Takeaways From Texas A&M's Road Loss To No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks

Just when it seemed that the Texas A&M Aggies were finding their footing again on the hardwood, the Arkansas Razorbacks were there to knock them back to Earth, handing the Maroon and White their fifth loss in the last seven games, 99-84, in Fayetteville Wednesday night.

The Aggies started out hot with an 11-2 start early in the first half, but Arkansas would quickly come back to rip off 16 unanswered points, and A&M never saw the lead again in the contest.

With the loss dropping Texas A&M down to 9-6 in conference play, here are a few takeaways from the road loss.

Takeaways From Texas A&M's Loss in Arkansas

Texas A&M Aggies guard Marcus Hill (0) drives between Arkansas Razorbacks guard D.J. Wagner (21) and forward Trevon Brazile (7) during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Turnovers Doom Aggies Early in Fayetteville

13 turnovers in a game is painstaking enough for a team, but 13 in one half is outright ridiculous.

This was unfortunately the reality that Texas A&M faced in their road trip, and they ended up with 16 turnovers in the game compared to Arkansas' nine, and it allowed the Razorbacks to get 17 points off of the blunders, 30 points on the fast break, as well as nine steals throughout the contest.

It was very clear in the early going that Texas A&M was going to be its own worst enemy Wednesday night, and had this disastrous chunk not started the game, the result could've easily swayed in the Ags' favor.

Even when Texas A&M started catching up in the second half and cutting their deficit down to four points, lax defense and turnovers allowed Arkansas to swell the lead back to double digits.

Zach Clemence's Career Night Not Enough For Aggies

While the Aggies as a whole were unable to put another tally in the win column, senior forward Zach Clemence went off for a career-high 29 points, with 22 coming in the second half alone, and largely the reason that Texas A&M was able to stay in the game for as long as they did.

Clemence also played a heroic role in A&M's win last week at home over Ole Miss, where he and Ruben Dominguez led the team's charge that resulted in a 13-point comeback in the 80-77 win.

The former Kansas Jayhawk out of San Antonio has only averaged 7.2 points per game up to this point in the season, but with his recent performances on the floor that have seen him use his 6'11 figure to its full potential, the Aggies could have a secret weapon in their arsenal throughout March Madness.

Don't Hit the Panic Button

While only winning two games in a seven-game stretch is certainly a cause for concern, especially after the start to conference play that A&M had, there is no need to cancel the Aggies' ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

The final three games consist of the Texas Longhorns, Kentucky Wildcats, and LSU Tigers, two teams that Texas A&M has already collected wins over this year.

Playing in Baton Rouge will be no easy task, but with LSU's 3-12 conference record and how much more aggressive Texas A&M was in their close win in College Station the first time, don't be surprised if you see the same old song and dance to close out the season.

Kentucky is also 9-6 in conference play and has been pretty hit-or-miss in road games this year, which leaves the door of possibility wide open when they visit Reed Arena next Tuesday.

The Aggies return to College Station for a Saturday afternoon grudge match with the Texas Longhorns starting at 3:00 PM.