Texas A&M Out-Working Foes At SEC Tournament
Not only has Texas A&M looked dominant through three games of the SEC Tournament, the Aggies have appeared the more energetic team each time they’ve taken the floor in Tampa.
That’s by design, according to coach Buzz Williams.
“The NCAA allows you to work six days in a row, so we took our off day this week before we came here, and so we’ve been working six days a week all year long since the season started,” he said after the Aggies blew out No. 15 Arkansas 82-64 in the SEC semifinals. “So for our guys, they would rather play than practice. And for us to be able to play three games in a row instead of three days of practice, they think that’s more fun, so it was never a topic of conversation.
“Like we get to play, and the reward for doing is the opportunity to do more. We weren’t supposed to beat Florida, and so the reward is the opportunity to play Auburn. Then we weren’t supposed to beat Auburn, and so the reward is the opportunity to play Arkansas. We are not supposed to play Arkansas, and so the reward is we get to play again tomorrow.”
Texas A&M (23-11) is in position to win its first SEC Tournament title Sunday against No. 9 Tennessee (25-7). The Aggies have already knocked off two ranked teams in the past two days, including Friday’s 67-62 upset over No. 4 Auburn.
Another win punches the Aggies' ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Texas A&M hadn’t won back-to-back games over ranked teams since beating No. 6 Kansas and No. 25 Texas in 2007. But the wins have hardly been flukes. Through the first three games of the tournament, the Aggies have either led or been tied for 123:24 of 125 minutes of play.
Getting out the gate fast has been a key. During the current seven-game win streak, the Aggies are outscoring their opponents in the first half by 78 (270-192). Against the Razorbacks, the Aggies were up 36-24 at the break.
“It was really just a testament to what we’ve been preaching to each other all week,’” said Hayden Hefner, who starred off the bench with nine points and three assists in 17 minutes.
“We know that for us to have a chance to win any game, it’s got to start with our energy level and how we attack the game and how we start the game and how we start the second half. I think whenever you preach that over and over and really believe into it and buy into it, it will end up happening.”
The Aggies are playing in their second SEC Tournament championship, joining the 2016 squad that lost to Kentucky. Texas A&M is making its seventh conference tournament championship appearance in program history (2-4).
