Tigers Claw Past Aggies as Defensive Adjustments Fall Short

It takes a full 40 minutes of solid offense, defense, or both to win a game.

When Missouri came to Reed Arena needing a huge Quad 1 win, it delivered a major upset, sending Texas A&M into the weekend riding a three-game losing streak.

Head coach Bucky McMillan knew his team was undersized and, at times, had to do anything to create different looks, but instead, it narrowed the margin late in the game.

“Really tough loss,” McMillan said. “We knew it would be a tough game. We couldn't stop them or combat their size. We tried things and still couldn't stop them. They scored 56 points in the paint. It is what it is in this league. We have to move forward.”

Defensive Struggles

In a game where the Tigers had produced in the paint, and the Aggies' size was an issue, McMillan tried multiple looks to annoy the offense, but it kept clawing back and answering.

“They’re really big,” McMillan said. “I don’t want to negate that. Their average height is taller than our tallest starter, which is 6 '7, so they’re gonna get some offensive rebounds. They’re going to get some around the paint. It was just too much.”

Forward T.O. Barrett and guard Trent Pierce carried Missouri on an evening when the leading scorer, Mark Mitchell, didn’t reach double digits, which opened the floor up. Of the 86 Missorui points, 40 went to Barrett and Pierce, who both played 33 minutes and were part of the size problem.

Head coach Dennis Gates did a phenomenal job of getting his group to stay within striking distance as the half-court and full-court pressure from A&M was something he knew was coming, so they executed it well throughout the night, where McMillan said he tried to do everything to slow down Missouri but couldn’t get enough defensive stops and rebounds to secure the win.

“I don’t know that I’ve coached a game where we’ve literally tried as many things on defense as we did to stop them and still couldn’t,” McMillan said. “We went from man, switching it one through four, from man, switching one through five, then man switching it with the guards. Then, we went to zone. Then, went zone to man. Then, we went press, no trap and press trap. We tried everything in that game to stop those guys from getting buckets at the rim to get the game in our favor and we couldn’t.”

Even in a game where the Aggies’ defense held the Tigers’ offense to seven 3-pointers and 9 of 15 from the free throw line, the pressure down the stretch was not enough, as even fastbreak points were a factor, with 13 for the Tigers and none for the Aggies.

“We didn’t do a good job stopping them,” McMillan said. “It’s about stops, and we couldn’t find stops. Offense wasn't the problem tonight. We just couldn't stop them. Even when we did play good defense, they still got an offensive rebound; they had 16. That was an issue.”

With three straight losses to Missouri, Florida, and Alabama, McMillan acknowledged that’s how the league goes and that no one is going to sit back and feel sorry for them.

“Moving forward, it is what it is,” McMillan said. “No one’s going to feel bad for us in this league. It is what this league is. This is what it is. Close games. Good games.”