Veteran Duo Driving Force For Texas A&M Basketball Amid Six-Game Win Streak
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When Tyrece Radford elected to leave Virginia Tech, he knew two things of Texas A&M's basketball culture; Buzz Williams was the head coach, and the program called the SEC West home.
Two years later, Radford is Texas A&M basketball. At least the driving force of the Aggies' turnaround since late last season en route to an NIT championship appearance against Xavier in New York City. He's been the leading man for Texas A&M during its five-game win streak. He's been the one offensive constant since early December.
“We’re not going to play without Dex and [Radford],” Williams said following Texas A&M's win over Missouri on Wednesday. “We want one of them always on the floor, and then we need to have three [rebounding] go-gets on the floor to the glass, but we also do that sometimes with the four. And then we always want to have a minimum [of two] of what we call ball handlers.”
Radford currently ranks second for Texas A&M in points (12.4), rebounds (5.6) and assists (2.1) through four games of conference play. He also leads the Aggies in minutes, averaging 29.3 per game.
Dennis, a first-year transfer from Wichita State, has been arguably the Aggies' most efficient player in terms of defense. He's currently averaging 5.1 rebounds per game to match his 8.2 points. However, since the start of conference play, Dennis has registered at least six boards per night, including a season-high 12 against the No. 20 Tigers Wednesday night.
"Dex is arguably always guarding their best perimeter player,” Williams said. “So he’s on the perimeter, and then seven times he’s getting that long rebound, which is otherworldly to be able to say just that stat.”
Radford and Dennis have rotated as being the top offensive option as of late. Take for instance Radford's 17-point showcase on the road against Florida. Dennis finished with four points and six boards. How about when Dennis totaled 17 points against LSU? Radford played the supporting role with 14 points and five rebounds.
Williams said this past week that players have found consistent roles in the lineup working behind Radford and Williams. The results showed Saturday night in Columbia as Texas A&M bested South Carolina in a 94-53 road win to extend its winning streak to six games.
No surprise, Dennis stole the show with a 13-point game that featured a pair of three-pointers. Radford tacked on four points and five boards while Wade Taylor IV and Julius Marble registered 20 and 14 points, respectively.
The Aggies aren't looking like a threat to be a tough out in conference play. They're proving it. Texas A&M has outgained its previous four opponents 161-100 in the first half of games. Defensively, they're winning matchups around the rim, outrebounding SEC opponents, 160-103.
The Aggies are far from a lock to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, but Williams has been pleased with the maturation of his program thus far to begin conference play. In large part, Dennis and Radford have been the difference in close matchups.
And they could be the reason for a late push deep into March come tournament time.
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