Aggies Fall to No. 1 Auburn; Drop Eighth Straight in SEC Play
Texas A&M (15-9) entered Saturday morning's matchup with the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers (22-2) with a free shot, and hoping to get back in the win column for the first time since mid-January.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, the top-ranked Tigers were as advertised, dominating the game from the opening tip on their way to a 75 - 58 win, and sending Texas A&M to its eighth consecutive loss in SEC play.
"I thought we did a lot of good things today, particularly at the start," Aggies coach Buzz Williams said. "I thought our presence on the glass was very good... We did not convert at the rim the way we needed to."
For the Aggies, the vast majority of the issues came on the offensive end of the floor, where they shot an anemic 27.5-percent from the floor, and were 3 of 22 from three-point range.
"We've got to be able to make shots," Williams said. "Particularly when they're catch-and-shoot and out of rotation."
No Aggie player scored more than 11 points in the game, with Quenton Jackson's 11 leading the way. Tyrece Radford also added 10 points, while Henry Coleman had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
"It was pretty difficult," Colemans said. "Both of their bigs are very physical. It's hard to block their shot and get around the rim."
The Aggies did hold their ground in the rebounding battle, but that was the lone positive takeaway from the day, as their poor shooting and inability to crack the Auburn defensive scheme were too much to overcome.
The Tigers were led by a dominant performance on both ends from big man Walker Kessler, who finished with a 12-point, 12-rebounds, 11-block triple-double.
The duo of Allen Flanigan (16) and KD Johnson (11), also combined for 37 points.
Following the loss, the Aggies will return home to Reed arena on Tuesday, where they will welcome the Florida Gators (16-8) for the first and only matchup of the regular season between the two teams.
"Mentally, we have to stay strong and stay together to move on from this one to the next," Coleman said.
The Gators are winners of four-straight entering their Saturday afternoon matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators are also 9-4 overall over Texas A&M and have won four consecutive matchups in the series, with the Aggies' last win coming in 2016 at Reed Arena.
Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the All Aggies message board community today!
Follow AllAggies.com on Facebook and Twitter!
Want More Aggies News? Check Out The Latest In Texas A&M News Here