58-44. As coach Buzz Williams said in the interview before the break, though, the fouling by Texas A&M basketball was becoming a looming concern.