Undersized Aggies face heightened test vs. towering Gators

Click here to view Texas A&M’s Friday press conference.

Height is emphasized in basketball. Teams incessantly search for length. It’s a valued commodity.

However, great height isn’t necessarily a requirement for victory. For instance, Texas A&M’s tallest starter is Rashaun Agee, a 6-foot-8 forward. That’s average height for a forward.

Yet, despite a relative lack of height, the Aggies (17-5, 7-2) are tied for the lead in the Southeastern Conference race.

They play for sole possession of first place on Saturday night against defending national champion No. 17 Florida (16-6, 7-2), perhaps the nation’s tallest team, in a 7:30 p.m. “black out” showdown at Reed Arena.

That game may reveal whether or not height is actually overvalued.

“I would love to say that it’s overvalued, but then you see these monsters tomorrow,” A&M coach Bucky McMillan said on Friday. “I’ll reserve comment until after the game because they look like Shreks out there how big they are.

“You really want skill and size and athleticism. If you couldn’t get skill and size, I’d take skill any day of the week.

“You can make up for size by being detailed in what you do and playing as hard as you can play at all times. That’s how you make up for size.”

A&M has a lot of size for which to make up. Florida boasts a roster with six players measuring 6-foot-9 or taller. The Gators have two seven-footers. That includes freshman Olivier Rioux, who stands 7-foot-9. Really.

Led by 6-foot-10 center Rueben Chinyelu, 6-foot-11 forward Alex Condon and 6-foot-9 forward Thomas Haugh, Florida leads the nation in overall rebounding and offensive rebounding. The Gators are sixth in the nation in extra scoring opportunities.

“They’re literally the best rebounding at this point in the history of college basketball. That says a lot,” McMillan said. “Obviously, not letting them play ping pong off the glass will help. They score at the rim at a high level.”

Don’t mistake that respect for fear, though. The Aggies typically face taller opponents, but they don’t back down.

Agee wouldn’t allow it. He ranks second in the SEC with an average of 8.7 rebounds and averages 14.2 points by intrepidly challenging opponents.

“You’ve got to play harder than the next man,” Agee said. “You always got to have to belief in yourself. You’ve got to learn how to rebound the ball — not even learn, I feel like it’s instinct. It’s a God-given talent of mine.

“Play hard. Be physical. Never allow someone to take the fight to you. Take the fight to them.”

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The reigning SEC Player of the Week, Rashaun Agee leads the Aggies in scoring (14.2) and rebounds (8.7).

For A&M, that means relentless pressure in an up-tempo attack.

Florida averages 11.7 turnovers, is mediocre at the 3-point line and averages about 69 percent at the foul line.

Meanwhile, A&M forces an average of 14.8 turnovers and is fifth in the nation in 3-pointers per game with an average of 11.6.

Perhaps the Aggies can shoot over the taller Gators.

If that’s their game plan, they’ll likely need increased production from guard Rubén Dominguez. The Spaniard, who averages 12.4 points, scored just one point and took only two shots in a 100-97 loss to Alabama on Wednesday.

Alabama’s plan was simply to deny Dominguez the ball. If he didn’t have it, he couldn’t shoot it.

“We can get him some more shots,” McMillan said. “But the other side of that is a lot of times when we’re shooting uncontested layups or Rashaun’s rolling, and we’re hitting him with a pocket pass, and he’s scoring (opponents) are in super drop coverage, and they’re not going to help off shooters.

“That’s the reason we’re why we’re shooting so many uncontested layups because we have the space out there. Spacing is offense.”

To illustrate McMillan’s point, consider that while opponents have become preoccupied with Dominguez, guard Rylan Griffen has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games.

Also, in the last two games, guard Marcus Hill scored 15 in a victory over Georgia and 18 against Alabama.

Hill said that, even against Florida, the key to A&M’s success is pretty simple.

“I feel like it’s just being us,” he said. “Playing with the team. Not really worrying about the other team. Just being us.”