Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Basketball
Avoiding letdown chief concern for Aggies as Mississippi State visits
Above: Watch a video interview with Alex Caruso from Tuesday's pre-Mississippi State practice.
Following the biggest Texas A&M basketball victory of the Billy Kennedy era, the Aggies now must avoid the biggest letdown.
A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC) is back in serious contention in the Southeastern Conference championship race after defeating Kentucky in overtime, 79-77, last Saturday.
Remaining in serious contention will require the Aggies avoiding a lapse on Wednesday night when Mississippi State (12-14, 5-9) visits Reed Arena.
“Letdown … I don’t like that word,” Kennedy said on Tuesday. “Will the emotion be the same as Kentucky? Probably not. I think our guys understand how important it is to beat Mississippi State to play well at home and to get better. Now we’ve got to be able to go do it.
“Kentucky is Kentucky. That’s not a slight at anyone else that we play. It’s just the reality of the situation.”
A&M guard Alex Caruso maintained that the Aggies have put behind them the win over Kentucky and are focused on Mississippi State.
That would be wise because the Bulldogs have posted wins in three of their last four games. That includes consecutive victories over Alabama and Vanderbilt — teams that beat A&M.
“Kentucky is over with,” Caruso said. “It was over with on Sunday when we woke up. We needed to put it behind us and get ready for Mississippi State. They’re a dangerous team. They’ve got a lot of older guys and some young talent that’s really good. They’ve won two in a row, so their confidence is through the roof, I bet.”
Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, who shared SEC Freshman of the Week honors with A&M’s Tyler Davis, has averaged 18 points over the last four games.
Gavin Ware, a 6-9 senior forward, is averaging 15.3 and 7.3 rebounds. Guard Craig Sword averages 12.3 points. Freshman guard Malik Newman, who missed the Bulldogs’ win over Alabama with back spasms, could play against the Aggies.
He scored 14 points and hit three three-point field goals in Mississippi State’s 61-60 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 6.
Kennedy expects him to play.
“Weatherspoon and Newman are really good,” Kennedy said. “Gavin Ware is still a load. He’s been a tough guy for us to defend the last couple of years, so he’s still really a good player. Now, what’s impressive is they’re playing really good defense. The last time we played them they played a soft zone.”
Mississippi State does appear to be a better team than the one that faced A&M last month.
But then, A&M is better, too.
That game was in Starkville. The Aggies have struggled on road, but are 14-1 at Reed Arena.
Also, Danuel House, the Aggies’ second-leading scorer with a 15.4 average, sat out a suspension and did not play in that game.
Caruso, Jalen Jones and D.J. Hogg all had 11 points in the win, while Admon Gilder came off the bench to score 10.
But Davis only had four points and four rebounds in the first meeting with Mississippi State.
He’s now averaging 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds. He posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the victory over Kentucky.
The Aggies also have the motivation of knowing they’re in the thick of the SEC championship race and are trying to improve their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
“Just the fact that we can still achieve a goal that we set forth at the beginning of the season, I think, is exciting,” Caruso said. “It gives us a little more to play for just in case we didn’t have enough to play for already.
“I think it’s going to come down to whoever wants it the most and who plays the hardest.”
Following the biggest Texas A&M basketball victory of the Billy Kennedy era, the Aggies now must avoid the biggest letdown.
A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC) is back in serious contention in the Southeastern Conference championship race after defeating Kentucky in overtime, 79-77, last Saturday.
Remaining in serious contention will require the Aggies avoiding a lapse on Wednesday night when Mississippi State (12-14, 5-9) visits Reed Arena.
“Letdown … I don’t like that word,” Kennedy said on Tuesday. “Will the emotion be the same as Kentucky? Probably not. I think our guys understand how important it is to beat Mississippi State to play well at home and to get better. Now we’ve got to be able to go do it.
“Kentucky is Kentucky. That’s not a slight at anyone else that we play. It’s just the reality of the situation.”
A&M guard Alex Caruso maintained that the Aggies have put behind them the win over Kentucky and are focused on Mississippi State.
That would be wise because the Bulldogs have posted wins in three of their last four games. That includes consecutive victories over Alabama and Vanderbilt — teams that beat A&M.
“Kentucky is over with,” Caruso said. “It was over with on Sunday when we woke up. We needed to put it behind us and get ready for Mississippi State. They’re a dangerous team. They’ve got a lot of older guys and some young talent that’s really good. They’ve won two in a row, so their confidence is through the roof, I bet.”
Gavin Ware is still a load. He’s been a tough guy for us to defend the last couple of years, so he’s still really a good player. Now, what’s impressive is they’re playing really good defense. The last time we played them they played a soft zone.
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The Bulldogs, under first-year coach Ben Howland, appear to be playing their best basketball of the season.Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, who shared SEC Freshman of the Week honors with A&M’s Tyler Davis, has averaged 18 points over the last four games.
Gavin Ware, a 6-9 senior forward, is averaging 15.3 and 7.3 rebounds. Guard Craig Sword averages 12.3 points. Freshman guard Malik Newman, who missed the Bulldogs’ win over Alabama with back spasms, could play against the Aggies.
He scored 14 points and hit three three-point field goals in Mississippi State’s 61-60 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 6.
Kennedy expects him to play.
“Weatherspoon and Newman are really good,” Kennedy said. “Gavin Ware is still a load. He’s been a tough guy for us to defend the last couple of years, so he’s still really a good player. Now, what’s impressive is they’re playing really good defense. The last time we played them they played a soft zone.”
Mississippi State does appear to be a better team than the one that faced A&M last month.
But then, A&M is better, too.
That game was in Starkville. The Aggies have struggled on road, but are 14-1 at Reed Arena.
Also, Danuel House, the Aggies’ second-leading scorer with a 15.4 average, sat out a suspension and did not play in that game.
Caruso, Jalen Jones and D.J. Hogg all had 11 points in the win, while Admon Gilder came off the bench to score 10.
But Davis only had four points and four rebounds in the first meeting with Mississippi State.
He’s now averaging 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds. He posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the victory over Kentucky.
The Aggies also have the motivation of knowing they’re in the thick of the SEC championship race and are trying to improve their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
“Just the fact that we can still achieve a goal that we set forth at the beginning of the season, I think, is exciting,” Caruso said. “It gives us a little more to play for just in case we didn’t have enough to play for already.
“I think it’s going to come down to whoever wants it the most and who plays the hardest.”
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