Math is fundamental in Wednesday's high-profile A&M-Ole Miss contest
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Had this basketball gig not worked out, perhaps Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams would’ve been a mathematics professor.
His obsession with numbers would have served him well in that role. That obsession may serve him even better on Wednesday when the No. 13 Aggies (14-4, 3-2) travel to face No. 16 Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1) at 8 p.m. CT.
It’s just another typical “Quadrant 1” clash in the powerful Southeastern Conference, which is chock full of them. Those valuable high-profile victories figure to add up as the SEC schedule progresses.
“I know the math changes per day, but a few of those (SEC games) may end up being ‘Quad 1A’ games,” Williams said on Tuesday. “I know we already have some.
“I just think it speaks to the level of talent, the level of coaching and how razor-thin all of this is.”
A “Quad 1A” win would be defined as a victory over an opponent ranked among the top 30 in the NET rankings. Ole Miss is currently ranked 13th in the NET. A&M is 19th.
To Williams’ point about the razor-thin line between success and failure, consider:
Without star guard Wade Taylor IV playing, A&M lost a down-to-the-wire duel to No. 4 Alabama. Ole Miss then defeated Alabama but followed up with an 84-81 overtime loss to No. 14 Mississippi State last Saturday.
“They’re one possession away from being in first place (in the SEC race),” Williams said of Ole Miss. “That (loss) was in overtime against their rival on the road.”
A&M aims to notch its second SEC road victory (the Aggies won at then-No. 17 Oklahoma two weeks ago).
But the numbers may be against them.
“Their defense is top-25 in the country,” Williams said. “Their offense in the half court is top-25 in the country. They’re third in the nation in not turning the ball over. And they’re top-20 in the country in creating turnovers.
“The math in how they play is very fundamentally sound, and the math is always tilted in their direction.”
Indeed, Ole Miss is third in the nation in turnover margin. The Rebels have faltered some defensively but still rank a healthy 41st nationally in scoring defense. They also average 78.8 points to rank among the nation’s top 100 in scoring.
Theirs is a guard-oriented attack with Sean Pedulla, Jaylen Murray and Matthew Murrell all averaging more than 11.5 points.
However, they also have a strong inside presence with forward Jaemyn Brakefield, who averages 10.2 points and five rebounds, and forward Malik Dia, who averages 9.8 points and 6.3 boards.
But A&M has some numbers to brag about, too.
The Aggies are 44th nationally in scoring defense, 39th in turnovers forced and continue to lead the nation in offensive rebounds with an average of 16.5 per game.
Although A&M figures to have an advantage on the boards, forward Andersson Garcia believes the Aggies can get better.
“We’ve been doing a pretty good job — credit our coaches putting in a lot of work on that — but I feel like we still have have a lot of things to improve when it comes to rebounding,” he said.
The Aggies are 15th in the SEC in scoring, but their 76.4-point average isn’t far behind Ole Miss.
Guard Zhuric Phelps averages 15.6 points to lead A&M. Also, forward Pharrel Payne is among the national leaders in shooting at 68.8 percent.
Further, the Aggies got a boost with the return of Taylor, who sat out three games with an injury. Taylor averages 15.4 points after scoring 12 in a 68-57 victory over LSU last Saturday.
“(Taylor) helps us a lot,” Garcia said. “Even myself. I know his game so well. It helps me a lot to be in position to help the team. Everybody is comfortable. It feels different every time he’s stepping on the court.”
