Head coach Buzz Williams dives into Texas A&M's bye week routine

Winners of back-to-back conference games, Texas A&M men's basketball sits at 6-3 halfway through its conference slate. Entering a midweek bye, head coach Buzz Williams joined TexAgs Live to discuss Saturday's win at South Carolina, the Ags' schedule this week and more.

Key notes from Buzz Williams interview

• We plan our month in advance. We have the midweek bye week, so this week is a little different. We are doing some self-scouting. I have shifted some things around.
   
• Every week of January was a different week for our program. One week, we played Wednesday-Saturday. One week, we play Tuesday-Saturday. One week, we played Thursday-Saturday and another Tuesday-Saturday. It means your program is working nine consecutive days in a room. We did that two different times. The rhythm of our routine alternated per week.
   
• January was clunky. Our guys handled that with incredible maturity. When you win on the road going into your bye, that's a lot of fun.
   
• Every week in February, we will play Tuesday-Saturday. From a timing standpoint, we will be off every Wednesday and form a rhythm standpoint relative to how we operate. We are excited about that. It will change in March, but we only have three regular-season games in March. We have planned how we will use this time. It will be healthy for them mentally and emotionally.
   
• We start our day in the film room. We have practice tomorrow morning. Even on days we are working, it feels a little different. I anticipate it will be a good week for us.
   
• Analytically, Henry Coleman III has been through the roof. Solomon Washington's injury and the decision to move him where he started at the four was healthy for Pharrel Payne. I told Coleman on Thursday that I appreciate his responsibility on both sides of the ball when he is at the four vs. his responsibilities on both sides of the ball when he is at the five. They are distinctly different. What we do 1-4 defensively is different than 1-5. Our coverages are different with five. His communication was perfect. I thought we did a good job in both games. Yes, Coleman has been producing at a high rate, but there are some intangible things that I think are helping the other guys produce at a high rate.
   
• It is sneaky. I am starting to pick up on it. Payne has hit a growth spurt. His joy and energy... There are a lot of dots starting to connect for him on both sides of the floor. His confidence level is inflating because he is having fun for the first time as a college basketball player, and he is giving us things that nobody else on the roster gives us.
   
• I will give you a sneak peek of what I will talk to our guys about on Thursday. We have attempted more free throws than anybody in the league. That's a really good number after nine games. The elephant in the room is we need to make more of them. We won both games because of our free throw make number, the volume and the percentage. Wade Taylor IV has not missed two free throws in a row all year. Jace Carter has the yips. Everybody knows it, including Carter. I thought he made some winning, tough-man impact plays that changed the perception of the game.
   
• For us to make 21 free throws on the road, coming off making 29 at home and shooting 83 percent... What we have to do over the next four weeks is get fouled at that rate, but we have to continue to make strides in our percentage. We are leaving a lot of empty possessions. Relative to our talent, roster construction and how we play, we are going to get fouled. We have to make them at the rate we did this past week. That is an emphasis, and it has been an emphasis. We want to anticipate and address solutions before they are a problem. We were No. 232 in defensive rebounding after Kentucky. We are now No. 96.