Don't Panic: Struggling Aggies must lock down perimeter to top Ole Miss

Concern has become crisis. Full-blown panic might be next.

If Texas A&M fails to break a five-game basketball losing streak on Tuesday night against Ole Miss at Reed Arena it might be time for the Aggies to panic.

Or maybe it already is with the swooning Aggies (11-6, 0-5) coming off arguably their worst showing of the season in a 75-62 loss to Tennessee.

A&M was back at full strength for that game with Duane Wilson and Admon Gilder back from injuries. But it didn’t matter as the Aggies committed 17 turnovers and gave up 14 offensive rebounds.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed to be 0-5, but our practices have been good. Our attitude was good,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said on Monday. “We had opportunities at Tennessee. Tennessee was better than us on that day. It’s good to have everybody back. Now, we’ve got to get more comfortable playing with each other and playing more disciplined basketball. That’s my job to get us better.”

The Aggies must get better fast. They next face high-scoring Ole Miss (10-7, 2-3), which on Saturday turned in its best performance in a 78-72 victory over Florida.

“We just have to keep battling and try to win one game at a time,” Kennedy said. “We’re doing all the right things. Now, it’s time to break through.”

Then he added: “We understand the urgency of getting better.”

No doubt, improvement is urgent.

The Aggies, who were once ranked in the top five, suddenly cannot take for granted inclusion in the NCAA Tournament field.

In the last 10 years only one SEC has made the NCAA field with a .500 conference record without winning the conference's postseason tournament.

Tennessee made it despite an 8-8 SEC record in 2011. Georgia was 4-12 in 2008, but got the league’s automatic NCAA bid by winning the SEC tournament.

A&M needs a strong run just to break even and cannot wait much longer for that vital surge.

Ole Miss has never won at Reed Arena and has had trouble on the road this season. The Rebels are 1-4 away from Oxford. Ole Miss has also been vulnerable in the paint, which the Aggies hope to exploit with 6-foot-10 Tyler Davis, 6-9 Robert Williams and 6-9 D.J. Hogg.

However, the Rebels are also 9-1 when shooting 30 percent from three-point range. They rely heavily on the three-point shooting of guards Deandre Burnett, Terence Davis, Markel Crawford and Breein Tyree, who have combined for 109 three-point goals.

Defending the arc is a challenge the Aggies will welcome. A&M has held opponents to a 30.5 shooting percentage behind the arc to rank 23rd in the nation in three-point defense.

But the last time at Reed Arena the Aggies allowed a dozen three-pointers, including two in the final 12 seconds, in a 69-68 loss to LSU.

“They’re going to play small at times, and we’re going to have to adjust,” Kennedy said. “Hopefully, our size will be an advantage. (Ole Miss) is a team that loves to score. They average 79 points a game, and they have a lot of three-point threats. We’re going to have to do a better job guarding the three-point line than we did the last time we were at home.”

If not … well, it may be time to panic.