Texas A&M Aggies
SEC (20-11, 11-7)
The Aggies have been one of the pleasant surprises in the SEC. The non-conference slate was pretty easy and the team did lose their toughest three games against Dayton, Baylor and Kansas State. Back on January 10th, Texas A&M went to double overtime against Kentucky. They lost that game, and moved to 0-2 in SEC play, but it triggered a six game winning streak and enough confidence to have a very good season.
Big Wins: 1/17 at LSU (67-64), 2/14 Florida (63-62), 2/17 LSU (68-62)
Bad Losses: 12/20 at Kansas State (64-71), 3/3 at Florida (62-66), 3/7 Alabama (60-61)
Coach: Billy Kennedy
Why They Can Surprise:
Texas A&M does what they need to do to win. They take care of the ball and move it around to find the open look. They play solid defense and finish the play by hitting the glass. Alex Caruso is one of the best passers in the SEC and dished out 5.6 assists per game. He is also the team’s top pickpocket and does a surprising amount of work on the glass. Caruso is often setting up 6-7 wings Danuel House and Jalen Jones. House is a very effective outside shooter, but he can also attack the basket. Jones spends more time in the paint and is also the team’s top rebounder. With Jones, Coach Billy Kennedy has the luxury of being tough on the glass despite basically running a four guard offense around senior forward Kourtney Roberson. Roberson has had some poor stretches this season, yet he is capable of scoring 20 points on any given night.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Besides a couple wins against LSU, this is an Aggies team that has not really beaten any good teams. They do deserve a lot of credit for beating the teams they should beat, but the lack of a statement win is a bit worrisome. But such is life in the SEC; the Aggies only played Kentucky and Arkansas once and the non-conference slate did not have many opportunities either. But close losses to the Wildcats and Razorbacks will have to be enough to give Texas A&M confidence heading into the postseason. The Aggies cannot afford to come from behind much either. The defense can string together stops, but they are not going to get too many easy buckets off of steals and they are not going to hit many three-pointers unless House is having a great day.
Probable Starters:
Alex Caruso, Junior, Guard, 9.5 ppg, 5.6 apg, 4.7 rpg, 2.1 spg
Jordan Green, Senior, Guard, 5.5 ppg, 1.7 apg
Danuel House, Junior, Guard, 14.8 ppg, 2.1 apg
Jalen Jones, Junior, Guard, 13.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Kourtney Roberson, Senior, Forward, 8.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Peyton Allen, Freshman, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.1 apg
Tavario Miller, Sophomore, Forward, 2.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Alex Robinson, Freshman, Guard, 4.3 ppg, 2.4 apg
Tonny Trocha-Morelos, Freshman, Center, 1.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.5 (169th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.1 (65, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.0 (93, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.9 (52, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.5 (252, 11)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.9 (147, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.5 (287, 13)
Rebound Margin: 4.5 (44, 2)
Assists Per Game: 14.7 (46, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.2 (139, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 CBI First Round win over Wyoming
2014 CBI Quarterfinal loss to Illinois State
2011 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Florida State
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Utah State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Purdue
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over BYU
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Connecticut
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over BYU
2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to UCLA
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Pennsylvania
2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Louisville
2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Memphis
*all team stats through 3/8
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
