Bucky McMillan and Texas A&M Basketball made a statement to the rest of the country last night as they blew out the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 88-68. The Aggies improve to 15-4 overall, 5-1 in the SEC, and move up to 42nd in the NET rankings. The Bulldogs fall to 10-9 overall, 2-4 in the SEC, and 98th in the NET rankings.
The Aggies more than just took care of business last night; they made a statement. This team can compete with anyone in the conference and could be dangerous come March. Obviously, there is still a lot of ball to play, and the conference schedule so far has been on the easy end, but the job that Bucky McMillan and staff have done this year with only one returning bench player on the roster and weeks late in the portal process has been second to none.
Texas A&M announces themselves as a threat to the rest of the conference with blowout of MSU
That performance last night was about as good as it could be from the Aggies. They were neck and neck on rebounds, 23-24 from the free throw line, only 3 turnovers to the Bulldogs 13 and they finally put a team away without letting them back in for the first time in SEC play. Aside from the turnovers forced, the Aggie defense was outstanding. They needed to limit Hubbard and Epps, who average a combined 37.8 points per game, and they held them to 23.
The star of the night for the Aggies was none other than Rashaun Agge. Agee had a season high 23 points last night, added another double-double to his season with 10 rebounds, and even got himself 5 assists as the cherry on top. Three other Aggies scored in double figures last night as Rylan Griffen had himself a 15-point night while Jacari Lane and Pop Issacs both had 10 points apiece.
The Aggies will stay home this weekend as they host the South Carolina Gamecocks in yet another must-win quad 3 home game that they will likely be heavily favored in. The Gamecocks will be riding the momentum off of their home win against Oklahoma on Tuesday night. Check back tomorrow for my full preview of Saturday's matchup.