No. 13 A&M cruises to 38-point win over ACU to close non-conference play

Tuned up.

Next, the competition level will be turned up.

In its final non-conference game, No. 13 Texas A&M (11-2) cruised to a wire-to-wire 92-54 win over Abilene Christian (8-6) on Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena.

Now on a seven-game win streak, A&M begins its 18-game SEC slate next week. They'll do so with one of the strongest resumes in the nation.

"I do think we've played a hard schedule," head coach Buzz Williams said postgame. "I do think that has forced us to grow and mature and be held accountable over the last nine weeks.

"I think everybody is excited to come to work, and I don't think it matters what time the work starts or how long it lasts. ... I think that it's special, and I'm thankful to be a part of it."

Albeit vs. a Quadrant 4 opponent, Saturday's 38-point victory represents the Aggies' largest margin of victory on the season.

A&M shot 58.5 percent front the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies outrebounded the Wildcats 41-20 and led for nearly 39 of the 40 minutes.

"I thought we were pretty efficient, other than our turnover rate," Williams said. "We were a little too casual. ... I thought there was some maturity, not just by (Taylor), but by multiple guys."

Indeed, the outcome was never in doubt.

The Aggies scored the game's first seven points, and the lead never dipped below.

An early barrage of CJ Wilcher triples — three in 71 seconds — turned the modest gap into a chasm as A&M led by double digits for the remainder of the day.

"It's dope! Anybody would want to do that," Wilcher said. "Coming out today, I just wanted to put on a show."

A 19-point halftime advantage doubled before the final buzzer as A&M ended on a 14-0 run over the final 4:28.

Wilcher finished with a season-high 14 points, while Wade Taylor IV and Zhuric Phelps each notched double-doubles.

After missing last week's HCU game, Taylor posted a game-high 15 points and 10 assists, while Phelps scored 12 and grabbed 10 rebounds.

"It was a weird feeling missing my first game," Taylor said. "It was good to be back and get my wind back under me before what we've got coming."

It represents the first double-double of his career.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

CJ Wilcher shot at a 57 clip beyond the arc on Saturday.

Stacking milestones, Taylor's 3-pointer with 7:41 left moved him past Vernon Smith and into second on A&M's all-time scoring list. At 1,779 points, the senior from Dallas is just 211 points behind Bernard King for the program record.

"It's a blessing," the record-chaser said. "I'm thankful to be here. I'm thankful for my teammates and my coaches, who instilled that trust in me and put me in a position to move into second place.

"Hopefully, we can keep it going and keep getting wins."

A feel-good afternoon allowed A&M's good feelings to roll into SEC play.

In seven days, A&M hosts archrival Texas (10-2) at Reed on Jan. 4. Currently, ESPN's Joe Lunardi projects the Maroon & White as a No. 4 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Though not taking that for granted, the Aggies aren't looking down the road.

They're simply ready to compete each night in the nation's most competitive league.

"Conference is always a great time," Taylor said. "You get to see who's who. ... You get to really fight with your brothers every day.

"Conference is what it's all about."