Aggie hoops headed to Stillwater yesterday to face off against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. It wasn't much of a contest as the Aggies could only hold onto the lead for the first two minutes. Once the Cowboys went up 4-3, they never looked back. The Cowboys led 43-29 at the half and kept the momentum into the second half as they marched to an 87-63 victory.
The Aggies shot an abysmal 32.3% from the field and 25.7% from beyond the arc. 35 of their 62 total shots came from beyond the arc, and they only made 9 of them. No starters scored more than 8 points in the contest, only scoring 23 total points between the five of them. While the Aggies were only outrebounded 42-39, they lost the crucial turnover battle 15-9. In the words of Josh Pate, your "Paper Pop Stat of the game" was this: 27 points off turnovers for the Cowboys and 11 for the Aggies.
There were a couple of bright spots for the Aggies. Marcus Hill had his second straight game recording double digits and Zach Clemence was your second leading scorer with a season-high 9 points. Despite losing the overall rebounding battle, the Aggies outrebounded the Cowboys 14-12 on the offensive glass.
Texas A&M basketball's issues could have just been exposed in Stillwater
Could this game be a sign of things to come this season for the Aggies? This was their first true test against higher level competition and they failed miserably. The team's identity is to make 3's and force turnovers. They were outshot from beyond the arc, weren't able to force enough turnovers, and gave up way too many layups to a Cowboys team that has been projected the 11th best out of the 16 teams in the BIG 12.
Could this be a one-off performance? Of course it could. But the inability to compete with a team that has a very slim chance to make the NCAA Tournament is concerning and should sound the alarm bells in Aggieland. Yes, this is only the third game of the season. Yes, this team is brand new. Yes, there are at least 29 games remaining in the season, but if the glaring issues aren't cleaned up soon, this could be a very long season for the Aggies.
The Aggies' next contest comes on Friday night back at Reed Arena against the UCF Knights. UCF is currently 1-1 on the season with a loss Vanderbilt yesterday. They are projected to place 15th out of the 16 teams in the BIG 12 this season. The Knights will first take on Florida A&M on Tuesday night prior to making the trip to College Station on Friday. It pains me to say it, but Friday may be a must win for the Aggies tournament chances come early March.