Date: Friday March 19th, 2024
Time: 5:50 pm
Arena: Fed Ex Arena, Memphis, TN
Broadcast: TNT
Texas A&M Info
Head Coach: Buzz Williams (5th season)
Location: College Station, Texas
Conference: SEC
Nickname: Aggies
Mascot: Reveille X (long haired collie)
Typical Rotation Depth: 8+
Point Spread: Nebraska by 1.5
Last Time out: Lost to Florida in the SEC semifinals
KenPom rank: 45
Nota bene:
Nebraska leads the all-time matchup with TAMU 12-8
Texas A&M is easily #1 in offensive rebound % at 42.0% which means they roughly rebound 42% of their misses
Both the men and women play Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA tournament, a story that developed in-between Nebraska AD Trev Alberts leaving and being introduced as the TAMU AD.
Despite being one of the worst shooting teams in D-1, TAMU runs one of the most efficient offenses because of shot volume and points at the FT Line
Texas A&M started the season ranked #15 in the country in part due to returning 8 of their top 9 players from a team that ran through the SEC on the way to a 7 seed. Though they had a fine year in some ways has been a disappointing team that had to rally in March to make the tourney.
KenPom most used lineups
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Pct
1
4 Wade Taylor
6-0 175 Jr
23 Tyrece Radford
6-3 190 Sr
35 Manny Obaseki
6-4 195 Jr
13 Solomon Washington
6-7 220 So
11 Andersson Garcia
6-7 215 Sr
24.0
Player to watch: Wade Taylor
The Junior was named first team All-SEC and is one of the most feared PGs in the conference. Taylor doesn't shoot at a great percentage but has Keisei Tominaga type range and shot selection. Elite at getting to the line and generating steals. Is a pick and roll waiting to happen.
Player to watch: Tyrece Radford
Arguably the most important player for Texas A&M in terms of wins and loses as the team tends to go as he does. Much like Wade Taylor he's a poor shooter though gets to the FT line.
Player to watch: Andersson Garcia
Typically the first man off the bench, Garcia is a terror as TAMU's glue guy to the point he made the All-SEC defensive team. A ferocious rebounder and rim protector, he makes a high percentage of the few shots he does take. His 153 offensive rebounds is the same number that Zach Eddy has. He occasionally will pop a 3.
Player to watch: Manny Obaseki
The Junior guard was expected to be a starter coming into the season but didn't start his first game until March which has also seen the Aggies win 5 of their last 6. One of the rare A&M players where you can say he's makes a good % of 3s as he's hitting 37.8% for the year and 47.6% in conference though at 45 total attempts it's hard to know how much that maters.
Player to watch: Solomon Washington
Another undersized rim protector/rebounder. Converts at a high percentage in the paint
Others to watch
The Aggies start 6'11" 250 center Wildens Leveque though his playing time is sparse. He's out there to block shots. 6'8" 245# center Henry Coleman is yet another big body that TAMU rolls in. 6'6" Illinois-Chicago transfer Jace Carter started a lot of games for the Aggies but his inability to make shots has limited his playing time recently. Same deal for 6'6" wing Hayden Hefner.
UNL Game Notes
Out indefinitely
5 Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Junior - Likely out for the season
The Skinny:
For the first time, I'll be doing a write-up where Nebraska is the favorite to win a NCAA tourney game. The last time Nebraska was in the NCAA tourney was 10 years ago as an underdog to Baylor. The last time the Huskers were favored in a tourney game was 30 years ago as a 6 seed. Nebraska will have their chance to make history on Friday and hopefully it's a first step towards sustained success.
Standing between Nebraska and destiny is an up and down Texas A&M team. The Aggies have wins over teams like Iowa St and Tennessee and loses to Vanderbilt and Arkansas. While Fred Hoiberg has a Sweet 16 run on his resume, TAMU coach Buzz Williams has an Elite 8 run at Marquette back in the day on his. Any outcome is on the table for this game which is why most have this as a coin-flip type game.
Despite being one of the worst shooting teams in D-1, A&M runs one of the best offenses thanks to shot volume and trips to the line. The Aggies have been a perennial leader in offensive rebounds during Buzz's tenure and their experienced guards take care of the ball. A lot of what they're doing offensively is dribble drives or pick and roll type actions with their stable of posts all rolling in for rebounds. By default, Nebraska's paint packing defense is geared towards stopping this. Probably the biggest key is to keep out of foul trouble as it's often necessary for Texas A&M to supplement their scoring at the charity stripe.
Defensively TAMU runs a similar scheme to Nebraska where they deny the middle and attempt to close out on 3...thus they also give up 3s like the Huskers. Unlike the Aggies, Nebraska is capable of knocking down 3s on a consistent basis. If the Huskers are passing to the next man they're likely to have wide open looks. Rienk Mast seem like he could be pivotal with his ability to direct traffic out of the post. However, this is one game where he will not have a huge advantage on the perimeter because the Aggie posts are comfortable guarding in space.
As cliche as it sounds, it really might boil down to how much Nebraska can persist and one has to be optimistic given how the Husker have looked coming off of 5+ days of rest.
I just wanted to say I am happiest for you guys (and others who I unintentionally neglected who have been following Husker Hoops for way more years than Matt & Scott & I).
EVERY SINGLE PERSON HERE - I feel great for ALL OF US.
But man... I'm so happy for those who have been around since Cipriano and Iba and even before.
I just wanted you guys to know I was thinking about you today leading up to the selection - especially you, Jimmy. I haven't met some of you but I consider you friends.
OK, off to watch a Nicholas Sparks movie with all this sap.
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