Jay Bilas compliments A&M's physical style of play within 'remarkable' league

Through eight games, No. 13 Texas A&M sits at 5-3 in what is a laborious year of SEC hoops.
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas joined TexAgs Live to offer a national perspective on Buzz Williams' Aggies and speak on just how good the league is right now.

Key notes from Jay Bilas interview

• They actually struggle to shoot it anywhere. They don’t shoot free throws very well, and they don't make 2s or 3s at a high rate. But they play hard. They make the game chaotic, and they can still really offensively rebound. For the remainder of the season, it's important the Aggies take care of the ball. If you get a shot every time and rebound it at a 42-43 percent rate, that puts you in a good position when you don't shoot well.
   
• If you turn it over, you compromise your defense. Turnovers sound simplistic, but you don't get a shot, so there’s no chance at an offensive rebound and no chance to get fouled. Ball security could make up for some of the shooting deficiencies that Texas A&M has had. 
   
• Getting Zhuric Phelps in there, he is a guy who can attack the basket and score. When he was at SMU, he wasn't an accurate perimeter shooter. Buzz Williams has had successful teams. He finds ways to win. He is a great adjuster. He will adjust the way they play but doesn't think as much about how they play vs. how they win. When opponents play Texas A&M, and the games are over, they say, "I don't want to play those guys again."
   
• The SEC this year? I've never seen anything like it. Numbers don't always tell the story but the last time they saw a SEC non-conference record that strong was in the 1980s in the ACC. But it's not comparable because the ACC had eight teams back them, and so did the Big Eight and the Big Ten. This is a 16-team league. With that many teams, you'd expect to have more that wouldn't be as good, but it's a remarkable conference, especially compared to the rest of the country.
   
• What the SEC did to the ACC in the SEC-ACC Challenge, 14-2 is unimaginable for the 16 games played. The average margin of victory was 16 points. Auburn lost to Duke, and Kentucky lost to Clemson. They were both away games, but the average margin of loss was three points. I think it's gonna be a tougher challenge to win the SEC Tournament Championship than the NCAA Tournament Championship. I think when people hear that, and they aren't SEC fans, they think, "Oh well, you just said everyone else sucks," Well, no, I didn't. In an early round in an SEC game, you're going to go against a better opponent than you would in an earlier game in the NCAA Tournament. It doesn't mean the Elite Eight in the NCAA will be eight SEC teams because everyone can lose. 
   
• Houston is really good. Iowa State is really good. Duke is really good and a bunch of teams are really good. But no other conference matched what the SEC has to go through. It'll just be interesting to see what some of the teams are beat up at the end or lack a lot of conferences, or whether they take strength from it. When they go up against an opponent who they have never gone up against before, they may be confident.
   
• I think Tennessee needs to straighten out on the offensive end. I think the big guys are not as efficient scoring or threats as they need to be. They lost by a bucket at Auburn, and they had a shot to win it at the end. So you get in a one-possession game, which is a difficult place to play against a great Auburn team, but you can beat anybody. Was I surprised they launched so many 3-pointers against Kentucky? A little bit.
   
• One of the things I mentioned at the beginning of SEC play, this is going to require some mental toughness to go through that schedule. Yeah, you can play well enough to beat 85 percent of D1 and be on a winning streak. You can't beat yourself up over it because it's a very NBA-like schedule that you're facing. It's not like what you've been facing in years past. It's been the best league, but it's on a different level this year. I've never seen anything like it. 
   
• Rick Pitino has done a really good job at St. John’s. They've brought in some great transfers. They've got a terrific point guard in Kadary Richmond. They got Zuby Ejiofor from Kansas, and RJ Luis Jr. is a really good wing. So they've got quality at every position. They always played really good defense, so they're very, very good. It's kind of a very understated basketball league. That's a really good league, and I'm not surprised Rick has done that. He has done that everywhere he's been.
   
• The NBA is the better game. The rules are better, and generally, it's officiated better. I've always loved college. I've loved all kinds of basketball. I watch Viva. I watch European Pro League stuff because they are so creative with the offense. It's the equivalent of college football fans saying they like the NFL. If you like basketball, you see so many amazing players, plays, schemes and defensive schemes.