Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s Monday press conference.
Lately, Texas A&M has gotten many breaks.
The No. 22 Aggies (20-9, 9-7) hope to get two breaks on Tuesday when they face No. 1 Auburn (27-2, 15-1) in an 8 p.m. CT Southeastern Conference basketball clash at Reed Arena.
Getting one break may be dependent on the other.
Star senior guard Wade Taylor IV — who averages 15.1 points — needs 25 points to break Bernard King’s all-time A&M scoring record of 1,990 career points.
Taylor has scored 25 points or more 14 times in his A&M career.
“Hopefully, he breaks it tomorrow night,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said on Monday. “That would be cool.”
The Aggies likely need a huge scoring outburst from Taylor to break their four-game losing streak.
Alas, victories over Auburn are hard to come by. The top-ranked Tigers have won their last six games and 20 of their last 21.
“Statistically speaking, based on my (six-year) tenure here, I’d say they’re the best since we’ve been here,” Williams said of Auburn. “It’s the best the league has ever been. They’re the best team in the best league.
“Their talent speaks for itself. Their roster is tremendous. They can play almost any style. I think throughout the course of the season, that’s been pretty evident.”
The Tigers are led by 6-foot-10 forward Johni Broome, who leads the SEC in rebounding (10.8 per game), blocked shots (2.4) and is third in scoring (18.4).
Williams predicts Broome will be named the Naismith Player of the Year as the nation’s top player.
However, five other players average scoring in the double figures for Auburn, which is ranked fourth in the nation in scoring.
But perhaps there will be magic in the atmosphere for A&M with eight players — Taylor, Jace Carter, Henry Coleman III, Andersson Garcia, Hayden Hefner, Manny Obaseki, Zhuric Phelps and CJ Wilcher — playing their final home game.
In today’s NIL and transfer portal era, having eight players honored on senior night is almost magical.
“Those guys that have been here as long as they have… They’ve had opportunities to go elsewhere in this new model,” Williams said. ”Their loyalty to one another and to the institution, I think, is rare.”
Victories have also been rare for A&M as of late.
The Aggies had climbed to No. 7 in the nation and were projected as high as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Then came consecutive losses to Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Florida.
Defense on the perimeter was the primary issue, especially in the last three games. A&M’s philosophy is to force opponents to attempt lower-percentage 3-point shots.
Yet, during the “slump,” A&M opponents have 46 shots from 3-point range and hit 42.2 percent behind the arc. Florida hit 14 treys on Saturday.
“Statistically speaking — in the four years we’ve played this defense — teams are going to shoot eight more 3-pointers than their average,” Williams said. “That’s the way we teach it to our guys. We were kind of on point with that.
“The 3-pointers that hurt us the most in the second half against Florida were off offensive rebounds. It was the worst defensive rebounding we had since Alabama (Jan. 11).”
Williams said the Aggies have responded well to their situation, and there has been no loss of confidence or questioning of themselves.
Coleman confirmed as much.
“We all know we haven’t performed to the level of our abilities,” Coleman said. “But we’re a super-confident team. We always have been. We know our foundation works. It’s proven. We’ve beaten really tough teams.
“So, we continue to trust our foundation. Trust what the coaches are telling us. Trust each other. We know we’re on a four-game losing streak. But we have to do a little bit extra to get out of it.”
Coleman recently broke an unofficial A&M record for offensive bounds.
Maybe he’s starting a trend.
